CALGARY- An unlicensed contractor exposed in a Global News investigation has been caught and charged.
The investigation began last week, after the owner of Alberta Furnace Cleaning complained a new company in town was using his trade name to get business.
Grant Carlson, set up an appointment at his house and Global News was there waiting. Instead of a standard vacuum truck used for duct cleaning, a cube van drove up with a portable compressor and some hoses in the back. The truck had Ontario plates and the workers did not have a Calgary business license.
On Friday, the city license department set up a similar sting at a bait house, and confronted two men with Hvac Duct Cleaning Services.
“We simply acted as a customer, got an offer for a furnace cleaning and the business showed up,” explains Kent Pallister, chief license inspector with the City of Calgary. “We determined there was no license and we’ve charged that business under the business bylaw without being licensed.”
The company was also fined $1,000.
The workers have now applied for a license, but it hasn’t been approved. Until then, they cannot do any duct cleaning in the city.
The city doesn’t check business qualifications for this type of license because furnace duct cleaning doesn’t require workers to be registered tradesmen.
If you hire a furnace cleaner ask for qualifications, call the Better Business Bureau and Calgary 311 to check for a license.
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