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Huron Expositor, 2016-04-06, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, April 6, 2016 Courtesy of Huron East Seaforth's Maplewood Manor has recently been paid almost $10,000 for incorrect utility bills. Poteck Power Corporation is responsible for the rebate and have managed to get back more than $4 million in the last year. Maplewood Manor reimbursed for $9,700 in utility "overcharges" Shaun Gregory Huron Expositor Maplewood Manor in Sea - forth is the most recent organization to fall victim to a $9,700 electricity invoice mistake. To date, the consultants that helped reimburse the retirement home have roughly helped several cus- tomers get back $4.3 million in refunds across Midwest- ern Ontario. Jill MacCannell, public relations coordinator for Poteck Power Corporation, the company responsible for retrieving the large lump sums of money throughout the province said this phe- nomenon of "overcharging" utility customers is pres- ently occurring "all over Ontario." "The fact that it's happen- ing to retirement homes and non -profits is pretty insane;' she told the Expositor during a phone conversation March 30. The owner of Maplewood Manor, Sam Riad was asked what the outcome would have been if his organization had not been approached by PPC to review their monthly utility payments? Riad replied. "Nothing, how would you (know), do you understand anything from your hydro bill?" He noted that nobody but the organization as a whole will be affected by this, so business in Seaforth will continue as usual and at this Tanning Sccuai MONDAY APRIL 11TH — SATURDAY APRIL 16TH PLEASE TAN RESPONSIBILY! PURCHASE 10 LAYDOWN TANS AND RECEIVE 5 TANS FREE! OR PURCHASE 50 STAND-UP MINUTES AND RECEIVE 30 MINUTES FREE! All Tanning Accelerators 15% Off All Weekl l±— Chance to WIN free tanning products with every twini rag package purchase! Australian Goll Si' hp. .,,:--r .'rr. ., 0, 1,144:t o lair M AtEiE $G Min St. S., Seaforth Sig -527-076g wwywynr.to aIlrnageii, tun Hours: 14Enn. 9,am to bpm + 7i- Thurs. 9nm irk $pm Fn. 9atn jn?pm + }i. gam to 2pn3 ea orthhuronex'ositor.co time, Riad mentioned not many employees are cur- rently aware of the financial mistake. "It does not affect the operation, more like the cor- poration;' declared Riad in a recent interview. Jeremy Poteck, launched PPC approximately a year ago. A hydro company employed the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) native at the time. Upon hearing news from the Ombudsman Ontario about a previous case against Hydro One allegedly increasing monthly payments, he decided to use the knowl- edge he had obtained from his employer. "I thought why am I still working at this desk job when I can go out and help people get money back from hydro companies and make a little bit for myself?" he inquired. Poteck had a knack for entrepreneurship and knew most of the logistics pertain- ing to the complexity of hydro billing. Poteck saw a need and created a business out of providing complimen- tary billing audits to Ontario businesses and non-profit organizations, although it wasn't as effortless at the onset as he thought it would be. "When I (did) my first refund it was a $1,200 refund in Windsor Ont., I had prob- lems getting the money back io The owner of Maplewood Manor, Sam Riad was asked what the outcome would have been if his organization had not been approached by PPC to review their monthly utility payments? Riad replied. "Nothing, how would you (know). Do you understand anything from your hydro bill?" for the client;' said Poteck. It was a lot harder when I originally started." His dedication paid off in 12 short months; currently Poteck has refunded mil- lions of dollars from more than 17 Ontario utility com- panies with his largest com- pensation reaching into the range of $276,000. "That was a good one, I was excited about that one," Poteck said referring to a hotel in the Toronto region. Despite the fact that Poteck has managed to retrieve such large portions of money, in the overall scheme of things, he under- stands how people can be billed incorrectly. "A lot of the times the utility companies are deal- ing with a ton of informa- tion, a ton of data, they have a hard job. I'm not saying it's easy," stated Poteck. "Everyone makes mistakes, $4.3 million seems like a lot, but their billing billions of dollars every year. It's kind of a drop in the bucket for them. However, every year according to Poteck, these successful enterprises report to the Ontario Energy Board, where they self declare how many mistakes are made. "They usually estimate it at two per cent, I think it's a lit- tle higher based on my experience." If any persons in Huron County and further feel their hydro bills are incor- rect, he suggests you get them reviewed. Right now, Maplewood Manor is the only case he is aware of in the area."We don't have a lot of clients out there (Huron County), but there (are) probably a lot (of) mistakes to be recovered," ended Poteck.