I have some dealings on a Rental Property with BC Hydro, from 2014 to 2016. In dealing with BC Hydro in this matter, it was very troubling about their actions on this. Concerns were raised on the falsehoods, they choose to tell me on the phone, and it came to a head in court action I had to take against them in January 2016.
I feel that any business and Crown Corporation should be held to account, if they choose to take actions that are not above board.
For this I include
- Timetable of actions that happened in this dispute
- Bills they have submitted to me
- Copies of my letters to BC Hydro
- Copies of my complaint to BC Hydro
- Copies of my complaint to the Better Business Bureau
- And finally a copy of the Court Transcript when I was in small Claims Court against them.
If you choose to skim through this, feel free to do it. But do read the transcript in this Court action by a QC (Queens Council).
“For you, if you choose to read it all, I would want you to do one thing.
• Just use one word to describe BC Hydro, and their actions.
If you do that you can see why I was so concerned about how this Crown Corporation is operated.”
The circumstances of this property are as follows.
I brought a duplex in Port Alberni in December of 2007. Unfortunately I did buy the property just before the boom ended in 2008. So it has been a struggle to keep it rented all the time, and due to this I am on top of this specific property and the Property Manager (always had a property manager there) and I have zero margins for error. Due to the slow rental market in Port Alberni, at times this unit would be vacant. I was never asked, or never had to put the Hydro in my name (until November 2014). Hydro would always be in the tenants name and account
I had a tenant move out in March of 2014, and the tenant advised BC Hydro to turn off the power. We had problems in getting this property rented out. In doing a check on this property in October 2014, I decided that it is time to update the bathroom, clean yard etc. to see if it would help with a prospect tenant.
Due to this I had to phone in to hook up the power.
Here come the first serious concerns with BC Hydro
On November 3rd at 8:20 am I phoned in, to hook up the power. I was told the following. BC Hydro did not disconnect the power when the tenant moved out in late March, but it was only disconnected in September 18, 2014. Due to this as the owner I had to pay the hydro for this time period, from March 31st, 2014 till September 18, 2014. Let’s make no mistake here, I was not told the Hydro was still on, or that I was responsible for it during this timetable.
Here are the following three reasons Hydro told me I was responsible for the power consumption during my November 3, 2014 phone call. My reply to the reasons is below each one.
1) “That my property insurance mandates that I must keep it on”. I advise them that was not correct.
(BC Hydro does not know if my property insurance mandates it, and in checking my property insurance afterwards, it is not on it.)
2) “I was told that because I pay property taxes on it to the City of Port Alberni, that I am responsible for the Hydro.” Again I advised them that was not true.
(Under no circumstances does me paying property taxes on this property with the City make me responsible for paying the Hydro when it was in my tenant’s name, and when Hydro failed to disconnect it.)
3) “I was told that BC Hydro decided to keep in on from late March till September, due to Safety risk.”
If BC Hydro felt it is such a safety risk to turn it off, why did they turn it off in September without making anyone aware that they were turning it off? Because it was not a safety risk, and they felt confident to turn it off it September without a risk.
For me all it took was this five minute conversation with BC Hydro, to understand what type of organization they are. It does not matter to me, if it is Crown Corporation, or a Private Business. When they choose to tell you falsehood, after falsehood, after falsehood, it speaks of their moral compass. I cannot describe it as Business, as you do not do Business this way. And make no mistake that this was no rogue agent. With them coming out with falsehood, after falsehood, after falsehood, it was a script Hydro was saying. It was not maybe it is this, or maybe it was that. They knew what they were saying was falsehoods. It reminded me of talking to a Stock Broker from the Vancouver stock exchange in the early 1990`s. It is pretty slick.
I want you to stop for a second and think about why they are telling me these falsehoods
There is one reason and one reason only.
They need the money. Two reasons immediately come to mind
1: High Public sector wages and benefits
2:They have a dam to build
High Public sector wages and benefits are 18% to 37% above what comparable pay is in the private sector. http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/article/6069-government-wages.html
And for the dam they have to build. BC Hydro and the provincial government did not have the common season to put it in from of the BC Public Utilities commission to see if cost is effective. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-ignored-calls-for-oversight-in-site-c-dam-ruling/article22422910/
At this time I chose not to hook up the power. I was so upset with their falsehood, after falsehood, after falsehood. I gave it a couple hours thought. In their phone conversation with me that morning, BC Hydro told me that maybe the fridge was on, and the cost would not be much. I thought maybe $200 to $500, and so I decided to get it hooked up, and pay their so called `fridge tax“. In the afternoon I phoned them to hook it back up.
