Ontario Energy Group customers facing liens worth thousands of dollars

aylor Wild and his family were looking forward to moving into their new Orangeville home in February next year.

But that deal is in jeopardy after they discovered there was an $11,000 security interest on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning units (HVAC) in their old place.  Wild had to pay off that security interest commonly known as a lien to sell the house, leaving his family short on the down payment for their dream home.

"We're going to try to get our money back after the fact. Right now we have to pay it out and cut our losses and move on and battle them afterwards," the 24-year-old father of one said in an interview with CBC Toronto.

Wild is just one of many Ontarians who've run into difficulty with their HVAC rentals. In fact, water heater, furnace and air conditioner contracts are in the top 10 consumer complaints lodged with Ontario's Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, said spokesperson Sue Carroll in an email to CBC Toronto.

And the province has accused the company Wild rented the equipment from, Ontario Energy Group (OEG), as well as its owner, of more than 140 consumer-protection violations.  

Wild's own personal battle started after he sold his house and was told he had to replace his rented OEG furnace, hot water tank and central air conditioning unit because they didn't meet code.

When Ontario Energy Group installed the units in 2012 with the old owner, there was no permit taken out by the Electrical Safety Authority, Wild told CBC Toronto. 

"The units weren't inspected by the Electrical Safety Authority. They were installed improperly so there's ... multiple code infractions on the units," Wild said.

Wild and his wife took over the lease of the three-year-old units when they bought their home last year. 

He said they never got a detailed contract, so he didn't know he was taking over a 15-year rental agreement with OEG until he was told by a paralegal he had hired to help him. 

Wild hired another home services provider to replace the units at a cost of $8,000 as a condition of the house sale. 

Then he found out about the $11,000 lien on the equipment, put there by a company called Home Trust.

"I was upset, really upset," said Wild. "If you're going to make these contracts absolutely ridiculous and charge people the amount of money that you're charging people, you would think that they would at least install the equipment properly."