Today some guy came to my door saying he was with Ontario Home Services and was here to check that my furnace was up to code.  I asked what he did for houses where nobody answered the door, and he said they look at the furnace pipes outside the house.  If they're black, they're ABS and need to be changed.  I have black pipes.  He asked to come in and check the furnace.  

Sounding official, with his badge and clipboard, I (stupidly?) let him inside.  Upon seeing the furnace, he said it's not up to code, and they should replace that hot water heater with a tankless one too.

Long story short: He was a sales guy, trying to sell me on upgraded appliances.  He wasn't there on behalf of the city.  I booted him out saying he entered under false pretenses.

According to the following article in The Record, the pipes only have to be replaced if new appliances are installed, or there are cracks.  http://www.therecord.com/news-.....-water-heater-pipes/

If Ontario Home Services visits you, know that you don't have to let them in.

Yeah, I had a guy come to my door explicitly claiming to have been sent by the city of Kitchener to inspect my water heater.  It was somewhat plausible since I rent my water heater, and I knew it was due for an inspection, but I was aware of the scammers who show up at your door claiming they need to be replaced, and I assumed that if the city was going to send someone, they'd call in advance (plus, they'd show up during office hours, not at 7pm).  Last thing I needed was to let them install a new one, then be on the hook for the one that belongs to teh city, as well as the one that was installed.  I told him he wasn't coming in until I called the city to confirm, and he left with a smirk on his face, knowing I had called his bluff.

On a similar note, I actually did get suckered by a girl who said she was from Ontario Energy, but said it in such a way that she was implying it was the same as Ontario Hydro.  She said that she was just in the neighborhood switching everyone over to the "new system", where billing would be at a guaranteed rate for 5 years, blah blah blah, and she was sorry she was just getting to me, but she had been in the neighborhood all day.  Taking her at face value, I signed the papers, and read them after she left.  That's when I realized that I was agreeing to sign on with a new company (similar to Direct Energy), agreeing to pay higher rates up front with the expectation that market rates would rise later in the contract and the costs would balance out.  I got on the phone and cancelled immediately, but it just goes to show that you should never trust anyone who shows up at your door asking you to sign any kind of contract unless you specifically invited them there.

Another guy just came to my door today, from Reliance Home Comfort.  He said he was subcontracted by the City of Kitchener to inspect the water heater.  He said he wasn't selling anything and was just filing a report to the City directly.

Chicky quite smartly called the city, who told her "Don't let these people in.  It's a scam."

This is enough of a problem that the government has felt the need to warn consumers:
http://youtu.be/qTENE4yMmBg

Here's an example of how relentless they can be:
http://youtu.be/b7eVyPe2RxM