She clicked a Facebook ad for a furnace rebate — it locked her into a 20-year, $12K loan instead

Carter’s story is a reminder that “rebate” advertising for furnaces, heat pumps and other home upgrades doesn’t always come from Ottawa. For Canadian homeowners shopping for HVAC replacements this fall, it’s worth understanding how these offers work — and how to tell a real government program from a financing pitch dressed up as one.

How a $1,650 ‘rebate’ turned into a $12,000 loan

Point-of-sale financing is common in the HVAC industry: A contractor partners with a lender so customers can spread the cost of a furnace or air conditioner over monthly payments instead of paying upfront. Financeit, the lender behind Carter’s contract, told CTV News it “offers flexible purchase financing options for contractors and customers,” and that customers can pay off a loan in full at any time with no fees.

But Financeit also said it isn’t involved in what a customer is charged for the equipment itself, or in administering any government rebate program. What she actually signed was a private financing agreement, and the “rebate” cheque came from the contractor, not a federal program.

The math is worth sitting with. Once the case drew public attention, JP Home Comfort and Financeit agreed to release Carter from the 20-year contract so she could buy the furnace outright for $4,700 — well under the $12,000 she’d been financing. That gap between the financed price and the cash price is where long-term point-of-sale loans can quietly cost the most.

Are there real government furnace rebates right now?

The Canada Greener Homes Grant, which paid homeowners up to $5,600 toward retrofits including heat pumps, closed to new applicants once its funding was fully committed; the final deadline for existing applicants to submit documents was December 31, 2025. The companion Canada Greener Homes Loan, which offered up to $40,000 interest-free, stopped accepting new applications on October 1, 2025.

What’s still open is narrower: The Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program and the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, both aimed at low- to median-income households and delivered through provincial partners, along with scattered provincial and utility rebates. If an ad promises a broad, no-qualification rebate for a new furnace, that alone is a signal to slow down.

Natural Resources Canada has also warned directly about this kind of pitch. The department says it hasn’t approved any third party to make unsolicited contact with homeowners on its behalf, and that neither NRCan nor its ENERGY STAR and EnerGuide programs ever solicit by phone, email or home visit to inspect, sell or rent heating and cooling equipment.

What to check before you sign anything

Before agreeing to a furnace or HVAC deal pitched as a rebate, a few checks can save years of payments:

• Go to the source — Government rebate programs are administered through canada.ca or your provincial energy ministry, not a contractor’s sales team or a Facebook ad
• Ask what you’re actually signing — If a “rebate” requires a financing agreement, that document is a loan contract; read the amortization period and total cost before agreeing
• Get the cash price — Carter’s furnace cost $4,700 outright versus $12,000 financed, so ask any contractor what the unit costs without financing
• Watch for referral bonuses — A “rebate” that pays extra for signing up a neighbour is a marketing incentive, not a government benefit
• Check the lender separately — Point-of-sale lenders like Financeit aren’t required to verify a contractor’s pricing or rebate claims, so that falls to the homeowner to confirm

For Carter, the resolution only came after a national news outlet contacted both companies directly. Most homeowners won’t have a reporter to call. The better move is catching the mismatch — a private company posing as a government messenger — before signing, not after.