You think that would be the end of it, but it was not.
I live in Langley and my job was in Downtown Vancouver. With this job, my commute, and the paperwork I have to do for Properties I own in Phoenix. My work week is 60 hours (you can tell I work in the private sector). The only time I have to pay bills is on Saturdays. I am sitting at my desk after receiving the bill that week from BC Hydro. This is the bill
A November 10th Bill
$1,988.10
My head slumped that much , it almost hit the desk. I was stunned on how they took me for a fool. You know what I say fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I was not going to get fooled again. Within one hour I sent in the following email, to them and select media. I was not happy.
Document B
After I sent the email out, I decided to take it as far as it would go. I was not going to be taken for a fool again
- In the following days, I went through the bill and contacted BC Hydro on November 24th, at 7:45 am, on what the right of way fee was. They did not know. They told me to phone 1-877-520-1355, and ask.
- I did phone that number and they advised me they had no order for that. They told me to phone 1-800-667-1517,
- I phoned that number and received voice mail, and I left a message. I did talk to them that afternoon, and they advised me that they made a mistake and reveresed the right of way fee.
The new bill came in and is as follows
C Nov 21 Bill
$862.93
Better, but still based on their falsehood.
As a Real Estate Investor, I am obligated to have an excellent credit rating. This is how banks will judge me as a person, and my credit worthneiss. Due to this I have no choice but to pay this bill. I did pay it by mail and advised BC Hydro at that time,
“Payment is enclosed as I do not want to have an out-standing debit on my credit report. However due to not being told by BC Hydro that they keep this hydro on; from April 1st, 2014, till September 18, 2014. I wish to appeal this, thus the question is.”
- What appeal process does BC Hydro have that I can do this?
- No reply.
Once BC Hydro sent me their $1,988.10 bill, and their actions in their falsehoods, to me in their phone call, I knew it would go to court. I was not going to let this go. When this is going to happen, you want a paper trail from this Crown Corporation on why they took those actions.
On January 12, 2015 I sent in the following letter to BC Hydro, and at that time raised their billing issues.
Document D
- Again no written reply
So on to the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint against them there. Maybe they will finally give me a reply.
The following was my complaint to them, and their reply.
Document E
They advise me that they
A review of the account indicates that on March 31, 2014 an account at 5172 Mar Street, Port Alberni was closed and new application was not received.
BC Hydro leaves the service on between tenants as a courtesy
Of course they have chosen not to address the falsehoods they told me in their phone call, or billing issues. I replied as such
BC Hydro cannot back bill me, because it is stippled the reasons you can. Your failure to do any billing for 7 months is no fault of mine.
Because BC Hydro has not addressed my specific concern, it is obvious to me that they do not have an answer to that, and the funds I have paid should be refunded.
Also in there reply BC Hydro has stated that they leave the service on between “tenants as a courtesy”. BC Hydro was told there service was no longer need. They choose to keep the Hydro on, and due to that, under no circumstances as the owner should I have been charged.
Lastly as per their reply to the BBB, they replied that they have tried to leave messages for me to call them back. I have had a phone conversation with them on November 3, 2014, and I am told falsehood, after falsehood, after falsehood. I find whenever a Business or Crown Corporation takes that route, to tell me falsehoods; that the only proper communication from onwards be in writing.
You can see by the Better Business Bureau
This is their complaint record
Customer Review Rating:
0% Positive
0% Neutral
100% Negative
Four reviews, all negitive, 62 compaints. Speaks for itself
So I went ahead and filed a claim against BC Hydro on June 29, 2015. It is as follows and there reply.
Document F
Document G
I did enjoy BC Hydro reply that:
On or about March 14, 2014 the previous occupant of the Premises contacted BC Hydro to terminate their account for the Premises in accordance with Section 2.2 of the Tariff effective as of March 31, 2014.
When I always had the power turn off, I always quoted “in accordance with Section 2.2 of the Tariff”
BC Hydro did bring up that legal system is improper place for this dispute, and should instead go before the “Jurisdiction of Commission “and “ this Honourable Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of this claim. You will notice they will continue to do that.
Court date was originally set for November, 2015, but that did not suit BC Hydro needs, so it was set for January 27, 2016 at 6 p.m.
This Small Claims Court action is unique. It is process which they call a Simplified Trial, where they have an experienced adjudicator, in this case a lawyer with a QC (a Queen’s Counsel is an eminent lawyer (mostly barristers) who is appointed by the Queen to be one of “Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law).
This gentleman was very well versed in the law, and did not put up with any nonsense.
