Bottom line
Our recommendation: avoid contacting or doing business with Ontario Green Savings.
Ontario Green Savings (also known as Green Savings Group) uses Facebook and Google ads promising the installation of a free smart thermostat to get invitations into your home (which they have to do to get around the ban on door-to-door HVAC sales) where they then apply a high-pressure sales pitch to push you into long-term (15 year) contracts that end up charging multiple times more than the equipment is actually worth and cost tens of thousands of dollars to cancel or break.
Between January 2019 and October 2022 there have been more than 400 incidents, inquiries and complaints involving Ontario Green Savings made to Consumer Protection Ontario and homeowners have contacted the ministry to dispute more than $2.2 million in HVAC contracts with the company.
They are on Ontario’s Consumer Beware List for charges relating to Unfair Practice – False Misleading, Fail to Deliver Valid Contract and Fail to Refund.
In addition, they, or an associated company place a lien on your home – typically for $12,000 to $15,000 – which prevents you from selling your home without successfully transferring the contract to the new owner or buying it out.
These contracts are very profitable for the rental companies and a bad deal for the majority of their customers. Purchasing your own unit can result in substantial savings over time, according to the Competition Bureau. Appliance rental is not common practice in Canada outside of Ontario.
Like Enercare, Reliance Home Comfort and Simply Group, Ontario Green Savings Group is another in a long line of HVAC rental companies to apply deceptive sales tactics in order to push consumers into long-term rental contracts with high cancellation fees.
However, unlike those companies, which are now focused on holding and maintaining their existing portfolio of contracts, Ontario Green Savings is still actively expanding and selling to new customers.
Further reading: Is renting a water heater worth it?
Pros
- No large up-front cost
- Low monthly payments
- They handle service and repairs, most of the time
Cons
- Extremely high cancellation and buyout fees
- Many complaints about their maintenance and repair services
- No coverage for damage caused by leaking tanks
About Ontario Green Savings
Ontario Green Savings (OGS) sells long-term rental contracts for home appliances including water heaters, furnaces, air conditioners and HEPA filters. The company was incorporated as 10392197 Canada Corp on September 4, 2017 – 5 days after Ontario launched the Green Ontario Fund.
According to a 2020 press release, they had 8,500 customers. Their website says they have over 10,000 customers across Canada in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. A November 2022 application response email states they have approximately 25,000 customers.
The company was named to Canadian Business’ 2019 Growth 500 and Growth 50 lists of fastest-growing companies in Canada, as determined by their revenue growth over the previous five years.
Charges under the Consumer Protection Act
OGS CEO Saeed Torbati has used a number of company names and corporate entities over the years to operate the same business model.
Ontario Consumers Home Services
Until August 2016 he worked as national sales manager for Ontario Consumers Home Services, a door-to-door sales company which had previously received 63 charges for their conduct.
Ontario Safety Standards
He was CEO of Ontario Safety Standards (Ontario Stars Corporation), which used Ontario Consumers Home Services’ old Ottawa phone number and address.
85 complaints and 77 incidents were filed against the company to the ministry between Jan. 1, 2017 and March 15, 2019.
In April 2019, the CEO and company were charged with 112 offences for allegedly making false, misleading, or deceptive representations to consumers in their homes, using a contract that did not comply with the Consumer Protection Act, and and failing to provide refunds to consumers as required.
The company had 2 charges laid on October 6, 2020: 1 charge for unfair practice – false misleading and 1 charge for fail to deliver valid contract.
Canadian Safety Standards
He was director of Canadian Safety Standards (Safety Standards Group Inc.), which was the company that registered liens on customer’s properties. In 2020 and 2021 the company received:
- 33 charges of unfair practice – false misleading
- 32 charges of fail to deliver valid contract
- 31 charges of fail to refund
Ontario Green Savings
On October 14, 2021, The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services filed charges against Ontario Green Savings (10392197 Canada Corp.):
- 7 charges of Unfair Practice – False Misleading
- 7 charges of Direct Agr – Fail to Deliver Valid Contract
- 5 charges of Fail to Refund
Poor online reviews
They have a rating of:
- 1.18 rating with 65 reviews on Better Business Bureau (BBB) and 105 complaints closed in the last 12 months
- 1 on Yelp with 15 reviews
- While their Google Reviews might look decent at first glance with an overall rating of 4.3, a closer look shows that some of the reviews may not be an accurate representation of the company’s standing with customers as they are split down the middle – almost all reviews are either 1 or 5 star reviews.
