Resources + Tips

Top Tips to Avoid Furnace and Duct Cleaning Scams

Unfortunately, the furnace & duct cleaning industry attract a lot of scammers. They seek out consumers in search of a good deal, and may use heavy handed sales tactics to walk away with your money. At best they may leave you with a poor cleaning job, and at worst, significant damage to your home.

Home services scams come in many forms, but the top three we hear about are:

Online & Social Media Scams

Kijiji and online Facebook buy/sell groups are favourite places for scammers online. They may use a legitimate or well known company name, but insist that you communicate with them through a Facebook profile or email address that does not seem linked to the company. If they are offering a deal that seems too good to be true, and asking for a credit card deposit to secure your appointment, it’s a good idea to avoid. Also, if you see posts in a familiar community group, check when the user joined the group – often they will join a group and then immediately and loudly start promoting their service, which may not be of high quality.

High Pressure, Illegal Telemarketing

If you are on the Canada Do Not Call Registry, and receive a telephone call from a company who you have never done business with, it is illegal, and a sign that the company is not above board. Sometimes smaller local companies will contract high pressure out of country call centres to do “lead generation” through telemarketing – always try to find out if you are actually dealing with a company directly, or with a third party service and never provide your credit card for pre-payment.

Door to Door Sales Scammers

Scammers may come door to door offering a deal that is too good to be true, only to pressure you to buy confusing upgrades, or they may insist on coming inside, and then pressure you into high priced services without giving you time to think. Most reputable companies do not use door to door sales, but if they do, will have uniformed employees with official IDs, and a company vehicle with identifying logos.

Things to consider when choosing a carpet cleaning or furnace & duct cleaning provider, or if you are concerned you may be dealing with a scammer:

Check out their reputation – look at a number of sources – Review sites such as Google, Yelp, and Homestars can show you not only what customers are saying, but how the company responds when a customer has a complaint. Check the address the company lists on street view to see if there is actually a business there. The BBB tracks the reputation of members and non-members and provides a rating based on what they find, as well as based on consumer complaints and reviews.

Insist on talking to the company directly on the phone. A legitimate local company will be able to provide a local number to reach them during business hours.

Choose a company who has a quality/satisfaction guarantee.

If you suspect a company may not be legitimate, request a WCB Clearance letter to show that they have obtained the proper Alberta workers’ insurance to do work for you.

Request the company’s GST number and verify they are registered in the Government of Canada GST Registry

Call your city’s business license department to confirm if they are licensed to operate in your city.

NEVER provide credit card or paypal deposit online to secure a carpet or furnace cleaning appointment. In Alberta there are strict rules around pre-paying for services.