Pubdate: Wed, 08 May 2002
Source: Oakville Beaver (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002, Oakville Beaver
Contact:  http://www.haltonsearch.com/index.html?category=5D4GWHWX
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1600
Author: Howard Mozel

FAMILY STILL REELING FROM GROW HOUSE MESS

Hydro Threatened To Cut Off Power If $3,500 Bill Not Paid

Following months of heartache after being victimized by marijuana growers, 
Oakville's Sandhu family would like to offer advice to others thinking of 
renting their homes, but can't.

"It seems like we did everything right," said Harry Sandhu, whose parents, 
Harbhajan and Satnam Sandhu, rented out 1528 Greenridge Circle last year to 
a "nice young couple."

"There's nothing more we could have done," he said.

This included using a real estate agent to deal with the red tape of 
renting their home, ensuring first and last months' rent was paid and 
having post-dated cheques in hand. In the end, however, the Sandhus were 
left with a property virtually destroyed on the inside, an insurance 
company that stalled at every step and a massive electricity bill that 
Oakville Hydro demanded the family pay.

"I couldn't go to work, I couldn't sleep," said Satnam. "I was sick over this."

The Sandhus lived at the Greenridge Circle home for 15 years before buying 
another house nearby and decided to rent their former property last year. 
Their Realtor found a couple who showed up to meet the Sandhus driving a 
nice car and appearing to be perfect tenants. They moved in on Sept. 15.

"Everything checked out," said Harry. "They seemed like nice people."

On Nov. 14, Halton Regional Police swooped down on a trio of north end 
houses, one of which was the Sandhus' Greenridge Circle property. The raid 
came about, in part, as a result of a tip by the Sandhus' former 
neighbours, who were suspicious of "rough looking" people coming at odd 
hours and an air conditioner running full-tilt in November.

What Drug and Morality Unit officers found there, when they executed search 
warrants, were large-scale growing operations with the capability of 
producing millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs. The Sandhus' other 
son, Michael, received a phone call from a detective with the bad news.

"I was shocked," said Michael. "I thought he had the wrong number."

No such luck. When Harbhajan and Satnam were picked up and taken to the 
property, police said they were cleared of any wrong-doing. It quickly 
became obvious, however, that the front door which had been broken open by 
officers was the least of their problems.

"The police told us to be prepared," said Harbhajan. "It was a mess on the 
inside."

Adds Michael: "It was a disaster. There was dirt everywhere, plant 
material. Everything was ransacked."

Yet, it was in the basement that the true enormity of the damage hit the 
family: the foundation had been excavated to bypass the hydro meter and an 
assortment of new hardware had been installed to handle the power required 
by grow lights and fans. Holes had been cut through the floors and ceilings 
to accommodate extensive duct work to vent fumes and heat, carpets were 
soaked and dirty and illegal wiring snaked all through the house.

The Sandhus' were also faced with cleaning up the countless dirt-filled 
pots that had contained marijuana plants both in the basement and the 
upstairs master bedroom, where growing chemicals had been mixed in the 
ensuite bathroom's tub.

"We lived in that house for 15 years and they destroyed the place in two 
months," said Satnam.

The family's relationship with their insurer was fraught with problems from 
the get-go and, even now, six months after the raid, negotiations about 
what the company will and will not pay for remain ongoing.

In the meantime, Harry and Michael -- who were trying to focus on their 
schooling and exams -- rallied friends and family together to renovate 
their ravaged house at a cost of roughly 200 person-hours and $20,000. This 
included tearing out all the jury-rigged wiring, shampooing the carpets, 
painting every room, clearing out the smells and patching holes. "You can't 
believe the stress," said Satnam.

Their work done, the Sandhus sold the Greenridge Circle home in February 
and thought their nightmare was behind them. Wrong.

In early March they received a letter from Oakville Hydro -- quoting the 
pot grower's billing number -- stating that the family owed $3,545.15. If 
not paid in full by March 21, said the letter, hydro would be disconnected 
and re-established only after payment.

A subsequent letter -- this time quoting the Sandhus' account number for 
their current address -- said that while Oakville Hydro understands the 
Greenridge Circle home had been sold, the money was still owed. It also 
said power would be cut off at the Sandhus' present home if this wasn't paid.

A third letter tried to explain Oakville Hydro's position by excerpting the 
Ontario Energy Board Distribution Code: "A distributor may recover from the 
parties responsible for the unauthorized energy use all costs incurred by 
the distributor arising from unauthorized energy use, including inspection 
and repair costs."

Harry pleaded his case, saying the "parties responsible" for the 
electricity theft were the pot growers and not his family, but to no avail. 
Faced with having their power cut off, they settled up.

"We paid under protest," said Harry, who can only imagine the bill if the 
grow operation had gone undetected for a year. "How can we be responsible 
for the criminal acts of tenants?...Hydro pretty well strong-armed us into 
paying."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens