Fortunately, we've had a very lean winter in terms of snowfall. I say fortunately because if we had been relying on Tony's Snowblowing for any service what-so-ever, we'd be in a terrible state.
We've had two snowfalls which would merit their actions, and both times, service has been terrible. The first snowfall, Tony didn't bother to show up at all! We waited all night, and all day, but no snowblowing. We finally phoned the next day, and their voice-mailbox was full! We couldn't even leave a message!
The next snowfall occured just a couple of days ago. Tony showed up late at night and cleared 1/2 of our driveway, didn't bother to clean around the car we have to leave parked in the other half of the driveway, and certainly didn't clear our walkway. We called again, left a message, and still haven't heard from them. TERRIBLE SERVICE.
Further digging has shown lots of unsatisfied Tony's customers:
- Canuckflack
- Bad listing in the Ottawa Better Business Bureau
- And even a news story by the CBC showing how terrible they are!
Update: March 02. We had a big snowfall today, and Tony's up to his usual tricks. Check the comments for more confirmations of Tony's terrible service. At least this time, he showed up and cleaned part of our driveway within 24 hours of the snowfall - but he left a huge swath uncleaned in front of our garage. If YOU'VE had terrible service from Tony or any other contractor, let us know! Our email address is near the top of the page, or, leave a comment!
Update: March 18. Some of the comments have mentioned a CBC story on Friday March 16 saying that Tony's has been sued! I'm only sorry there hasn't been a better opportunity for more of us to get in on the suit. I'll update as more info becomes available.
Update: September 2007. Tony has sent out a contrite letter explaining last year's issues and promising to do much better this year. I'm stunned that he would think that ANYONE would use him two years in a row. Here's a link to the letter he sent, and this year's contract. I don't understand how the contract says "Under New Management" yet the letter is signed by "Tony Putinski!!!!
Update: Dec 9, 2007. Tony's still up to his same old tricks in 2007/2008. Many many complaints are being posted to this and other blogs and forums. I'm sorry if you got caught using Tony again, and I'm sad Tony has not improved.
70 comments:
My experience is exactly similar.
These guys are a joke. It is now a full day after the biggest snowfall of the year and nobody has come and their voicemail is full.
This company will surely be out of business soon enough because people will realize how lousy they are and check them out on the internet.
There has been virtually no snow this season, they had no problem cashing our cheques and not showing up.
Hilarious, and will never see another dime from me. I will also make everyone I know in the neighbourhood aware...and I know everyone.
Signed,
Disgruntled in Riverside South
Same thing happened to me.
It's now well after 24 hours since the snow fell and Tony hasn't moved a flake. Tried calling, no answer, mailbox full.
I feel a bit better now that I know I'm not alone.
Cheers,
Tony's snowblowing is not earning a positive recommendation from my household. My sister and I strongly encouraged my mother, who is recently widowed, to hire a snowblowing service this year. After a maticulous search, my mother decided to Hire Tony's Snowblowing.
I have to say that the service has been less than stellar. On the two occaisions that it has snowed it took the company a full day to come out and do our single lane way. Today, they didn't come at all. My mother tried calling the company to make inquiries to see if they were coming, but was unable to leave a message as their box was full. As a result of her efforts, she finally decided to give up and do the lane herself.
The service is extremely poor, and I would not recommend using Tony's Snowblowing to anyone. My mother has already decided under no uncertain terms that she is going with another service provider next year.
Sadly disappointed in Nepean.
I read somewhere else that this guy has 4,000 contracts. That's close to $80,000 dollars and no work done. I consider this fraud. I paid my money and my experience is the same. I hired them because my husband has had 2 heart attacks. Guess what, my husband went out to shovel it last time, and this time, it's 1 am, the day after the snowfall, and my driveway is still full of snow. I've e-mailed them and called, never an answer. I say call the police and report this jerk. FRAUD.
He knows exactly what he's doing. Always claims breakdowns. What a con man.
Actually, if he has 4000 contracts, then that's over $800,000.
indeed...
He has been to my house 3 times this season. Must be turning a tidy profit. Bait and switch tactics are dealt with legally and his contract has been breached in many places.
The guy could do the honorable thing and hire his competitors to complete the work. However I have a suspicion that this weekend was his last in business. He may be sunning himself in Mexico right now to avoid a legal lynching...who knows.
We`ve had nothing but frustration with this joker...called three times after the last snow before he ever showed up, and our driveway is still full of snow after the last fall three days ago, we`ve called three times with no response or courtesy. His address is listed as 19 Capital Drive in Nepean, his mailbox at 797-7970 is currently full so we can`t leave any more messages (undoubtedly full of complaints).
Tony is a thief. He happily stole our money, and is now not providing any service. His answering machine says that owing to a series of unfortunate circumstances he`s running late...yeah, no kidding. The unfortunate circumstance was when we gave him a cheque.
