Active Renewable Marketing spokesperson Charlie Zilvytis said the company did respond to Fortner's concerns as soon as they were made aware of them.
Once the problem was revealed, the contract was cancelled, he said. Fortner simply has to contact the company with the appropriate bills and records to get his refund, Zilvytis said.
"The customer didn't get back in touch with us," he said. "We'd like to help them in terms of resolving their complaint."
The allegations that someone forged signatures on the contracts has not been proven in court, he said.
"When things are proven, we deal with them fairly harshly," Zilvytis said. "If they [sales agents] value their job, they aren't going to sign up people improperly."
Active Renewable no longer markets natural gas contracts to commercial clients, he added, and the sales agent involved in this incident no longer works for the company.
However, when it did market to businesses, the company's sales agents were instructed to speak with people authorized to sign agreements. The customer was required to check a box on the contract form which indicates they are the person authorized to represent the business, Zilvytis said.
"We relied on that, in terms of commercial clients," he said.
At the time this contract was signed, Active Renewable was not required to send a confirmation letter or make a confirmation phone call to the business before activating the account, he said. Changes to B.C. regulations since 2008 would now require those practices.
Zilvytis said his company is, firmly supportive, of the new regulations and has been proactive in ensuring compliance and complaints about misconduct are rare cases.
