MONTREAL — At the start of winter, Pro-Neige was considered one of the largest snow-removal companies in Montreal; its website boasted a fleet of 45 trucks.
The website is now down, and when you visit the company’s head office in Pointe-aux-Trembles, all you’ll find is an abandoned building.
Stephane Fayle is one of hundreds of Pro-Neige customers who are saying the firm has ripped them off.
Since the New Year, he said the snow at his home on Duchesneau Street has not been cleared.
READ MORE: Homeowners claim snow removal company not honouring contracts
His cheque to the company, he told Global News, has already been cashed.
“I feel betrayed.”
“Now I have to wake up at four in the morning to shovel my driveway for my wife,” Fayle said.
That feeling of betrayal led to a near-physical confrontation last Thursday.
An angry customer who contacted Global News said he almost came to blows with a company official in the city’s Mercier district.
“They still take out the snow for their bigger customers.”
He also filmed Pro-Neige workers removing snow at a commercial building.
“The smaller contracts, the homeowners, have been tossed aside,” he said.
WATCH: Snow removal scam in Montreal
On Monday, a spokesperson for the Quebec consumer protection agency told Global News it is now looking into the case.
“We’re still examining all the complaints to see what will be the course of action we take.”
“We’ve received about 30 complaints regarding Pro-Neige,” said spokesperson Charles Tanguay.
“And another 12 complaints about another company linked to them.”
Global News tried to speak with Martin Teoli, the president of Pro-Neige, at his luxury home in Repentigny Monday.
He declined to comment.
It’s believed Teoli is in financial difficulty but as of Monday afternoon, he has not made any formal request for bankruptcy protection.
Meantime, smaller snow-removal companies are benefitting from the controversy.
Eric McDonald from SRS Snow Removal told Global News he has received 20 to 30 phone calls from former Pro-Neige customers in recent days.
“Don’t go with the biggest, go with the best. “
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