How to Cancel a National Home Services Contract in Ontario
Three paths exist for ending a National Home Services agreement in Ontario — cooling-off cancellation if recent, CPA-grade challenge if older, or negotiated buyout. The right path depends on the specifics of your contract.
The three paths for cancelling
Cancelling a National Home Services contract in Ontario depends on when it was signed and what grounds apply.
- Cooling-off cancellation (under section 43 of the Consumer Protection Act, 10 days from receiving a written copy of the agreement, sometimes longer if the cancellation rights notice was missing or defective).
- CPA-grade challenge on one or more of the six grounds — unconscionable pricing, unsolicited contact, misrepresented energy savings, unfulfilled maintenance, improper installation, unfulfilled rebate promises.
- Negotiated buyout where the homeowner pays a depreciated price to take ownership and end the rental. Often negotiable from the first quoted figure.
What to gather before you act
- The original National Home Services agreement (every page)
- The cancellation rights notice if you still have it
- Any rebate or savings paperwork
- Recent statements from the finance company collecting
- A parcel register on your home (to identify any registration on title)
- Photographs of the equipment data plates
What National Home Services or its assignee will likely say
- "You signed the agreement and you are bound by it." (Not necessarily — see the six grounds.)
- "The cooling-off period has expired." (Possibly extendable up to a year if the prescribed notice was missing or defective.)
- "Your only option is to pay the buyout figure." (Buyouts are negotiable, and where CPA grounds apply, no buyout is the right answer.)
- "This is a different company that holds your contract now." (Under CPA s. 95, the assignee's rights are no greater than the original seller's.)
How long it takes
Cooling-off cancellation is effective on delivery of the written notice. Negotiated CPA-grade resolutions typically run 4-12 weeks. Court-involved matters can take several months. Closing-deadline cases (refinance or sale) can be expedited.
See also: full National Home Services overview
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