I`ve had back surgery, but I guess I need to go out and risk injury because this joker is never going to show up. Call the fraud squad!!
P**sed off in Riverside South
You're right Rich, that's $800,000. I was so upset last night, I couldn't do the math.
If he has pulled off such a big scam, it could be his retirement funds. Most people don't complain, will just not rehire him. If he gives back some funds to the few who are the loudest voices, he may just manage to have a nice cushy retirement.
So this morning we did shovel the walk ourselves.
For anyone who's interested, his home address seems to be 24 Glenmanor Dr and his home number 613-226-7624. I got that public information from his website registration info.
For those that missed the news report on Tony’s Snowblowing, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zeBmtOnOtk
We should have checked with the BBB before signing with Tony's SCAM Snowblowing (TSS) team! Definitely a lesson learned. We should all request a pro-rated refund.
We had our first major snow fall of the season on Sunday January 14th. At 4:30am we were awoken by this huge bang, and there was a TSS plow, dragging the snow out of the end of our driveway (the car was parked at the top). The snow was dragged out into the middle of the street and left there! A PILE OF SNOW FOR OTHER CARS TO DRIVE AROUND! At least we were able to drive our car out Tuesday morning. Throughout the week, with no one showing up, numerous calls and numerous excuses, the driveway was finally cleared on Friday the 19th. FIVE DAYS LATER! We even filed a complaint with the BBB ourselves against the TSS. Yes, you read that right...FIVE DAYS LATER!
We should all use the Internet, word of mouth, and anything within the law to ensure this scam artist does not continue to take advantage of other people. Pass the word to everyone!
Just imagine the mess all of the TSS customers would be in if this was a heavy year of snowfall!
I know all this years customers will not sign up next year. Do you want you're friends and family signing up for this SCAM artist?
I’ll help out anyone who is looking to ensure this doesn’t continue.
We finally convinced our parents to sign up for snow blowing, picked TOny's and it's been a disaster. first two snowfalls took 3 days and they only cleaned the end of the driveway. Last snowfall in early March, they never even bothered to show up. Worst Service i've ever experienced. He should be out of busines...upset in Alta Vista (Riverview)
Just another disappointed customer here...
Latest snowfall was only cleared away after I called and only after 4 days!!! In fact, on the forth day, I saw him finally clearing my front-door neighbour's driveway so I thought "FINALLY!", but he then just drove off and didn't even bother to do mine!
On a side note, I don't think this Tony guy needs this year's $800,000 to retire... he donates something like $60,000 per year to the Salvation Army (nice tax write-off of course) but that means he's already got a very good cash flow.
Anyways, after reading all these complaints from everyone online, I'm surprised that no one has yet to take the initiative of collecting names and info of everyone that would be willing to take this further (i.e. court)??
I for one would be willing to start! unless there's already something in place that I'm not aware of...
As Kamy says, "Anyways, after reading all these complaints from everyone online, I'm surprised that no one has yet to take the initiative of collecting names and info of everyone that would be willing to take this further (i.e. court)??
I for one would be willing to start! unless there's already something in place that I'm not aware of..."
I have opened a file with the BBB and am requesting a refund for half the season's rate. If you start any other claim against Tony's Snowblowing, I'll sign up.
I waited 7 days after the first storm for my walkway to be shovelled, and again I wait from last Friday's storm (7 days). This time however the mess left over from the city plow was not cleared and it is now a frozen mountain at the end of my driveway.
I leave daily messages telling Tony I will get a refund (not sure how but I will continue to advise him). I have been a customer for 5 years and it was never like this.
He got too big...too greedy!
I filed a complaint with the bbb after the first incident but updated it with this case as well. I personally don't think this will be much help either. I also noticed the other day the bottom portion of my eavestroughing downspout has been ripped off and is missing. Do you think he will repair that? I doubt it.
I would be willing to fight to get my money back.
Kanata
I have a similar story. I paid $212 to Tony Snow Blowing Company for my single driveway, but he did not even showup once.
On Sunday afternoon, after leaving 15 messages with the company, I cleaned my driveway, but as per Tony's website, they have resolved my complaint without even showing up at my place. This is mockery of business ethics.
The thing that I like about Canadian society is that we are open and honest people and we never tell a lie.
However, because of people like Tony’s snow blowing company I am loosing my faith in the system. I am feeling helpless. He is committing fraud and getting away with that and we can’t even do anything. What is the difference between our Canadian system and any developing country like China? In China you can get away after doing fraud and it looks like that in Canada also one can get away with fraud.
My fight is not about refund, but the underlying principle that we as Canadians should have a high moral standard and this company is bringing bad name to our Canadian values.
If I ever get a refund of $212 from them, I would happily donate it to the Canadian Cancer Society.
I would be willing to fight to get my money back.
Frustrated in Barrhaven.
