"I got scammed really good," Meech said.

The police are also looking into what happened.

“There’s a big web of involvement here and investigating will take time,” said Det. Const. Michael Hopkins of York Regional Police organized crime and fraud unit, who is probing Meech's incident.

He says stories like Meech's are increasingly common in York Region, with sick or vulnerable people often at the centre.

LEE MEECH’S STORY

Meech did get a HEPA filter, but not from Jamal and Alex and not for free. In what turned out to be a coincidence, on Sept. 3, 2018, a representative from a company called Simply Green Home Services came to Meech’s home and installed a HEPA filter and a new humidifier.

Simply Green told Metroland Media York Region all of its representatives attend homes with appointments, which are voice recorded.

While Meech doesn't recall making an appointment with Simply Green, the company says he contacted its inbound department on Aug. 31, 2018 to request a service call for his water softener, which was under contract with the company. An appointment was booked for the following day.

On Sept. 1, 2018, Simply Green records state a specialist “trained to observe the highest ethical standards of conduct” attended Meech’s residence to inspect the unit. During this visit, Meech ended up signing an agreement for a HEPA filter and new humidifier, which was followed by a third party verification call, during which Meech agreed to the terms and conditions.

He remembers signing a contract with a Simply Green representative, but says, based on his conversation with Jamal and Alex, he was under the impression it wasn’t going to cost him anything.

He later received a bill from Crown Crest Capital, the financial arm of Simply Green, charging him $60 per month for the filter and humidifier.

"I'm going to die. Why would I have wanted a HEPA filter if I didn't think it was free?" Meech said.

A representative from Simply Green told Metroland Media that Jamal and Alex have never been associated with Simply Green, Crown Crest Capital or any other affiliates.

“(Jamal and Alex’s) conduct is contrary to our code of conduct,” the Simply Green representative said. “We do not know who these individuals are and had no involvement in or knowledge of their activities.”

Simply Green, Crown Crest Capital and their affiliates are adamant they comply with applicable consumer protection laws and operate under a strict code of conduct.

“We were an industry leader in recent reforms that have been put into place to ensure greater consumer protection within our industry…we do not condone that type of conduct and tactics alleged to have been used by Jamal and Alex.”

In October 2018, Meech says Jamal and Alex returned to his house, saying they needed to add another part.

It was during this visit, Meech says, he suffered a heart attack and the men pushed him to sign numerous documents, binding him to a "nightmare."

"I told them, 'Oh my God I'm having a heart attack, I need to go to the hospital', but they kept saying 'No, no, this will only take a second'," Meech alleged.

Meech re-enacted the signing of the documents and alleges they flipped the pages in such a way he could only see the bottom portions where his signature was required, leaving him unable to see what he was signing.

A month after that visit, Meech received a bill and was told he owed more than $17,000 to LendCare Captial Inc. for HVAC equipment that was never installed.

Meech provided copies of the documents he signed, including a copy of a LendCare credit application.

He alleges they "slipped" the application into the pile of documents they handed him while he was in the throes of a heart attack before driving him to the hospital.

The credit application was a loan for HEPA and carbon filters in the amount of $10,170.00.

An administration fee of about $300 was added. Including an interest rate increase and an annual percentage rate hike, Meech's debt tallied more than $17,189.47.

According to an industry veteran contacted by Metroland Media York Region, the equipment he was billed for isn't worth nearly what Meech owes.

The source, who we agreed not to identify so he could speak freely, said the cost of the equipment and installation would be about $900.

Det. Hopkins said, based on Meech’s account, it appears he signed the LendCare documents "under duress."

"We come to a point where we ask whether or not this business practice was ethical?" Hopkins said.

Hopkins said he looked at the credit application and noticed the signatures — one at the top and one at the bottom — don't match.

As well, Meech's gross monthly income was written in the application as $7,500, but Meech says he is on Ontario disability support and gets $1,414 a month.

Metroland Media York Region spoke to Anthony Wicklum, manager of LendCare's in-house legal department, about Meech's credit application.

"Well, we first have to go over the file, to see whether or not it's classified as a fraud," Wicklum said.

When Metroland Media York Region asked if the company did a background check on Meech's income, Wicklum declined to comment.

Metroland Media York Region also contacted Alex and Jamal using phone numbers they gave Meech.

Alex would not disclose his last name, and said he had no knowledge of the situation.

Jamal, who said in an interview his full name is Muhammad Jamal, admitted meeting with Meech, but provided a different take on what happened.

"I didn't sell Lee the HEPA filter, it was Simply Green," he said, explaining he’d seen a Simply Green contract on Meech’s table.

He said when Meech suffered a heart attack, he and his colleague left and another man, who was in the house, took Meech to the hospital — not them.

Jamal said he and Alex are employed by Eco Energy Home Services and Meech booked an appointment with them to check his attic insulation and that's why they went to his home.

When Metroland Media York Region contacted Eco Energy Home Services Inc. the person answering the phone said she didn’t know of an employee with the name Jamal, but would get a manager to confirm.

That didn’t happen and further calls to the company weren’t returned.

Mohsin Kodwavi, operations manager at Simply Green, expressed concern and vowed that Simply Green will "further look into Meech's experience.

"We'll take (Meech's) postal code and ask neighbours and see if they were approached by other representatives as well," Kodwavi said. "It's alarming to think these guys may have illegally obtained our clientele information."

Kodwavi shared information with Det. Const. Hopkins in February.

Meanwhile, Meech is left feeling despondent.

"All I see is me losing here," he said. "I was an easy target."

PROTECT YOURSELF

Tanya Bruckmueller, a spokesperson for Enbridge, says the best way to differentiate real Enbridge employees from imposters is to remember: Enbridge doesn't solicit at the door or sell anything.

Matteo Guinci, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, says in cases where consumers have been pressured into buying certain restricted products the contract will be considered void.

A list of those restricted products can be found on the ministry’s door-to door sales and home service contracts webpage - https://www.ontario.ca/page/door-door-sales-and-home-service-contracts.

He added that consumers have the option to file a complaint with the ministry and/or seek civil action.

If you have questions or concerns about consumer rights and obligations, contact the consumer services line at 416-326-8800 or 1-800-889-9768.

Disclaimer: These poll results are not scientific. They are the informal findings of a survey presented to the readers of yorkregion.com, and reflect the opinions of those readers who have chosen to participate. The survey is available online to anyone who is interested in taking it.