Frustrated by the runaround from Ecolife Home Improvement owner David Murray spanning almost a year, Sudburian Tony Nash said he purchased windows he had already paid for and installed several of them himself.
Nash was one of two witnesses to testify on Day 1 of David Murray’s 15-day fraud trial. There are more than 30 witnesses who will testify throughout the trial.
In 2018, Nash was looking to have his windows and a door in his home replaced, and was visited by David Murray, who was doing work on Nash’s neighbour’s house. Nash said he was going to do the work himself, but was convinced to hire someone else to do the work.
He said Murray talked to him about the benefits of the Green On Rebate program, available to residents who hire participating contractors to make insulation upgrades that qualify.
It didn’t take much convincing, though. Nash said he had remortgaged his home in order to do renovations and repairs, and had more than enough money in the bank, even if there wasn’t a rebate involved.
“It was kind of a rush, the grant was ending, and I didn’t have a lot of time to think (before signing the contract),” said Nash.
He said Murray drafted up a contract right there in the driveway, and he admitted he did not read any of the terms and conditions.
“He talked a good game,” Nash said. “It was a great deal. Even without the rebate, I thought it was still a pretty fair deal. The rebate sweetened it, but I would have still spent the money to get the work done.”
When the contract was brought up in court, the Crown’s office pointed out it was dated April 4, however, Nash said he never even met Murray until the day he showed up in his driveway in June. He surmised the contract was backdated so it would qualify for the rebate program, which was cancelled by the provincial government in June 2018.
In June 2018, Nash said he and his wife provided a total of $8,500 for a deposit — a cheque for $5,500 and then an e-transfer for another $3,000. He said to his knowledge, that money was to purchase the windows and supplies, and the balance was to be paid upon completion of the work.
The work was supposed to begin in August and finish in September, but that work never happened. What followed, Nash said, was months of emails and text messages between him and Murray, many of which went unanswered.
“I kept trying to contact him, but it was excuse after excuse,” Nash said.
When the work wasn’t done by September, Nash said Murray promised to get it done in November, right after the work on Nash’s neighbour’s house was done. That never happened, either.
Nash said he was “bullied” by Murray at Murray’s office one day, when Nash went there to inquire about his windows. He said he wanted to at least see his windows, but was also hopeful of a resolution.
When they started arguing, he said Murray locked the door and stood in front of it, preventing Nash from leaving, “and he butted me with his chest twice.”
He said he told Murray if he didn’t let him out, “I’m a little guy, and I might go home beaten up, but you will know I was here.”
Nash said Murray unlocked the door and let him out, but followed him into the parking lot.
He immediately went to Greater Sudbury Police to file a report, but said he did not want to press charges.
Nash also filed a complaint with his Member of Parliament and participated in a protest at Tom Davies Square, where other people going through the same situation with Murray gathered to inform the public.
Nash also took Murray to small claims court and won a judgement in his favour, but he is resigned to the fact he will likely never see that money again.
“I had no choice but to take him to court,” Nash said. “Phone calls and text messages weren’t working, and I would have been happy to drop the judgement if he did the work.”
In the end, Nash said he bought the windows — which he already paid for — again from the supplier for $1,500 and is in the process of installing them now.
Natalie Cooley also testified in court Monday. She painted a very similar story in her dealings with Murray.
Cooley said she signed a contract with Murray in January 2018 to have the windows and siding on her home replaced, and then added work to be done on her garage.
She said she had spoken to a former Ecolife customer, who expressed satisfaction with the work done by Murray and his company. She said had shopped around, comparing prices, and said while the Green On rebate was certainly an incentive to go with Ecolife, “the work needed to get done,” as the home was built in 1992 and was starting to show its age.
She provided more than $14,000 as a deposit, with the work to begin in May 2018.
When Murray failed to begin the work, she said she started texting him and spoke to him on the phone to find out when the work would begin.
The work never did get done, she said.
She filed complaints with Greater Sudbury Police, the Better Business Bureau, as well as under the Consumer Protection Act.
In December 2018, she started telling Murray that she wanted her money back, and said had Murray actually responded with a date to start work, she “probably would have been OK with that.”
In the end, however, she and her husband hired another contractor to take care of the work.
Murray is being represented by defence lawyer Antoine Fabris.