My parents hired Tony's to keep things clear while they are away. This service has only been by maybe twice all winter.
After hearing today on CBC news that we are not alone in this, and that there is a suit in court, that has already been submitted, I would like to follow up or be part of any other suit action that may be launched. We have photos of the work that has not been done, and have called Tony's many times over the winter for service, but have never heard anything in return.
I would like to be contacted if anyone is pursuing or has advice on how to pursure legal action...
Signed
Iced in in Elmvale acres
I am surprised that the Ottawa Police fraud investigation team has not yet investigated Tonys Snowblowing and Tonys Roofing service. He is the biggest crook in Ottawa.
He takes everyone's money then never shows up to clear the snow. Tonys Snowblowing advertises in flyers and in the Kanata news circuation, so his media distributors are just as guilty as he is. What a horrible theif. The mayor should pull his snow removal contractors license.
Shame on you all.
As a representative of the legitimate snow contractors in the city, congrads to all of you that allowed a guy like Tony to blow off hundreds of clients last year in a similar fashion, get kicked out of the BBB, and then merrily go from about 1500 clients last year to 4000 this year. So much for poor service destroying a company's reputation.
Do you know how many times we had to answer the question in October/November when people make their decisions: "I can get the same thing from Tony for $200". Now the public thinks that snow clearing is worth about 200 per year. It is when 4000 people sign up for it at that price.
There was 74 complaints on file with the BBB while you people were writing cheques to Tony Putinski in the fall. Most of them were resolved because he personally went around and wrote refunds to anyone who asked for it. Most stayed because he promised to fix the problems.
As PT Barnum said, a sucker is born every minute. There will probably be 4000 more next year.
Hey "legitimate snow contractor" I notice you didn't sign your real name or company name.
Shame on you for your condescension!
Tony plowed my driveway for years, before his horrible service this year, so I did not feel a need to check with the bbb (of which I have now filed 2 of my own complaints). I have read many online sites and from what I gather Tony took advantage of older people, and those who do not have the means to necessarily first check references. Instead of laughing at people, and blaming us, why didn't you instead take the opportunity to market your own services and try to win over the 4000 clients.
How about you try to help repair the snow plow reputation in this region? Unfortunately for you, you are continuing the belief that snow plow operators are not to be trusted!
My suggestion for everyone is to hire a student, who could use the extra cash, and force these types of cowardly business men (Tony and other "legitimate" operators) out of business.
Kanata
Here is another suggestion:
It is also worth filing a complaint with the provincial Consumer Protection Branch at 1-800-889-9768. You can also file a complaint by going to http://consumerinformation.ca/app/oca/complaintcourier/index.do?lang=e.
My understanding is some of Tony's activities may fall under provincial jurisdiction and it may help if the Consumer Protection Branch gets a complete picture of the problem.
A note to the anonymous moron who represents 'legitimate snow contractors' ... did it occur to you to think about what you wrote before you wrote it? Is it good business to insult 4000 potential customers? Did you check with your boss before you wrote this? ( hopefully you're not the boss or you represent the same level of disrespect we already saw from Tony Putinski... )
How many of those customers do you think are simply honest, hardworking, maybe retired persons, who made an error - missed a step - and did not check with the BBB? I can tell you as one of those 'suckers' - I am not an idiot.. we went with Tony's solely because he was the only provider still offering walkway clearing. Unfortunately a sudden accident left us needing a clear walkway for wheelchair access - and in all of the time at the hospital and specialists we did not do our 'due diligence' checking Tony out. ( We also thought with all the advertising in the Citizen they must be legit... ) Of course - the walkway clearing never happened, nor the on time driveway clearing and certainly never clearing after a plow.... )
Next year, I am sure most of use will look for someone who will deliver on their service promise. Of course - if we can figure out who you represent - we won't choose a company that opts to rub salt into the wound....
signed
I don't hire people who insult me...
Well Ottawa you did it, you all managed to get suckered and conned in to one of those things that 40 years ago my mason grandfather taught me. He said remember you get what you pay for in life and how can you ask top dollar for your services and not be willing to pay top dollar for others who also offer excellent services or items?
Well no one looked at the big picture when Tony was sending mass flyers out in the citizen every week twice a week to boot. And not too mention canvassers going door to door, this all costs money people. Well I called the citizen and to put out in the area of 50,000 flyers a week to subscribers across the city not living in apartments or condos and not including the cost of the actual flyer itself is close to a shocking $2600.00 a week now a source that I have at the Citizen informed me that they did this from Mid August 2006 right through to Dec 2006. So that is about 18 weeks or so, for this length of time it would cost in the general area of $50,000 plus the flyers probably about a $1000.00-$1500.00 a week or so. And then also his own canvassers and their salaries, clearly he spent almost $100,000 of his earnings even before it snowed.
