Article content

In February 2017, a door-to-door company called Ontario Safety Standards sold Carol Baas a water softener she didn’t need, at $59 a month for 10 years, an agreement that looked both bad and iron-clad.

Only 41 days later, before she received her first bill, a lien was slapped on her east-end property for any future unpaid amounts, potentially in excess of $8,000.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or EGAN: Woman saved from paying $8K for unwanted water softener, judge kills door-to-door contract Back to video

First Baas got mad — “kicked myself in the pants” — then Baas went about getting even.

On June 22 — after months of stress — she won a court case that nullified the agreement, a decision that she says holds out hope for anyone in a similar position.

“I’m hoping to help others get out of their mess,” she said Monday. “I’ve kicked myself in the pants for you don’t want to know how long for signing this.”

Without using a lawyer, Baas convinced small claims court Deputy Judge Hank Witteveen she was deceived about the merits of a water softener that was installed the day after three salesmen showed up, unannounced, at her door. Among their claims was that Ottawa had substandard municipal water that was a health risk, she says.