Multiple reviews report the company texting and calling customers and offering a chance to win $200 to $1000 gift cards or iPads in return for a 5 star Google review.
Weird search results
They have multiple branded websites (.com and .org), press releases about how they’re a fast-growing company, paid advertorials, Medium articles, Soundcloud profiles filled with useless, robotic text-to-speech audio clips titled things like “How Advantageous is Air Treatment System?”:
bizarre Change.org petitions that are simply a positive review of the company:
These pages are presumably created to push bad press such as this RedFlagDeals thread, this CTV report, this Reddit thread and this tweet and of course the CBC Marketplace hidden camera expose down the Google Results to pages 2 and beyond.
Free smart thermostat and in-home assessment
The company offers the free installation of a free Nest E, Nest 3rd gen, or Ecobee smart thermostat (approximately $200 to $250 value, before $75 rebate), promoting how much it will help you save on your energy bills.
They advertise the free thermostat on platforms like Facebook and Google:
Click the ad and you’ll find that the catch is that by signing up to get one, you consent to have them enter your home, install the smart thermostat and give you their high-pressure sales pitch for renting new home appliances:
By completing this request for a quote/in-home visit and voluntarily providing your personal information, you consent to the collection and use of such information by us only for the purposes of responding to your request and assisting with the in-home sales appointment for purchase/lease of any HVAC, water treatment or air treatment products you have scheduled. For greater certainty, you have initiated contact and requested and authorized Ontario Green Savings to attend your house to explain its purchase/lease programs.
According to the program’s Terms and Conditions, they will install the thermostat only after the sales pitch for rental contracts, and only if “you qualify”, requiring you to sign documents in order to have the thermostat installed.
It is unclear to what extent these documents are separate from the documents that if signed, would put you on the hook for a 12+ year water heater rental.
Multiple Google reviews indicate that they either never received a thermostat either because the representative had “no recommendations” and the company no longer returns their calls, or that the “free thermostat” is a marketing strategy and only installed if you purchase one of their services – ie. you do not qualify if you don’t buy something from them. More examples here.
This is what they refer to as a “free in-home assessment”: they look at your existing equipment, say you could (or should) be doing better and whatever it takes to get you to sign on the dotted line.
‘Cost-neutral’ program application email
After applying, you will receive an email asking you to finalize your application stressing that the applicant (not customer) is entitled to “free installation” and “free maintenance for parts and labour” for their peace of mind. They also advertise the Cost Neutral Program on their website and Facebook.
Subject: Finalize Your Application
As mentioned on the phone call with our supervisor you will be entitled to a free maintenance for parts and labor for the equipments ( Tankless + Filter ). Also for your peace of mind the installation happening tomorrow sunday Nov 13th will be a free installation.
All the recipient has to do to get a “cost neutral whole home combo filter” is complete the “work order application” attached.
Even though I am well-versed in HVAC rental scams, when I first read this email, I actually thought it was referring to some initial free offering that would be the company’s foot-in-the-door which would eventually lead to the part where I sign up for a lease agreement.
But no, the “work order application” is actually the full and final Rental Agreement for $89.99 per month for 10 years, a total of $10,798.80.
Ontario Green Savings Rental Agreement
Clicking the plain text link or Learn More button in the email sends the user to sidekickopen04.com to track their click which then forwards to a document on the official-sounding https://info.ontariorebates.org
The first page outlines the ban on unsolicited door-to-door marketing and asks the recipient to select, which situation, if any, applies to them.
However, unlike the Ontario’s official copy, the 2 checkboxes are not clickable and the first one comes pre-checked, so the recipient can’t change it even if they wanted to or if it didn’t apply to them.