Now how many of you actually read the papers in Ottawa, for the entire winter season beginning in Oct, minus a few times I have glimpsed at the ad not been there. Tony also had ads to hire walkway shovelers and tractor drivers. So that would mean that clearly he did not have enough staff on had going in to this. And then you try to hire not tractor drivers which the experienced ones are not called; they are tractor operators so late. You just can’t only the seasonal unemployed guys wanting money under the table will go and then clearly when the going gets tough well so will the lazy ones.
Then you have his equipment? 17 Tractors I believe Tony had said himself and I’ve seen maybe 5 trucks with those garbage blower contraptions attached to them. That is a total of 22 vehicles to clear a whopping 4000 customers so that is 181.81 customers per operator per 8 hours according to his contract. Most other companies limit their operators to about 100-120 or so customers in a 6-8 hour timeframe. Now I know from talking to several of his operators including a older gentleman in Dec in Bells Corners who told me that the trucks and blowers were pretty much useless POS’s as he called them and that you could barely do 50-75 in an 8-10 hour period and if the snow was even slightly wet than you could forget about it. He also went on saying that working for Tony was like working for a new day slave driver and that all Tony did to him and several others was to make promises to his staff about yearly bonuses, He said I would love to see if even one of the many promised individuals received a cent of the supposed $50,000 bonus that they were all promised, I left it at that and this guy was obviously very disgruntled and would have talked all night.
So now take the trucks out of the equation and you only have 17 tractors servicing the entire city of I don’t know what 20-25 postal codes that would be 235.29 customers per operator in a 8 hour period that is 29.45 per hour or 1 laneway every 2 minutes, if you need to drive a tractor even a half of a block in a snow storm and wet conditions it will take you longer than 2 minutes to arrive at your next address.
I myself lost about 100 of my 400 customer base to him, as I operate with integrity I made a list of my customers who decided to go with Tonys, I have so far cleared close to 80 of those customers pretty much every snowfall, Thank god everyone who signed up with Tonys that this year was mild and not much snow activity, if it would have been a bad winter, you would have been screwed.
Tony, you should have stopped while you were ahead of the game, I guess greed came in to play. Also people call the Salvation Army Toy Mountain, Tony made all of this money close to $1,000,000 and as he told everyone that he donates this and that he has donated nothing since 2005. Not only did he take from his customers he took advantage of a global organization like the Salvation Army and Toy Mountain for the kids…
Good job Tony, pack your bags I hear Mexico is going to get a ton of snow next year. Your done here, wow also now that I think about your also into roofing, how is that going to work? Everyone seen the lovely TV reports and I am hoping that customers who pay several thousand for services actually check the BBB and do research. God help us….
A short note to the anonymous snow plow operator:
I'm the first to admit we were taken in by Tony. I consider it a $200 dollar lesson.
I'm sad that you are being so belligerent in your post. I'm sure you are annoyed at all the business you lost, but ranting at a group of potential customers is really not the way to build your business. Especially on a site designed to review contractors in the Ottawa area!
A better approach would have been to post a note highlighting your excellent service, perhaps with some quotes from happy customers. You could have sent an email to us, we could have verified the comments, and recommended you! Sadly, now we can only shake our heads in disdain.
But, you have to remember that we are not in this industry. We have NO IDEA what a reasonable rate for plowing a driveway is, nor do we have any idea how many customers Tony has signed up. We just saw the repetitive ads from Tony in the Ottawa Citizen, decided we wanted the driveway plowed, and signed up. We don't have time to do a thorough Internet search on every service we hire, and we are in the "trustful" camp. Hopeful that when you sign up for a service, it will be provided.
We are justly horrified at the service Tony provided, and sad that we now can't simply trust companies do deliver on their contracts. We'll be a lot more careful in the future.
In hindsight, it was a really lucky break for us that the winter was so mild, and that Tony's "services" weren't really that necessary (at least in our case).
When I first heard that Tony had 4000 clients, I did the same calculations you've done, and realized that he can't possibly service his clients. I'm really surprised that a normal competent operator can clear 100-120 driveways per night, that's pretty impressive.
Perhaps some friendly and competent snow plow operators will step forward before next winter...
Not only did they provide poor service to us during the winter, but it is now May 30 and they still haven't picked up their lane markers -- even after repeated telephone and email reminders! As someone else pointed out, it's a $200 lesson learned and I hope he abandons the snowblowing business for next year as I'd hate to see more folks get suckered in like we did. But thanks anyway for the lesson, Tony. It's made me a smarter (and more cynical) consumer.
In addition to a terrible cleaning job on the three occasions that Tony's came, each time they hit the eavestrough above the garage, totally wrecking it in the process. Back in February they promised to replace it in the spring, it is now June and I can't even get them to return my repeated calls and emails. I will be happy to join any lawsuit to make sure this guy is out of business.
