334:(then-owner of what is now Enercare) in 2012, alleging both companies engaged in anti-competitive behaviour by providing customers limited locations and time windows if they wished to return their rentals, and charging "unwarranted" cancellation fees. Reliance defended its policies, asserting that it was intended to help protect consumers against what it called aggressive tactics by competing rental suppliers. The company settled its part of the complaint in 2014 by agreeing to make it easier for customers to cancel their rentals and paying a $ 5 million administrative penalty.
27:
256:
to pre-install gas-powered water heaters, which the providers would agree to subsidize and maintain in exchange for a monthly rental charge on each homeowner's gas bill. This practice of renting water heaters, as opposed to purchasing them, became widespread in
Ontario, but is not common elsewhere in
326:
has noted that purchasing a water heater outright "can result in substantial savings over time" compared to rental. However, Reliance and other rental companies argue that because their rentals include maintenance, including replacement parts and labour, they can provide peace of mind for consumers.
245:, which served much of Ontario. Reliance's main Ontario competitor, Enercare, has a similar origin as the rental business of Toronto-area utility Consumers' Gas. (The utility operations of both Union and Consumers' are now part of
283:
Around the time of the Alinda purchase in 2007, Reliance also purchased security companies Voxcom and
Protectron, operating them under the "Reliance Protectron" name until selling the operations to
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294:
Since the sale of
Protectron, Reliance has refocused on home maintenance services, including expansion into western Canada. It also acquired competitor National Home Services from
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Some homeowners have alleged that
Reliance has used fallacious collections actions to attempt to extract payments for goods and services not provided.
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528:
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637:
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Although not specific to
Reliance, the water heater rental business model has been noted as being a poor value for many consumers. The federal
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rights from Union Gas and Hydro One were close to expiring. The fund was purchased in 2007 by Alinda
Capital Partners for $ 1.74 billion.
886:
796:
719:
441:
666:"UE Waterheater Income Fund introduces new consumer brand identity: Reliance Home Comfort [News release - June 14, 2005]"
314:. It also offers maintenance and repair plans for heating and cooling systems, as well as for plumbing and electrical systems.
906:
691:
468:
260:
Due to regulatory changes, Union Gas' unregulated water heater business was split off in 1999 as a sister company named
276:
in 2003. Beginning in 2005, the company converted its retail operations to the new
Reliance Home Comfort brand, as its
222:
156:
665:
847:
272:'s retail rental division Ontario Hydro Energy. The combined operation was then spun off as the UE Waterheater
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In addition to water heater rentals (and sales in some areas), Reliance sells, rents, installs, and maintains
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125:
555:
414:
825:
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Beginning in the mid-20th century, Ontario gas providers such as
Consumers' and Union would work with
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in 2014. Reliance was then purchased from Alinda by the CK group in 2017 for $ 2.8 billion.
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and the United States. As of 2017, it served 1.7 million customer households across Canada.
26:
311:
277:
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389:
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848:"Collection agencies hound seniors for rental water heater they never agreed to"
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273:
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214:
826:"Competition Bureau strengthens competition in Ontario's water heater industry"
35:
269:
242:
210:
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59:
801:
751:
612:"Union Energy Inc. purchases retail assets from Ontario Hydro Energy Inc"
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246:
195:
108:
90:
747:"Telus buys Canadian operations of home security firm ADT for $ 700M"
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746:
871:
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is a residential and commercial services company headquartered in
168:
418:
140:
504:"Competition Bureau clears Reliance's acquisition of National"
720:"ADT secures larger Canadian market share in Protectron deal"
330:
The
Competition Bureau filed complaints against Reliance and
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systems. The company has its largest base of operations in
797:"Water heater companies targeted by competition watchdog"
363:"Li family buys Reliance Home Comfort for $ 2.8-billion"
824:
Competition Bureau (press release) (November 6, 2014).
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primarily focused on rental, sales and maintenance of
897:
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies
583:
Parkinson, David; Stueck, Wendy (October 23, 2001).
