Enbridge customers say they are being charged for Enercare services they didn’t ask for. The Star contacted both companies to find out what’s going on

David and Maxine Schacker have been loyal Enbridge Gas customers since 1980, always paying their bills without question or delay.

So they were shocked to open their Enbridge bill last November to find it totalled more than $500, hundreds of dollars more than the usual amount. Upon closer examination, they found that $350 was being charged by Enercare, an energy company headquartered in Markham that offers home heating, cooling and water heating services to homeowners.

But the Schackers, who live in Toronto, have never signed a contract for Enercare services.

We have never been Enercare customers," said David, 84.

When the couple called Enbridge they were told they had been paying for Enercare services since 2019, with at least $350 paid to the company each year.

When we called Enercare, they claimed we signed up with them, by verbal agreement over the phone in 2009," Maxine said. But this never happened. They said they have an audio recording of the agreement, but our requests to both Enbridge and Enercare for a copy of the alleged recorded verbal contract have not been responded to."

Maxine said it's bizarre" the verbal agreement allegedly occurred in 2009, but they were only billed by Enbridge beginning in 2019. It makes absolutely no sense," she added.

After several hours on the phone, Enercare recently agreed to refund the couple in the form of monthly credits for two years of charges, totalling more than $600.

When the Star contacted Enercare about the situation, the company said the couple did enrol in a protection plan - which provides maintenance to HVAC equipment - in 2009, originally with Direct Energy Ontario (which Enercare acquired in 2014) via a verbal agreement over the phone.

After the Schackers complained to Enercare in November 2022, Enercare removed the plan from their account.

As a gesture of goodwill, (we) refunded two years of plan charges. This credit was applied to the account and should have already been reflected on their Enbridge bill," said Kasey Bennett, manager, external relations at Enercare, in an email to the Star.

Enbridge said if customers have a complaint with Enercare it's best to call them directly to resolve the issue, as Enercare is a separate company from Enbridge.

So why is Enbridge billing customers for services provided by an independent company?

Since 2009, Enbridge Gas has offered a third-party billing service called the Open Bill Program, which was approved by the Ontario Energy Board. The program allows other companies that sell energy-related products and services to include their charges on the Enbridge gas bill - the companies are independent and not affiliated with Enbridge.

Customers who purchase a product or service from a participating company have the option to have the charges included on their Enbridge natural gas bill. If a customer chooses this option, the charges appear in the Charges from other companies" section of the bill along with the company's name and phone number.

The Open Bill Program is perplexing for customers, like the Schackers, who have never signed a contract with Enercare, yet are seeing the company's service charges pop up on their Enbridge bills.

Customers have taken to social media to air their frustrations. Some are new homeowners who were charged for water heater rentals because the previous homeowners had a rental agreement with Enercare.

A seller of a home with an Enercare rental water heater installed has the option to transfer the rental contract to the purchaser through the agreement of purchase and sale for the home, said Enercare's Bennett. The purchaser can either accept the rental contract or reject it. If they reject it, the seller is responsible for ending the agreement with Enercare, she added.

Andrea Stass, manager, external communications and media relations at Enbridge, told the Star in an email that customers should contact the third-party services if they have questions related to that part of their bill.

However, third-party billing won't be an issue for customers for much longer.

In May 2022, Enbridge announced it would begin winding down the Open Bill Program in phases through October 2024. Enbridge would not provide a clear reason as to why the program is ending, but said in an email to the Star that the long-standing service is no longer consistent with the utility's strategic direction."

To ensure an orderly transition from the program, Enbridge Gas is providing over 19 months' advance notice to billers enrolled in the program," Stass said. Participating billers will arrange a new billing method and notify customers of that new billing method."

The move to end the program comes following a two-year inquiry by the Competition Bureau into Enercare's water heater rental contracts, policies and practices.

In 2017, the Competition Bureau launched the inquiry following numerous customer complaints over Enercare's water heater return policies and contracting practices, said Sarah Brown, senior communications adviser with the Competition Bureau.

The Competition Bureau ended its investigation in September 2019, concluding that Enercare's rental contracts don't substantially lessen or prevent competition, nor that its return policies are anti-competitive.

Several months later, however, in July 2020, the Bureau published an open letter to the Ontario Minister of Government and Consumer Services advocating for increased disclosure in rental appliance contracts.

The Bureau takes all allegations of anti-competitive conduct seriously. Should we find evidence of conduct contrary to the Competition Act, we will take appropriate action," said Sarah Brown, senior communications adviser for the Competition Bureau.

Stass would not comment on why Enbridge is ending the Open Bill Program, and whether it is tied to customer complaints over Enercare's billing policies.

But, as the Schackers point out, it's important to look under the Charges from other companies" section of your Enbridge bill to ensure the charges are accurate.

This whole process has been scandalous," said Maxine. How many other seniors and customers are being duped?"

Clarrie Feinstein is a Toronto-based business reporter for the Star. Reach Clarrie via email: clarriefeinstein@torstar.ca