Company at centre of door-to-door sales complaint in Winnipeg faces class action lawsuit in Calgary

Utilebill Credit Corp. — the company at the centre of a complaint about costly contracts for home energy products sold door-to-door in Winnipeg — is facing a proposed class action lawsuit over its "use of false and misleading information" with sales made in Calgary.

A statement of claim filed in February alleges a salesperson from Secure Home Services Inc. came to Ronald Mykytyshyn's door in 2015 and told him he could get a furnace plus air conditioner if he paid $165 a month for two years. 

"He was flying all over the place, making us promises and guarantees and all kinds of things," Mykytyshyn told CBC. 

"We weren't told anything about a 10-year rental agreement or anything."

Mykytyshyn's allegation is similar to the story told to CBC by Claude Caya. The 60-year-old said he is drowning in debt after signing a 10-year lease for four different home energy products with Prairie Home Comfort, another company affiliated with Utilebill. Caya says he didn't understand what he was signing and now owes the company over $30,000.

Utilebill describes itself as a financing company and says Secure Home Services Inc. was one its dealers.

Both are named as defendants in the proposed class action suit, which was filed Feb. 11 in the Calgary Court of Queen's Bench. 

Customer didn't realize what he signed

The claim alleges the salesperson made a verbal promise for the deal for an air conditioner and furnace and then compiled a "lengthy agreement" for the couple to sign.

At Mykytyshyn's requrest, the salesperson added an "addendum" by rewriting the terms of the verbal contract and signing it. The salesperson allegedly told the couple to sign the official agreement in order to get the equipment, but "they would receive a revised contract … in about two weeks," according to the statement of claim.

Soon after signing the contract, Mykytyshyn says he spoke to a neighbour who signed the same agreement and realized he had signed on to a 10-year rental agreement. The revised contract never came, the claim alleges.

Mykytyshyn, who lives in Calgary, says he continued to make payments for the next two years — living up to the agreement he felt he signed. Then he stopped making payments.

"Personally I feel this is the contract that we made with them," he said. "They can try to squeeze money out of us, but that is like trying to squeeze blood out of a stone, or rock. Because they aren't going to get it, we aren't going to give them any more money."

Utilebill says they are 'arms-length' to company

Utilebill responded in a statement of defence on March 29, where it denied "each and every allegation" in the statement of claim.

"It (Utilebill) is a separate and arms-length entity from SHS (Secure Home Services) and there is no cross-affiliation between the two defendants," Utilebill said in its statement.

Utilebill argues that it had no involvement in what was verbally pitched to Mykytyshyn or the terms of the agreement and any misunderstanding of the agreement falls to the plaintiff and Secure Home Services.

Secure Home Services is no longer in business, according to its website.

The statement of defence notes that Mykytyshyn would not be able to fairly represent the interest of a class of members because he is in default of his payments.

Utilebill has counter-sued Mykytyshyn for this payment, arguing he owes them $3,310.

The statement of defence also dismisses the proposed class action, saying each class member "was subject to different agreements, for different equipment and with different payment arrangements."

In an email to CBC, Utilebill's owner John Nassar said Utilebill is a finance company.

"The action in Alberta has to do with a dealer that sold us some contracts and we funded. That dealer is out of business," Nassar wrote.

Mathew Farrell is the lawyer leading the proposed class action and says Mykytyshyn will be used as "the example of what has been done on a number of cases to many more people."

"In this case we are talking about someone who comes to your door and they tell you that they are going to be giving you one thing and they make all sorts of promises and tell you what is supposedly in this contract and you say those promises sound good," he said.

"Then you sign and you find out the agreement is much different from what they told you … and we believe that is what has happened to a lot of people." 

Lawyer says contracts should be void

Farrell counters Utilebill's argument that they are not liable for Secure Homes' contracts.

"Utilebill is seeking to enrich itself on a basis of a contract that was entered into in respect of a misrepresentation," he said.

"The contract should be voided and it shouldn't be enforceable."

The next step for the case is it to go before case management and eventually a judge will decide if it will be certified class action.

Farrell says if it is certified, then anyone who has entered into a contract with Utilebill or Secure Homes could potentially join the suit. 

"We are interested in hearing from anyone who has been wronged by Secure Homes, but also by anybody across the country who has been wronged by Utilebill, whether that is with Secure Homes or not," he said.