Angry in Avalon
Don't worry, what goes around comes around, and in spades. I'm also starting a blog with plenty of proof to identify the service Tony's Snowblowing provides. Hey, and it's only June now! Blog, blog, blog....real posters, posters, posters....plus I've got a special treat for Tony at the same time he sends out his posters. Start selling you're plows Tony, you won't need them!. BBB can't do anything, so it's up to the people.
I myself own a landscaping/snow clearing company in the ottawa area. maybe some of you have heard of us? The name is Blooming Gardens. We have been in business for six years and are a member of the BBB. I also lost contracts last year while bidding against Tony's. I thought to myself, man how can he clear a laneway for 200 a season. 8 months later we now know the answer HE CAN'T. however, due to our success in the snow clearing industry we are currently excepting new clients in the following areas. Blackburn Hamlet, Chapel Hill, Pineview, Beacon hill, Rockcliffe Mews, Carson Grove. If you are interested in a free estimate you can contact our office at 613-834-2900 or send us an email at bloominggardens@rogers.com. We look forward too adding you to our list of satisfied customers.
Looks like he's up to his same performance this year. No visit yesterday, after the snowfall. None today, either. I called three times.
Finally, they came over to removal snow last night. But it is on my next door only. My question is "What about us?"
==> I guess, they must be friend of TONY.
New year, new levels of thievery.
Still waiting for them to show up after yesterday's blizzard. My neighbours have now taken pity on me for hiring these idiots, and are coming to do my driveway for me. How embarrassing, and unfuriating.
Big surprise, main number voice mail is full, manager's cell phone voicemail is full, and the "Inquiry" functionality on the web site isn't functional.
I don't understand why the police can't do anything about these morons. (The police fraud unit has a big file on them, to which I've added.)
Also no response so far to my BBB complaint.
What the heck is a person to do when there is no way to contact the company???
I had my worst experience with Tony's snow blowing. They showed
up once after 3 phone calls (their machine is normally "full") and after yesterday's snow fall, they still did not show up. I left atleast 4 messages. How can this guy do business in this city? Why the law/police is not doing anything? This company is should be
shut off forever, so that no other customer like me has to suffer...
-A frustrated guy from Nepean
If I had read your blog before I signed up with Tony ........
The last snowstorm (around the third week of November 2007) we have to call and complain to them before we can have our driveway and walkway cleaned. Their excuse: the guy who is doing our area is new and do not know the route.
This time, we have been waiting since Monday December 3, 2007. Today is Wednesday December 5, 2007 and our driveway has not been touched at all!!!
Those guys never answer calls. Their broadcast voice message said they are "too tired" and "need some sleep". No apology at all! How ridiculous!!
This is a Fraudulent business practice!!
Can anyone help me how to effectively make a complaint to the appropriate government department, or even report to police?
In my opinion, the owner of Tony's Snowblowing is simply not capable to run a snowblowing business.
Tony Putinski is a liar, fraud. His snow blowing service is an ultimate example of making money from ordinary innocent people. He does not show up after the snow fall, if he does, its after days when the drive way has already been cleaned. He never answers the phone, the answering machine is always full (with complaints I presume). How is he still in business? Where is the law of the land? Why is he not behind bars for deceiving so many people???
Tune in tonight (Friday Dec. 7/07) to the CTV 6:00 news (channel 196 if you're on Bell ExpressVu). They're doing a short segment on Tony's, and shady snow removal companies in general.
I only learned about Tony's sleazy business practices after signing a contract in October 2007. Fortunately I learned about him before the first big snow of Nov. 21-22. I decided to give him a chance to prove he was "Under New Management". Well, he was a no-show after that dump and I cleaned the double drive myself. I immediately stopped payment on my post-dated cheque (let the bastard sue me)and am demanding a full refund of my initial payment which he cashed. So far no joy with my refund demand and, in fact, no reply to e-mails and a faxed letter. Phone calls are dealt with by some dude named Jeff who promises to look into things but never gets back to you This Tony SOB just doesn't seem to care. I, too would like to link up with any group court action. Does anyone know of a contact?
May I suggest that you lodge an official complaint to the police fraud unit? They are actively trying to nail this crook with criminal charges, but can't do it without people coming forward and cooperating. You will be asked to make a written statement and supply paperwork, etc, but they are taking this seriously and you will hear back from the officer working on the case.
There is a civil law suit going forward, but I'm not comfortable giving out other people's contact info (I'm not involved in that action). Sorry.
*sigh* True to form, Tony's Snowblowing didn't show up yet again. I can't get out of my driveway again. This is infuriating.
My o my! my neighbor and me are the newer victim of TSB. When we had first snow in this year November this year, his guy showed up next day to clean the snow. When I called him, he said being the first day the guys are finding the best route and we excused. But next time his guy showed up after 48 hours( despite of our repeated call no phone response from him). After a week finally when I got hold of him and said that I want to cancel the service, he said that that's no an option but he'd do a better job next time. Next time his guy came on time, but dumped all the wet snow on my other car outside and didn't clean the walkaway which I paid for. I thought someone may show up later on to clean the walkway but no luck (even tried to call him but no responses).