In this type of trial a Trial Statement Form is to be filed at the court. It summarizes your case and you must file it at the court registry at least 14 days before the simplified trial. You must also serve a copy to on the other party at least seven days before the simplified trial. I filed my paperwork with the Court, and BC Hydro in November of 2015, 2 months before trial. On the day of Court, I still did not receive BC Hydro defense in its trial statement. I phone the court house, and asked if they filed a copy with them. They did not. This means they did not file a defense. I was stunned.
I go into Court that night at 6 p.m. and the Adjudicator, decided to go ahead with the trial. This was done, I think is because of the serious points I raised, and my personal view is the Adjudicator felt there was a point to be made in this case.
Document I
The Transcript is here:
I will cut and copy some interesting parts out of it. However if you choose not to read it, you are missing out. (Note Mr. Johnson is BC Hydro lawyer. The actions in this case is no fault of his, as it is obvious to me that BC Hydro felt it did not have to file a defence.)
THE COURT: Kyle Johnson. Mr. Johnson, I see you didn’t file a trial statement, is there a reason for that?
- JOHNSON: No, we attempted to do one today, I was late. But unfortunately there was an issue with ?- it’s a technicality of it. We never received one from Mr. Coupland, but I understand you would require one from us as well and it was an oversight as for not doing it earlier.
THE COURT: Well it’s a pretty important part of the process:
- JOHNSON: And I do have a copy of the trial statement for you as well. Again, it was not filed [indiscernible/overlapping speakers].
CALUM COUPLAND: If you don’t ?- don’t get me wrong when I say this, I’m a lay person and the trial statement was supposed to be given seven days ago so I could research it. And for it to be given to me at the time of trial, it puts me in an impossible position.
- JOHNSON: I’m afraid we do not have that document present. I can — Mr. Petrie, who can speak to it.
THE COURT: No, he can’t. I mean, B.C. Hydro is the biggest — one of the biggest corporations in British Columbia and they can’t get around to filing a trial statement with the evidence that you say is crucial to this case? I mean, it’s just not acceptable.
THE COURT: Maybe you didn’t hear me about B.C. Hydro being one of the biggest corporations in British Columbia and this is a court process and you’re coming and saying you — B.C. Hydro had better things to do. They didn’t give any priority to this. That’s what I take from what you said. Am I missing something?
THE COURT: Okay. Fair enough. But if somebody doesn’t pay their bill, can B.C. Hydro sue them in Small Claims Court? Or do they have to go — do you have to go to the Utilities Commission?
- JOHNSON: If I can turn you to Section —
THE COURT: No. Answer the question. Can B.C. Hydro sue somebody in Small Claims Court?
- JOHNSON: It’s the conduct of B.C. Hydro —
THE COURT: No, did — no. Can B.C. Hydro sue somebody in Small Claims Court if they don’t pay their bill?
- JOHNSON: To my awareness, I don’t know whether that’s actually been adjudicated. I don’t believe that would be covered under Section 72 of the Utilities Commission Act which says that the activities of the utility —
THE COURT: So you don’t know. You don’t know whether B.C. Hydro can — how does B.C. Hydro collect its bills?
- JOHNSON: I’m not aware of any case law to that effect.
THE COURT: You may be right about that, but I find it troubling that B.C. Hydro doesn’t bill anybody for many months and then sends a bill on December 2nd, 2014 for $1900, grossly overcharges him, has no contact with him and then he pays a lesser amount, only because his credit’s going to be at risk, and they say well, you had to go before the Utilities Commission.
THE COURT: Well, the simplified trial process is intended to allow people to have relatively minor disputes handled quickly and efficiently and it requires the parties to comply with the Rules. The Rules are pretty simple. The parties are required to put before the opposite party all the evidence they’re going to rely on, both written and oral, and identify the witnesses they’re going to call 14 days beforehand.
This matter was — the action was commenced June of 2015 and B.C. Hydro filed a legal response which didn’t set out one fact. There’s no facts in the response. It’s —
- JOHNSON: Well, a lot of my other points involve evidence that Your Honour is preventing us, given the lack of trial statement, from providing at this point.
THE COURT: No, I’m not preventing you. You and your client did not put any evidence before the court and I’m not preventing you from doing — you had every opportunity to do it and you didn’t do it.
