Certified Windows' owner speaks, customers still waiting on windows
Lee Ann DesRosiers ordered two screen doors and all of her windows to be replaced through Certified Windows. That was May 4, 2018.
When DesRosiers signed the contract she opted to use Financeit, a third party loan company, for the $19,315.00 it would cost to have everything replaced.
Six months later, she is still waiting for the items to be delivered and installed, but said Financeit told her it will start taking payments for the purchase starting in February 2019.
She asked Financeit not to take out any money, because she did not get the windows and doors she ordered. It responded by providing her with a signed letter of completion, which indicates the work has been done — it has her signature.
"I pride myself on is making sure I read all the paperwork and all of that kind of stuff," DesRosiers said. "There's no way I remember signing this paperwork."
She also said she was careful and did not provide a deposit, plus she did her homework by researching Certified's rating on the Better Business Bureau and knew some people who had good experiences with the company. At the time, the company was in good standing with the BBB. (That has since changed and Certified Windows is no longer BBB Accredited.)
After no one showed up to install her windows on the first installation date, she grew concerned. DesRosiers said she contacted the company and was given another installation date. After that came and went, she filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and with the Siding & Window Dealers Association Of Canada.
"They've given me three different install dates. Of course, none of them came to fruition," DesRosiers said, showing her old windows that have yet to be replaced.
She has also contacted the Windsor Police Service. DesRoisers said her next step will be contacting a lawyer.
"I just want it cleared so I don't owe anybody anything, so that I can go to door and window company number two and see how we make out with those folks," she said.
Three other customers with similar stories have contacted CBC News in recent days. They also used Financeit to pay for their windows, either in part or in full. They all say they have not received their purchases and that Financeit is going to start taking payments in 2019.
The vice president of operations for Financeit said in a statement, "The situation is under investigation and we can not provide a response to your inquiry at this time."
Certified Window's owner speaks
The owner of Certified Windows responded to a CBC News request for comment with a written statement. Craig O'Brien said he has been away from work for the past year and half because of serious health issues.
O'Brien also blames the province's cancelled green energy rebate program for creating problems. He says he was "assured by GreenOn" that all his customers would be able to qualify for rebates, but that changed after the cancellation. That's when it was announced that existing window orders needed to be fulfilled by a certain date in order for the customers to still receive a rebate.
"Once the GreenOn deadline [for installation] was introduced we stopped taking new orders based on major concerns of the newly introduced deadline," he said.
O'Brien said he is forming a team to prepare to starting installation as soon as this weekend, after closing the doors of the business in recent weeks.
"We stopped installations for a few days in hopes to protest a the removal of GreenOn deadlines," he said.
"We intend to clean up all [outstanding] complaints and contracts," he added.
GreenOn
"A number of people" have called Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Percy Hatfield's office, expressing their concerns about Certified Windows. Hatfield said he has followed up with the ministry dealing with the GreenOn program.
"The ministry tells us they're not going to extend any deadlines. Even though it may not be the customers' fault or even the companies' fault." he said. "They've already extended the deadline once, so they aren't going to do anything about it now."
Hatfield said a lot of other companies have done their best to get their orders in, but "nobody as far as I know has run into the same problems as the customers of this one company."
Siding & Window Dealers Association Of Canada's executive director Jason Neal said in a statement, "SAWDAC has close to 500 GreenOn qualified dealers under this program and only Certified Windows in Windsor is in this predicament with their customers."
He said, as an association, they are working with window manufacturers, Financeit, Windsor police and the agency that developed the GreenOn program to get windows installed as soon as possible.
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks confirmed Certified Windows has not submitted any application to the GreenOn online submission system.
Meanwhile, Windsor police released a statement Thursday. Without naming any company, it says it has received 25-30 complaints about a "window installation company ... all involving the same business, and all reporting similar circumstances."
It's encouraging other customers with complaints to call investigators.
