Ontario homeowners left with expensive contracts after company appears to go out of business

Several homeowners in Ontario signed contracts with Provincial Smart Home Services promising rebates for their energy efficient upgrades, but now won't receive them as the company appears to have gone out of business.

Several homeowners in Ontario signed contracts with Provincial Smart Home Services promising rebates for their energy efficient upgrades, but now won't receive them as the company appears to have gone out of business.

Last January, Uzair Shahid, of Kingston, said he was on Instagram when he saw an ad for a government rebate program through that company.

Shahid said he filled out a form online and was contacted by someone the next day.

"The person said he was from the Provincial Smart Home company so because he said 'Provincial Smart Home' I thought it was a provincial program," said Shahid.

Shahid said he signed a contract with them to get a heat pump, water heater and smart thermostat for $25,000. In return, he said he was promised $200 in gift cards, a $7,300 government rebate, zero per cent financing and a 10-year protection plan.

For months, Shahid called the company and he says he was constantly told the rebate was in the processing stage. Yet it never arrived and now, the company appears to be out of business.

"The rebate never came in, the gift cards never came in and the protection plan is almost impossible to get it," Shahid.