An Ottawa couple wonders how valuable the Better Business Bureau's approval is after they were allegedly defrauded of thousands of dollars despite choosing a company accredited by the group.

Norm Avery, 79, and his wife Ruth hired Ottawa Construction and Renovation Inc. to fix up their carport last spring after seeing that the firm was accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

Norm and Ruth Avery said they ended up with a hole in their wallets and a hole in the roof of their carport after hiring a company that the Better Business Bureau reported had no complaints against it.
(CBC)

The Averys also called the bureau and learned that the company had no complaints against it. The couple handed $8,000 to the contractors for a project workers allegedly abandoned after cutting a large hole in the roof of the carport.

"We've always known that the BBB were there and that they had a good reputation," Ruth Avery said. "I'm questioning it now."

The contractors, Chris Patterson, 27, of Gatineau, Que., and Alan Preston, 35, of Ottawa, were two of three men charged this week with renovation fraud worth close to $1 million, according to Ottawa police.

The men were arrested following complaints by more than a dozen seniors, including the Averys, who found another contractor to finish their carport project in time for winter.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Company accredited in 2005

The Better Business Bureau of Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais has pulled its accreditation from Ottawa Construction and Renovation.

Diane Iadeluca said the company hired by the Averys had no complaints against it when it was accredited by the Better Business Bureau in 2005.
(CBC)

However, president and CEO Diane Iadeluca denies the bureau made a mistake in granting the business its approval in 2005.

"They had no complaints," she said.

The Better Business Bureau is a not-for-profit organization that aims to promote trust between businesses and consumers by requiring that businesses meet certain standards of reliability.

Before granting accreditation to a business, Iadeluca said the bureau:

• Verifies the company's ownership and contact information.
• Does a police check.
• Ensures there is no government or other action against it.
• Makes sure there are no links with the owner of a company that had a poor record in the past.
• Checks that it has no outstanding or unresolved customer complaints.

The organization also collects an annual fee of up to $1,000 a year from accredited businesses, but Iadeluca said she does not think that puts the organization in a conflict of interest.

She said despite the Averys' experience, consumers should rely on the bureau's accreditation because it comes with strict guidelines.

"But also … I encourage them to look at other sources and also to do their due diligence when the person, the contractor is actually in their home," she said.

Iadeluca also warned that while the bureau tries to be vigilant about cracking down on companies that use the Better Business Bureau logo illegally, people should always check a company with them directly instead of relying on the logo alone.

On Feb. 5, Ottawa police announced that they had charged Patterson, Preston and Michael Alivisatos, 49, of Ottawa with fraud, possession of proceeds obtained by crime and participating in or contributing to a criminal organization.

Alivisatos was also charged with intimidation and Preston was also charged with mischief.

The alleged fraud took place between 2002 and 2007 under several different contracting companies and included inflated estimates, advanced fees for work not done, salespersons using false names and aggressive sales tactics, police said.