A furnace maintenance scam in Stratford has landed a Bolton man in legal hot water.
According to Stratford police, the residents of a home in the city were contacted on Wednesday night by a man claiming to be from Bick Heating and Cooling. He arranged to come to their home for a maintenance check on their furnace the following day.
He arrived as planned on Thursday and was allowed into the home.
However, once the homeowner's daughter was made aware of the man's presence in her parent's house, she contacted Bick Heating and Cooling and confirmed the man was not an employee. The man was then asked to leave the home immediately and police were called.
A 39-year-old Bolton man was identified and arrested at police headquarters after being contacted by investigators. He is charged with unlawfully being in a dwelling and will appear in court in relation to the charge on October 27.
Out of concern there may be other homeowners who have experienced a similar incident, police released a description of the suspect in this matter. He is described as a Black man, with short black hair and a black beard. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a dark blue shirt and blue jeans and was driving a rented grey Nissan Sentra with licence plate CZEF163.
Anyone who dealt with a man in a similar capacity matching that description is advised to contact Constable Tom Lecomte at tlecomte@stratfordpolice.com.