All of the information on the second page is pre-filled in based on the form the user filled out on their website (personal details have been removed below for privacy purposes). The form is not editable and the only action available to the user is to click the Please Verify Here button to provide an e-signature.
There is no total contract amount listed and it too me longer than it should have to find the duration of the contract. Let me know how long it takes you in the comments:
If the user was under the impression that this document was a work order for a free or ‘cost neutral’ service, they might simply provide their e-signature and be done. However, there is a page of fine print stating that the signor is agreeing to:
- The product operating at their sole risk
- Ontario Green Savings registering a security interest on their property
- 3.5% annual increase in the monthly fee
- Charges in default incurring interest charges at a rate of 34.489% APR
- Not holding OGS liable for any property damage when they remove the equipment
- Being responsible for care and maintenance of the equipment (I thought they said “free maintenance for parts and labour”?)
Who owns Ontario Green Savings?
Ontario Green Savings is owned by Saeed Moravvej Torbati.
Who is Saeed Moravvej Torbati?
Saeed Moravvej Torbati is a self-described serial entrepreneur, claiming to own a property management business and a couple of online lending businesses in addition to Ontario Green Savings.
He was born and raised in Iran, moving to Canada at the age of 18. He graduated from Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology with honours in 2012, receiving a degree in Electromechanical Engineering Robotics. He later earned an Associate’s degree in Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies from Harvard Business School.
He worked as national sales manager for Ontario Consumers Home Services, a door-to-door sales company until August 2016.
He is listed on Ontario’s Consumer Beware List under the following corporations:
- In 2020, he received 2 charges for fail to take reasonable care as director of Ontario Stars Corporation (Ontario Safety Standards) of under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002.
- In 2020 and 2021, he received 97 charges for fail to take reasonable care as director of Safety Standards Group Inc (Canadian Safety Standards)
- In October 2021, his company Ontario Green Savings’ director George Elias Nehme received 19 charges for failure to take reasonable care as director.
2016 hit-and-run
Saeed Moravvej Torbati was the suspect of a hit-and-run in Scarborough in 2016 that killed a 56-year-old woman. As published in the Toronto Star, Judge Himel summarized the facts of the case in her June 9 decision:
When Torbati realized he hit someone, he drove through the intersection, stopped his car, got out and went over to look at the deceased lying on the ground, appeared panicked and drove off.
Torbati left the scene without identifying himself, drove to a nearby parking lot and took an Uber home. He contacted a lawyer, who advised him he had no obligation to do anything. He also booked a plane ticket to his native Iran.
The next day, he retrieved his car and, after further consultation with a lawyer, surrendered to Toronto police on April 3, 2016, and was charged with fail to remain.
At the time of the accident, Torbati was travelling 15 kilometres over the speed limit, but was proceeding with the flow of traffic. No criminal or driving offences were laid.
He turned himself in to police the next day. He was charged with:
- (found not guilty) Fail to stop at the scene of an accident contrary to s. 252(1.3) (b) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46.
- (found guilty) Breach of a condition of an undertaking contrary to s. 145(5.1) of the Criminal Code.
Saeed was acquitted in June 2021. Judge Himel believed the defence’s position that Torbati was suffering from PTSD, and seeing the women he struck reminded him of the death of his father in a car crash in Iran at the age of 13.
According to the judge’s summary, he is divorced from his first wife, an Ottawa woman, and they have a daughter. He is said to be in a second relationship that produced twin daughters in 2020.
Saeed maintains multiple websites, posts on Medium, YouTube, Reddit and other sites, and publishes press releases, presumably once again to push the news of the hit-and-run and other bad press down in Google’s results.