My neighbor and me have decided to go to small court claim to get the money back but I saw the CBC news clip, that last year there is class action law suit against him. Does anyone know the result and how to contact the group who filed the complain in the court ?
My o my! my neighbor and me are the newer victim of TSB. When we had first snow in this year November this year, his guy showed up next day to clean the snow. When I called him, he said being the first day the guys are finding the best route and we excused. But next time his guy showed up after 48 hours( despite of our repeated call no phone response from him). After a week finally when I got hold of him and said that I want to cancel the service, he said that that's no an option but he'd do a better job next time. Next time his guy came on time, but dumped all the wet snow on my other car outside and didn't clean the walkaway which I paid for. I thought someone may show up later on to clean the walkway but no luck (even tried to call him but no responses).
My neighbor and me have decided to go to small court claim to get the money back but I saw the CBC news clip, that last year there is class action law suit against him. Does anyone know the result and how to contact the group who filed the complain in the court?
Tony sent an email (check their web site for the message) they won't be
servicing anymore for a while because
of their equipment failure. What a
fraud!! Didn't mention about returning money. This sleazy man
did it again!! How can a man be so immoral and still doing so called business by cheating thousands of people??
And so now apparently Mr. Tony is informing all of his customers that they can no longer expect service. Nice of him to actually admit it, and let us all know.
http://www.tonyssnowblowing.com/index2.php
I just watched the CBC news and Const Chris Rhone of the Fraud Squad with the Ottawa Police would like to speak with anyone who has had problems with Tony. His number is 236-1222 ext 5781.
I will be calling him, even though I hired Tony last year and not this year. I want him to know I contacted my city counsellor last year when Tony showed up only once all season. He is a criminal!
Have you seen his website today? Amazing how ALL of his trucks have broken down at the same time, and only days before one of the biggest snow storms in the last decade!
Call the police with your stories...he needs to be stopped!
Posted on Tony's site -- he won't be coming for the Dec 16th snowstorm, for anyone
Time Posted: Friday December 14th 2007 04:35PM
We regret to inform our customers that due to equipment failure we will be unable to service our clients until further notice.The brakes on our tractors have given out and our operators have been going through red lights, damaging property and in some cases; vehicles. We have been lucky so far as these problems have not caused personal injury to our clients, the public and/or our operators. We are in discussions with the tractor manufacturers and as soon as we have this problem solved we will be back out in full force. When we can SAFELY be back on the roads and in our customers laneways we definately will be. We apologize greatly!
Tony's snowblowing company is a fraud. He now claims he cannot fulfill the terms of the 07/08contract because of equipment failure due to faulty brakes in his trucks and is unable to "service clients until further notice". Great timeing now that the biggest snowfall of the decade is upon us.
I have lodged a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and will likely contact the Ottawa Police Fraud Section.
Like everyone else, e-mails to his company go unanswered.
Signed,
Fed-up in Barrhaven
Tony's snowblowing company is a fraud. He claims he cannot fulfill the terms of the 07/08 contract because of equipment failure due to faulty brakes in his trucks and is unable to "service clients until further notice". Great timeing now that the biggest snowfall of the decade is upon us.
I have lodged a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and will likely contact the Ottawa Police Fraud Section.
Like everyone else, e-mails to his company go unanswered.
Signed,
Fed-up in Barrhaven
Well I arrived home and left my vehicle out in the road as to allow the snowguy full access to my driveway...Well it is now 4:03 PM and my neighbours had to come and help me out.
On the web site there is an apology but I saw two other clearing services go down my street....hopefully Tony's will be here this evening and as my vehicle is parked at the end of the driveway I hope he has the initiative to come and knock to get me to move my vehicle so he can clear the whole driveway.
The last snow fall things were fine but for this major dump I am a bit ticked off.
What is going on here?
I guess I am another of the poor people who got sucked in by Tony. I wish I had read all of the complaints BEFORE sending him my cheque! I think I will be taking my complaints to the Ottawa Police.
Here's the latest update on Tony's website. Better start shovelling, if you want to get out of your driveway anytime this winter! I doubt he'll be back.
Time Posted: Friday December 14th 2007 04:35PM
We regret to inform our customers that due to equipment failure we will be unable to service our clients until further notice.The brakes on our tractors have given out and our operators have been going through red lights, damaging property and in some cases; vehicles. We have been lucky so far as these problems have not caused personal injury to our clients, the public and/or our operators. We are in discussions with the tractor manufacturers and as soon as we have this problem solved we will be back out in full force. When we can SAFELY be back on the roads and in our customers laneways we definately will be. We apologize greatly!