529:"Pros and cons of renting vs. buying a water heater"
163:
147:
132:
118:
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85:
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45:
33:
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205:Reliance is currently controlled by the family of
585:"Epcor Utilities snaps up Westcoast Energy units"
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490:
287:in 2014. ADT Canada was subsequently acquired by
522:
520:
638:"Epcor files for IPO of water heater business"
268:for about $ 160 million, later also acquiring
469:"Enbridge and Spectra Energy Complete Merger"
8:
685:
683:
578:
576:
264:. Union Energy was then acquired in 2001 by
19:
692:"Alinda to buy UE Waterheater for $ 1.74B"
217:, through two of their holding companies,
192:heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
25:
18:
356:
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352:
350:
346:
892:Canadian companies established in 1999
16:Canadian water heater and HVAC company
502:(press release) (November 17, 2014).
190:, water purification, smart home and
7:
392:. Salmon Plumbing. 21 September 2019
209:–based Chinese-Canadian businessman
20:Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership
776:"Maintenance and Protection Plans"
237:rental business formerly owned by
14:
361:Willis, Andrew (March 31, 2017).
690:Valorzi, John (April 16, 2007).
233:Reliance has its origins in the
440:Nguyen, Lily (March 28, 2001).
846:CBC News (February 14, 2022).
718:Erman, Boyd (April 30, 2014).
1:
527:Engen, Robb (June 10, 2014).
475:. Enbridge. February 27, 2017
442:"Takeover energizes Enbridge"
390:"Water Heaters, Rent or Buy?"
62:water heater rental division
902:Service companies of Canada
72:; 25 years ago
923:
887:Companies based in Toronto
223:CK Infrastructure Holdings
198:, but also has offices in
157:CK Infrastructure Holdings
143:rental, sales and service
24:
616:Power Grid International
774:Reliance Home Comfort.
415:"Enercare: Who We Are"
907:CK Hutchison Holdings
473:Enbridge Media Centre
302:Products and services
180:Reliance Home Comfort
41:Reliance Home Comfort
235:storage water heater
111:and major cities in
805:. December 20, 2012
646:. November 11, 2003
421:on October 24, 2020
169:reliancehomecomfort
50:Limited partnership
21:
725:The Globe and Mail
643:The Globe and Mail
590:The Globe and Mail
500:Competition Bureau
447:The Globe and Mail
368:The Globe and Mail
324:Competition Bureau
755:. October 2, 2019
219:CK Asset Holdings
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152:CK Asset Holdings
81:(as Union Energy)
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853:February 14,
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534:Toronto Star
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423:. Retrieved
419:the original
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262:Union Energy
261:
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137:Water heater
104:Areas served
86:Headquarters
46:Company type
556:"Union Gas"
479:October 10,
296:Just Energy
274:Income Fund
239:natural gas
215:Li Ka-shing
56:Predecessor
881:Categories
341:References
221:(75%) and
120:Key people
36:Trade name
672:April 25,
622:April 25,
318:Criticism
291:in 2019.
270:Hydro One
243:Union Gas
211:Victor Li
207:Hong Kong
93:, Ontario
60:Union Gas
802:CBC News
752:CBC News
308:furnaces
257:Canada.
247:Enbridge
241:utility
133:Products
229:History
225:(25%).
196:Ontario
164:Website
109:Ontario
91:Toronto
75: (
67:Founded
184:Canada
148:Owners
97:Canada
289:Telus
266:Epcor
159:(25%)
154:(75%)
855:2022
833:2020
811:2020
783:2020
761:2020
733:2020
705:2020
674:2023
652:2020
624:2023
598:2020
567:2020
542:2020
511:2020
481:2017
455:2020
427:2020
398:2020
376:2020
310:and
171:.com
141:HVAC
139:and
77:1999
70:1999
285:ADT
249:.)
126:CEO
883::
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682:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