Document J
The Reasons for Judgement is here:
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File No: 15-52686 |
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Registry: Vancouver |
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In the Provincial Court of British Columbia |
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Civil Division |
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BETWEEN: CALUM COUPLAND CLAIMANT AND: BRITISH COLUMBIA HYDRO & POWER AUTHORITY DEFENDANT
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REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF BRYAN BAYNHAM, Q.C., ADJUDICATOR COPY |
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| Appearing on his own behalf: |
C. Coupland |
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| Counsel for the Defendant: | K. Johnson | ||
| Place of Hearing: | Vancouver, B.C. | ||
| Date of Judgment: | January 27, 2016 | ||
- THE COURT: This case is somewhat unusual for a number of reasons. The first is the manner in which it arises. Coupland, the claimant, owns some property in Port Alberni and he has owned that property since 2007, according to his trial statement.
- He has rented it from time to time and a tenant of his moved out of the premises in March of —
- CALUM COUPLAND:
- THE COURT: — 2014. The evidence of Mr. Coupland is, and I accept this evidence and it seems to be confirmed by B.C. Hydro, that there was a request to disconnect the hydro by the tenant and Mr. Coupland believed that the hydro service was cut off. It turns out, it appears, that the hydro service was continued. I say that because B.C. Hydro, many months later, sent an account or a bill, to Mr. Coupland.
- That said, there is no evidence before me from B.C. Hydro that they actually did supply services and Mr. Coupland cannot speak to whether or not there was any electrical service provided to the duplex because he was not present. So I am not prepared to find as a fact, and I quite frankly cannot find as a fact on the evidence before me, whether or not there was any electrical service provided to this duplex.
- Coupland attended at the premises in October and attempted to have the power turned on, only to learn that the power had never been shut off, according to what he was told by B.C. Hydro.
- What happens next is a bit bizarre. C. Hydro sends him an account for $1988.10. They send it on November 10th, having not sent anything for any months in the meantime, and then when Mr. Coupland objects, they reduce the bill down to $862.93.
- Coupland, because he has several properties, is very concerned about his credit rating and could not have an outstanding account with B.C. Hydro affect his credit rating, so he paid under protest and now seeks the return of that money.
- C. Hydro filed a defence which, quite frankly, I do not understand. They seem to think that anybody that has a dispute over an invoice received from B.C. Hydro and they object to paying it have to go before the Utilities Commission because B.C. Hydro is a regulated utility in British Columbia.
- I agree that they are regulated, but this is not a dispute about regulation or how they charge people. It is a question of whether or not an invoice is payable by a customer of B.C. Hydro.
- The invoice was rendered. Had it not been paid, I believe that B.C. Hydro could have enforced payment by bringing an action in Small Claims Court and Mr. Coupland could have resisted that claim on the basis that he has resisted the claim now.
- C. Hydro says that that dispute as to whether or not the invoice was or was not payable goes before the B.C. Utilities Commission. I find that surprising. I do not think the B.C. Utilities Commission has the ability to compel payment of an invoice issued by B.C. Hydro. They can regulate B.C. Hydro but it is for the Supreme Court and the Provincial Court of British Columbia to deal with disputes over payment or non-payment of invoices and the supply or non-supply of services that give rise to the invoice. How the services are provided and the rates that could be charged are within the purview of the Utilities Commission, but not whether or not the invoice is or is not payable and whether or not the service was or was not provided.
- I am satisfied that there is no evidence before me which would support the charges made by B.C. Hydro, save and except for the electricity that Mr. Coupland acknowledges was supplied for two days from November 5th and 6th, which has a usage charge of $1.50 plus taxes. Coupland, and to his credit, also acknowledges that he would have had to pay a reconnection fee and to his credit reduces the amount that he seeks in recovery by the connection fee, which is $125.
- So of the amount that Mr. Coupland originally sought of $862.93 he has, in his trial statement, agreed to reduce that by $132.83. So I am ordering that B.C. Hydro pay him back $730.10 plus the filing fee of $100 and the service fee of $80. That is my judgment.
There is no money here for me to do this website, and put it in the public. But if you are told falsehoods, after falsehoods, after falsehoods, it reflects a very troubling situation by this Crown Corporation. At least if you deal with a Private Sector Business, you can choose to deal with a different Business. With a Crown Corporation that has a monopoly you have no choice.
And you think that, this is my problem. You are wrong. If you have a Crown Corporation that chooses to have a moral compass like this, you are paying for it. Even looking at Site C dam, that is 9 Billon dollar cost, and the government does not even have the common sense to put it in front of the BC Public Utilities Commission, to see if the power is needed, and cost effective. The taxpayer and ratepayers will pay for it. It is a very sad situation to have a Crown Corporation like this.
Thanks for your time
And for you, did you do one word to describe BC Hydro, and their actions?