Duct cleaning calls in Ontario: why you keep getting them and how to stop them

The duct cleaning calls Ontario households get are telemarketing, often placed by call centres on behalf of local crews, and the federal regulator has penalised duct cleaning companies over them. You can cut them down by putting your number on the National Do Not Call List, which is free, and by reporting the ones that keep coming. You should not book from one. This guide explains who is calling, what the regulator found, how to stop the calls, and what to do if you have already said yes.

What the call sounds like

An unfamiliar number, sometimes a local one. A scripted voice offers a whole-house duct cleaning for $99 or $129 and says a crew is "in your area this week." If you say no, the same offer arrives from a different number a few weeks later.

Who is actually calling

In March 2015 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the CRTC, announced the result of its investigations into air duct cleaning telemarketing. Four air duct cleaning companies "paid a total of $55,000" as part of settlements. The CRTC issued notices of violation with penalties "totalling $94,000 to five other air duct cleaning companies." It also "issued notices of violation and warning letters to seven call centres located in Pakistan, India and the U.S."

The companies had made unsolicited telemarketing calls without being registered with the National Do Not Call List operator. The CRTC's chief compliance and enforcement officer at the time, Manon Bombardier, said: "The telemarketing calls made by these air duct cleaning companies generated a large number of complaints by Canadians."

That is the structure behind the call. A call centre, sometimes overseas, works through phone numbers and books appointments. A local crew turns up to do the job. A 2013 CBC Marketplace investigation found the telemarketers used spoofed phone numbers to hide where they were calling from, which is why blocking one number does so little.

Is it a scam, or just a cheap service?

Judge it by what the price can pay for. A proper cleaning of a house takes two technicians, a truck-mounted vacuum and about an hour and a half. That cannot be sold for $99.

Marketplace hired several Toronto duct cleaners through these calls and filmed them with hidden cameras. In two homes the crews finished in about an hour and charged $115 and $99 before tax. The expert who inspected the work found one duct with close to four centimetres of dust before the cleaning and, in his words, "it hasn't moved, not even an inch" afterwards. One worker said his boss gave him an hour per job and booked as many as eight in a day.

The money in a visit like that comes from the upsell: "mould" found in the first ten minutes, a sanitizing charge of several hundred dollars, or a furnace that suddenly needs replacing.

How to stop the calls

1. Put your number on the National Do Not Call List

Go to lnnte-dncl.gc.ca and register your home, mobile, fax or VoIP number. The list's own site says: "Registration is free. Telemarketers have 31 days from the date you register to stop contacting you."

2. Know what the list does not cover

The same site is clear that registering "will reduce but not eliminate all unsolicited calls." Some callers are exempt: Canadian registered charities, political parties and candidates, survey and polling firms, and newspapers selling subscriptions. So is a business you already deal with. You have an existing business relationship with a company if you bought from it in the last eighteen months, or asked it about a product or service in the last six months. That is why a company you asked for a quote is allowed to follow up.

A duct cleaning call centre you have never dealt with is not exempt.

3. Report the ones that keep calling

If the calls continue more than 31 days after you registered, file a complaint on the National Do Not Call List site. Write down the date and time of the call, the number shown, and any company name the caller gives. The CRTC said the calls behind the 2015 penalties had generated a large number of complaints.

4. Hang up

You do not owe the caller a conversation. Do not confirm your address or say when you are home. If the caller claims to be from a company you know, hang up and call the number on that company's own website.

5. If you paid and were cheated

Report it to your local police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which takes reports online from victims and from witnesses.

If you already booked from one of these calls

You can cancel. If you decide to let them come, do these four things first.

• Get the legal business name and address. Then look the company up before the crew arrives, not after.
• Ask whether the company is certified, and check. The CNADCA member directory is public. Our guide to what certified means in Canada explains what a listing does and does not prove.
• Get the total for the whole house in writing. Not a price per vent, and not a price "from."
• Decide in advance that you will not pay for extras on the spot. If a technician announces dangerous mould, ask for photos and the source of the moisture, and get a second opinion.

How a real booking differs

• You start it. You look the company up, ask for the price and choose the date.
• The price is for the house, and it is written down. Ours is $399 to $499 before HST for a house with one furnace, by size. The online quote shows the price on the screen before you book anything.
• The company can be checked. A name, a street address and a certification you can verify. Ours are Air Force Shield, 855 Alness St #13 in North York, and CNADCA ID CA-00153.
• You see the work. Before-and-after photos, emailed to you.
• The visit is long enough to do the job. About an hour and a half for a house.

For the full list of warning signs and what a proper cleaning includes, read air duct cleaning in the GTA: when it is worth it, costs and scams. For how to compare companies, read how to choose a duct cleaning company.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are duct cleaning calls a scam?

Many are. A whole-house cleaning cannot be done properly for $99, and a CBC Marketplace investigation found crews booked this way spent about an hour and left the dust where it was. The CRTC has penalised duct cleaning companies for the calls themselves.

How do I stop duct cleaning calls?

Register your number on the National Do Not Call List at lnnte-dncl.gc.ca, which is free. Telemarketers have 31 days to stop. If calls continue after that, file a complaint on the same site with the date, time and number.

Why do I still get calls after joining the Do Not Call List?

The list reduces calls but does not eliminate them. Charities, political parties, pollsters, newspapers and businesses you have dealt with recently are exempt, and some call centres ignore the rules. Those are the ones to report.

Is it illegal for a duct cleaning company to cold-call me?

Telemarketers must register with the National Do Not Call List operator and stop calling numbers on the list within 31 days. In 2015 the CRTC announced settlements and penalties involving nine air duct cleaning companies over calls made without being registered.

What should I do if I already booked a $99 duct cleaning?

You can cancel. If you go ahead, get the legal business name and the total price in writing first, check the company's certification, and do not agree to extras such as mould treatment on the spot.

Who do I report a duct cleaning scam to?

Report unwanted calls to the National Do Not Call List. If you paid and were cheated, report it to your local police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.