Here is the message posted on the website for Tony's Snowblowing on Friday December 14th, 2007:
We regret to inform our customers that due to equipment failure we will be unable to service our clients until further notice.The brakes on our tractors have given out and our operators have been going through red lights, damaging property and in some cases; vehicles. We have been lucky so far as these problems have not caused personal injury to our clients, the public and/or our operators. We are in discussions with the tractor manufacturers and as soon as we have this problem solved we will be back out in full force. When we can SAFELY be back on the roads and in our customers laneways we definately will be. We apologize greatly!
The voice message today basically says "go hire someone else (now that we have your money) because we won't be doing it. Followed by some excuse about hydraulics and brake problems, that really doesn't concern me.
I am looking for other unfortunate victims of Tony's for the 2007 - 2008 season. I fully intend to take this as far as it will go. If you wish to be included, please forward your contact info (name and phone number) to tonysvictims@roger.com I will be filing my report with the fraud squad today as well as registering a complaint with the BBB. If anyone knows of similar legal action being organized, please forward my email address to them.
Thanks!
As of this moment, I have not contact a lawyer. I am just trying to rally as many people as I can and keep people updated as news develops. If I find other organized groups already out there I will join forces for a united front.
If you know of anyone else who is a victim of Tony’s unfulfilled promises please pass along my email address.
tonysvictims@rogers.com
The first thing that you need to do if you haven’t done so already is to call the Ottawa Police Services at 613-236-1222 and tell them that you would like to file a complaint about Tony’s Snowblowing. You will go through a bit of a voice mail maze, but keep following the voice prompts telling them that you want to file a complaint. They have a constable assigned to deal with the volume of complaints. You will need the details from the contract which I can send to you electronically if you would like a copy. They really just want the duration (November 1st, 2007 to April 1, 2008) as well as how much you paid and your personal information.
I just registered a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I don’t know if it will do any good, but it won’t hurt. http://www.ottawa.bbb.org/search/complaintsearch.asp
Here is another suggestion I received, although I personally haven’t called yet:
“It is also worth filing a complaint with the provincial Consumer Protection Branch at 1-800-889-9768. You can also file a complaint by going to
http://consumerinformation.ca/app/oca/complaintcourier/index.do?lang=e.
My understanding is some of Tony's activities may fall under provincial jurisdiction and it may help if the Consumer Protection Branch gets a complete picture of the problem.”
As of this moment, I have not contact a lawyer. I am just trying to rally as many people as I can and keep people updated as news develops. If I find other organized groups already out there I will join forces for a united front.
If you know of anyone else who is a victim of Tony’s unfulfilled promises please pass along my email address.
Finally, if you are comfortable, please include your address (or region of the city) and phone number so I can organize my list and contact people as needed.
-Eric
Eric Burgin
Barrhaven victim
613-858-8583
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mEgbBArESY
The first thing that you need to do if you haven’t done so already is to call the Ottawa Police Services at 613-236-1222 and tell them that you would like to file a complaint about Tony’s Snowblowing. You will go through a bit of a voice mail maze, but keep following the voice prompts telling them that you want to file a complaint. They have a constable assigned to deal with the volume of complaints. You will need the details from the contract which I can send to you electronically if you would like a copy. They really just want the duration (November 1st, 2007 to April 1, 2008) as well as how much you paid and your personal information.
I just registered a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I don’t know if it will do any good, but it won’t hurt. http://www.ottawa.bbb.org/search/complaintsearch.asp
Here is another suggestion I received, although I personally haven’t called yet:
“It is also worth filing a complaint with the provincial Consumer Protection Branch at 1-800-889-9768. You can also file a complaint by going to
http://consumerinformation.ca/app/oca/complaintcourier/index.do?lang=e.
My understanding is some of Tony's activities may fall under provincial jurisdiction and it may help if the Consumer Protection Branch gets a complete picture of the problem.”
As of this moment, I have not contact a lawyer. I am just trying to rally as many people as I can and keep people updated as news develops. If I find other organized groups already out there I will join forces for a united front.
If you know of anyone else who is a victim of Tony’s unfulfilled promises please pass along my email address.
Finally, if you are comfortable, please include your address (or region of the city) and phone number so I can organize my list and contact people as needed.
-Eric
Eric Burgin
Barrhaven victim
613-858-8583
More coverage on CBC's News at Six on 2007-12-17 (5'42" into the program). The depot is locked. The equipment is gone. The brake problems were confirmed by an unnamed tractor dealer. City says they can't act on his license until the cops charge him.
Can somebody capture this on youtube? http://www.cbc.ca/ondemand/newsatsix/ottawa.asx
email me at tonysvictims@rogers.com for information about legal action.
I'm signed up with Tony's as well, I have to say, so far this Winter they are doing an okay job, they plow a little late but they get it done. Although it was part of our contract, he has not plowed our walkway at all and ofcourse, phone calls just go to a machine and are never answered.
