Junk removal company accused of overcharging customers

A Vancouver junk removal company is being blamed for overcharging its customers. CTV News has received several complaints from people who have bought an online coupon for junk removal services from 1-888-JUNK-VAN. But when the company arrives, customers say they are asked to pay a lot more than they bargained for.

Amy Savoie is a carpenter who is renovating a Vancouver condo. She had a 156 pound stove to get rid of and a 71 pound steel bathtub. So when TeamBuy began selling a deal for 250 pounds worth of junk removed for $35 through a company called 1-888-JUNK-VAN, Savoie bought the coupon. She then called the company to come and pick up her junk.

The problem was 1-888-JUNK-VAN claimed Savoie's estimated 230 pounds worth of junk really weighed 453 pounds. It wanted another $108 dollars on top of the TeamBuy coupon.

"I think that they're basically selling all of these deals on TeamBuy because it is a good deal and then as soon as they get here, they're just changing the weights on people," said Savoie.

Savoie's not the only unhappy 1-888-JUNK-VAN customer. The company has a one-star rating on the consumer website Yelp and an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau because of unresolved customer complaints.

CTV News decided to buy a TeamBuy coupon, gather some junk and have it weighed in advance. We tracked down a high quality digital scale, used by another junk removal company.

“Measurement Canada calibrates the scale. Once it's calibrated that ensures accuracy and that's proven that it's 99.7 per cent accurate,” said Barry Hartman, co-founder of 505-JUNK.

With some help, consumer reporter Lynda Steele loaded 108 kilograms of junk onto the scale, or exactly 238 pounds, well below the $35 coupon weight limit.

The junk was then moved to a Vancouver back alley and 1-888-JUNK-VAN was called, with hidden cameras rolling.

Owner Sharif Begg had barely stepped out of the truck, before he delivered some bad news to a CTV producer, posing as a customer.

“You're definitely gonna be over 250. I can tell by experience," said Begg.

When asked if he had a scale in the back of his vehicle, Begg told the CTV producer that he had a $30,000 load sensor on the truck.

But the news got worse once the truck was loaded. Begg said the junk weighed in at 689 pounds, 439 pounds over the coupon limit. With taxes, the bill totaled $152.42.

When questioned if his scale was accurate, Begg said the government of Canada checks it every three to six months.

Lynda Steele then approached Sharif Begg to ask him some questions, but Begg denied he was the owner of the company and quickly drove off without explaining how the 238 pounds of junk could weigh 689 pounds on his scale.

Steele then contacted Begg by telephone to ask about his weight calculations.

"We don't know until we get on licensed scales.  We give you a rough estimate of what it's going to be, leave you with the bill receipt, see you later and then once we know that it's  that weight, then we give you the exact weight and price," said Begg during the telephone conversation.

"But I thought you said you had a $30,000 sensor on the truck that gave us the exact weight?" asked Steele.

"I'm not going to have this conversation. Some trucks are equipped with scales, some trucks are not," explained Begg.

But when Steele once again asked Begg if there was a scale on his truck, he refused to answer saying he needed to speak with his legal department.

He then hung up, but not before promising to meet Steele for coffee to explain how his company does its weight calculations. That meeting never happened and it looks like Begg’s website has since disappeared.

Before Begg hung up, he claimed to have served over 7,000 customers. He also said you're always going to have customers who don't like the price, and says there's not much you can do about that.

Tune into CTV News on Wednesday for tips from the Better Business Bureau and the Vancouver Police Department on how to protect yourself the next time you call a junk removal company.