Enercare Home Services

I recently had a hot water tank leak which resulted in a replacement water new tank. When I initially called Enbridge about the leak, they informed with that I had a contract with Enercare for an annual home protection plan with (which I have no record/documentation of or recollection of entering into). Enercare came and replaced the tank (which we owned) with a rental tank. When I called Enercare after the replacement to inquire about my coverage and to please send the contract over so I could review it, they told me there is no physical contract. Apparently the agreement was entered into verbally, in person, when we randomly chose their name out of the phone book 3 years ago to fix a problem with our furnace. I learned in speaking to Enercare that my husband indeed agreed to the home protection at the time but signed nothing at the time and he was not made aware that he had entered into something legally binding. We have now paid in excess of $2000 over 3 years for a service we did not know we had, have no documentation of agreeing to, and that we used once 2 days ago (for a service that would have cost <$1000 through our plumber). Verbal agreements for a company like this is an outrageous and a deceptive business practice. It should not be legal. Every customer should be entitled to a physical record of a legal-binding contract entered into whether verbally or otherwise agreed to. Further, verbal agreement should not be permitted for a company that autorenews to the tune of hundreds of dollars each year without sending confirmation of renewal. When I inquired with Enercare about a refund for 3 years of unused/useless service protection I was told its not an option. The best they could do was not penalize me for cancelling. I cancelled all remaining services with the company (other thank hot water tank rental) and encourage others to inspect their gas bill to see what "charges from other companies" they are paying, and to discontinue service with companies using deceptive business practices like Enercare.