Complaints and legal actions against Ontario Green Savings and associated companies
CBC Marketplace hidden camera catches HVAC scam in action
In January 2021, CBC Go Public and Marketplace exposed deceptive sales tactics being used by a salesperson representing Ontario Green Savings to push a homeowner into signing an appliance rental contract, stating:
You have to get it replaced within the next six days,” he said, explaining that once the tank hits 10 years, insurance will no longer cover any damage. “So if anything happens, I’m liable. I’ve seen the tank … Insurance won’t cover that s–t“
Pretending to be endorsed by the Ontario Energy Board
On June 25, 2021, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), which regulates electricity and natural gas utilities, published a consumer alert about Ontario Green Savings and associated accounts such as @energyassistanceprogram and energyassistanceprogram.org that refer to the “Energy Assistance Program” or the “Assistance Program” after receiving complaints from consumers about emails that appears to be affiliated with or endorsed by the OEB.
The OEB will not email you or call you about energy rebates unless you have reached out to us first and an energy assessment or home inspection is required to apply or qualify for CEAP, OESP or LEAP.
On July 2021, Halton Hills Hydro alerted their customers that Energy Assistance Program or Ontario Green Savings were promoting energy rebates and appear to be using Ontario Energy Board logo, name and images and asking for personal information and promising rebates after a home visit.
Selling $40,000 worth of contracts to a blind woman (CTV report)
In November 2021, Ontario Green Savings sold a legally blind, legally deaf senior who struggled with mental illness 3 long-term contracts after she had responded to an advertisement on Facebook promoting government rebates if she made upgrades to her home. They also placed a lien on her home.
She was told there would be rebates coming monthly, she never did get a rebate and couldn’t afford the monthly payments.
After the report was published by CTV, Ontario Green Savings offered the customer to buy out the 3 contracts and remove the lien on her home for a total of $9,500.
Selling 12-year contract after Facebook ad response (Orillia Today)
In September 2021, a 61-year old Master’s degree holder was sold a 12-year contract after he responded to a Facebook ad for tankless water heaters and signed a contract he was sent electronically. A lien was placed on his home.
Selling $40,000 in contracts door-to-door in 2019 (Global News)
Susan Giffen of Mississauga remembers being sold a 12-year contract with Ontario Green Savings for a new furnace, air conditioner and HEPA filter by a door-to-door salesperson in 2019, a year after Ontario banned door-to-door sales of specific home equipment including air conditioners, furnaces and water heaters.
Ontario Safety Standards sells $1,800 water softener for $6,000 (Ottawa Citizen)
Two Ottawa women complained to the Ottawa Citizen that Ontario Safety Standards sold them 10-year contracts at $59.99 per month for water softeners door-to-door that would see them pay $6,000 over its course for a unit valued at $1,800. After the story was published, one of the women had the water softener removed at no charge.
Operating without a business license in Alberta
Service Alberta’s Consumer Investigations Unit ordered Canadian Home Improvement Credit Corporation (CHICC) to stop direct selling until an appropriate business licence had been obtained.
How much does it cost to rent from Ontario Green Savings?
In November 2021, the prices charged by Ontario Green Savings for a:
- HEPA filter was $68.79 per month for a contract total of $8,134.80
- Tankless water heater was $96.04 for a contract total of $13,520.10
- Furnace was $173.99 per month for a contract total of $23,546.05
Further reading: Is renting a water heater worth it?
Ontario Green Savings contract
If you are or have been a customer of Ontario Green Savings, please help us improve this article by sending us a copy of the contract.
How to cancel a Ontario Green Savings contract?
First, know your rights under the Ontario Consumer Protection Act when signing or cancelling a contract and more specifically, when dealing with door-to-door sales and home service contracts.
If you have a rental contract through Ontario Green Savings or any associated company, you have a few options:
- 10 day cooling off period – You can cancel a contract for any reason within 10 days of receiving a written copy of the agreement.
- False/misleading representations – If the business has represented their goods or services in a false, misleading or deceptive way, you can cancel the contract and get a full refund within 1 year by sending a written request to the business.
You can also report instances of misleading or deceptive marketing practices to the Competition Bureau using the online complaint form or by telephone at 1-800-348-5358. - Posing as a government representative – If the salesperson falsely posed as a representative of a legitimate corporation such as Enbridge or Google or a government entity or program such as the Ontario Energy Board or Green Homes Grant, report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-855-495-8501 or contact local police.
