City warns of ongoing door-to-door water filter scams

By Lauren McIvor 

Don Noel was at home in Ottawa with his wife when a couple of men knocked on the door last September.

The 65-year-old had recently switched his medications to one that he said made him “weak-minded.”

Noel said he was scammed out of thousands of dollars — an example of the type of door-to-door scams that city officials are once again warning consumers about.

Noel said the salespeople claimed that Ottawa Hydro had provided them with his name, and that he was eligible for a program sponsored by the “Ontario Energy Support Program.”

He was told that if he got a carbon water filter installed, it would save him money on electricity. He agreed to have it installed later that evening.

The salespeople, Noel said, worked for an organization called Ontario Safety Standards. He signed a contract for equipment that he thought would help save him some cash.

Now Noel said he is on the hook for monthly payments of more than $120.

“Now if you think about it, what does the water condition have to do with electricity at all? It doesn’t,” Noel said.

Noel had two devices installed by Ontario Safety Standards. One is an HEPA filter, which is a type of mechanical air filter. Months later, Noel is still unsure what the second device is.

After having second thoughts, he tried calling the morning after installation to request that the equipment be removed, but was told that the only way to get out of the monthly payments would be to buy out of the contract, which would cost him around $4,500.

Noel was receiving money from the Ontario Disability Support Program at the time. He said it was his sole source of income.

Noel said he now has to face the consequences of the financial impact.

“It makes me feel stupid,” he said.

It isn’t the first time that this has happened.

Jordan King, CEO of the Ottawa Better Business Bureau, said there are currently 24 reportable complaints against Ontario Safety Standards, the organization that Noel signed his contract with.

“We’ve had a pattern of complaints with regards to sales practice issues,” he said about the company.

Centretown News tried to contact Ontario Safety Standards by phone, but did not receive a response. In September, CBC in Ottawa attempted to contact the company, too, only receiving a response after a story about Ontario Safety Standards had been published online. According to the CBC, Ontario Safety Standards later maintained that an alleged victim whose story had appeared “was not misled by its salespeople.”

The salespeople often claim that they’re officials, or work for the municipality, said Ian Douglas, a water quality engineer with the City of Ottawa.

He said that official city staff don’t just show up and knock on people’s doors, and that they always phone ahead and carry identification.

Many of the claims made by door-to-door salespeople about the quality of water that comes from the taps are false, Douglas said.

Douglas said that it’s best not to invite any door-to-door salespeople into your home.

“We do all the testing of water quality in the city, and we also respond to customer complaints,” he said. “If people are concerned about their water quality or want to test it, we take care of that.”