I called yesterday and his machine is stating that the brakes on all of his tractors have failed and we should get someone else to do our plowing... I think if anyone has contact with people in the media they should really pass this thread on...expose this guy!
Riverside South Customer
I received a flyer after the snowfall (plus a phonecall to my cell phone) from a "Jim's Snowblowing" - oddly, their address is 19 and a half Capital Drive - just 1/2 number off of Tony's. When I asked the caller about this, he only told me that he got my number from one of Tony's former drivers. Jim's flyer is remarkably similar to Tony's as well.
Hey Tebulon:
Can you scan a copy of the Jim's Snowblowing flyer to me at tonysvictims@rogers.com or you can fax it to 613-825-0878 Attn: Eric B
Thanks
Hi everyone,
We didn't sign up with Tony's service, but did sign up with a company called "Master Snowblowers". We even checked them out in the BBB - no complaints (at the time). HUGE mistake!
If you hear from/about them this year or any other, don't go with them - the owner is "Shirley Regimbald" according to the Better Business Bureau website - she's Tony's wife!
So, if you go with "Master Snowblowers", you won't be avoiding Tony! Go with anyone else.
I am from Australia but my In-Laws live in Ottawa. They are having same issue that lots of people mentioned so I will not repeat them. Because both of my parents in laws are elderly and my father-in-law needs medical attention every day we call them everyday from Australia and as we hired Tony... but the company not doing their job. There is a time that my in-laws cannot even open the entrance door. I put an official complain to BBB and I will call police tonight to take some action. I do not know how the owner if this company sleeps at night while he takes people money and not do the job. It is really shame.
I called the company many many time but they don’t answer their phone also I wrote many email and NO Answer also.
Call the Ottawa police to help build a criminal case againt Tony. The more calls/reports they get the better chances of charges and a conviction. They have an investigation going on right now! Call 613-236-1222 ext. 7300. Have all your information ready when calling.
Call the Ottawa police to help build a criminal case againt Tony. The more calls/reports they get the better chances of charges and a conviction. They have an investigation going on right now! Call 613-236-1222 ext. 7300. Have all your information ready when calling.
Jim's Snowblowing!!! LOL this is getting better. Tony you are truly a moron and you are now working at taking everyone down with you.
First you've got Jeff, even though 2006-2007 you screwed 4000 customers you tried again. Except this time you only managed to get 1500 customers so the you and Jeff decide to setup a bogus company.
Than you convince Gary to help with the Fraud. Gary another idiot. Helped you fraud all the Master Snowblowing customers that you managed to reel in and swindle yet another 1500. so between the 06-07 season and now the 07-08 season you've collected a staggering $1.4 Million Dollars.
And well your wife, Shirley Regimbald. LOL is her real name not Sonia Shirley Regimbald Boudria? So she helped in the fraud as well.
Than lastly, you give Jim or James of Jim's Landscaping a tractor and a client list and he goes around calling customers pretending that
he does not know you.
Jim or James as som might know him. Has worked for several years for Tony Putinski. He was a live in Shop Mechanic at 19 Capital Dr. It is just amazing that all of these idiots combined still don't have it in them to realize that 19.5 Capital would buzz alarms.
Oh well I guess you'll all get cozy when your in the same jails getting booty whipped by the same hairy guy or gal. Nicely done Putinski, Here's a thought maybe your old cell is still available?
We were one of Tony's burnt customers that got a call from Jim's. We hired him and at this point have been very happy. The guy comes when he says he'll come and then actually comes back to "clean up".
If anyone wants to get in touch with me in regards to our experience with Jim's Snowblowing, feel free.
sean@qmediainc.ca
Sean
he only services(ORLEANS)FrankennyRD to 10th line RD
maxmim 200 houses deadline nov 1st 2008 TREMBLAY Contracting
Jim Mackenzie owns Capital snow blowing in kanata and stittsville. Based upon Capital's advertising techniques I wouldn't be surprised if Jim's snowblowing, Capital, and Tony's were all the same.
Tired of being deceived!
Actually Simon Moss is the owner and can be reached anytime at 613-599-4392. I have over 2500 happy clients and have nothing to do with any other snow removal company. Capital SLC Inc. services Kanata, Stittsville, Carp and Richmond. Do your research before commenting on things that you obviously know nothing about.
Thanks,
Simon
Regarding Capital SLC Snow removal service - I hired them this year and thought they are better at least what they were advertising was good enough to hire them but guess what they don't do a job like they advertise. When ever they feel like it they show up and leave you with the snow on your drive way all day. I will not hire them again. I assume they have more clients then what they can handle!!!!
Instead of posting on a blog and complaining about your service provider, why not call and have your service issues rectified.
actually Simon Moss was never owner of Capital SLC, and was fired. He now runs Moss Services, check it out on the BBB before you hire them.
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