- Missing contract information – If the contract was from a salesperson either at your door or in your home and does not include specific information about the goods or service and your rights as a consumer (see Requirements for Direct Agreements), you can cancel the contract within 1 year of entering into the agreement.
- Failure to refund – If the business fails to refund you, you’re outside the 1 year timeframe, or you think the company has broken the law in the Consumer Protection Act, file a complaint with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. Charges that are commonly laid against these kinds of companies include:
- Unfair Practice – False Misleading
- Fail to Refund
- Direct Agreement – Fail to Deliver Valid Contract
- Door-to-door selling (banned under section 43.1 of the Consumer Protection Act)
- Leave an honest review on Trustpilot. Other customers have reported having their rebate and contract buyout issues resolved after leaving 1 star reviews there.
- Failure to provide rebate/buyout/device as promised – Report this fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
- Contact the media (eg. CBC Go Public) and ask them to publish your story. Customers who have had their stories published usually have their contract concerns resolved.
- Have a lawyer do a title check to see if any illegal liens have been registered against your property: https://www.ontariohvacscam.com
- Buyout the contract
Note: Section 184 of the Criminal Code states that recording private conversations is legal as long as one of the parties involved in the call consents to the recording.
Contact
Ontario Green Savings
- Web: https://ontariogreensavings.com/
- Email: info@ontariogreensavings.com
- Phone: 1 866 899 9917
- Mail: 100 King Street West, Suite 5700 Toronto, Ontario M5X 1C7
Green Savings Group
- Web: https://greensavingsgroup.org/
- Email: info@greensavingsgroup.org
- Phone: 1 866 899 9917
- Mail: 100 King Street West, Suite 5700 Toronto, Ontario M5X 1C7
Customer reviews
stay away
Have been trying for over a week to get in touch with them to have my furnace cleaned for the winter. Left 3 message a day to customer service and the service department. Have sent 3 e-mail to various people since Sept 12/23. No response. Terrible service. I give them 0
Terrible service.
I have left 3 message plus a day since Sept 12/23 with customer service and service dept. No reply. Have also sent several e-mails and still no response. They have cleaned my furnace 2 years in a row. Now they are not responding.
Looking for people to join me in a class action suit
Please get in touch with me if you want to form a class action suit against these scammers
73slang@gmail.com
Shannon Langford
Terrible
I contracted with these unscrupulous people in September 2017 and I finally started formal proceedings in Jan 2021) I have taken Ontario Safety Standards, aka Ontario Stars, if not predecessors or ugly step siblings to Ontario green savings (Ontario green savings is the front and provides all information now), to court. They keep changing their name to avoid the legal system. I won my case over a year ago and like gum on your shoe these unscrupulous people are still making life difficult. They are not legitimate in any way. The equipment was not what was described, I did not receive a government rebate, a lien was placed on my home, I have not received my money back as per court order and I have paid an obscene amount of money. And now they are trying to strong arm and scare me (seriously) with threat of litigation. The thermostat and energy saver (surge protector) were kept administered by this company and the air conditioner contract is now owned by reliance who will not give an inch on the 10 year contract.
Would give 0 if I could
They start off masquerading as a government off shoot. They assure you that you will get a $5000.00 rebate check from the government of Ontario for “going green”,saving energy with their amazing equipment. When you never receive the rebate check from the government they continue to gas light you. Then when you phone for maintenance, they come back and insist that another piece of equipment needs to be installed, at a low monthly cost of …$$$
To make the equipment they installed work properly we had to PAY TO HAVE ANOTHER PIECE OF EQUIPMENT INSTALLED. Now we are still stuck with a boiler that turns on in the middle of summer, and a water heater that takes 5+ minutes to heat up in summer…and when we asked for maintenance they offered another piece of equipment!!!!!
https://gofund.me/337810e3
Leave a review or submit a complaint
If you have experience with Ontario Green Savings, we’re interested to know your thoughts. How long have you been with them and what do you think about their service, contracts and value? Let us know by leaving a review and sharing your experience below!
