The owner of a furnace company whose employee tried to charge for unnecessary repairs during a Steele on Your Side hidden camera investigation has a new business, but there are questions about whether a new name signals a new attitude.

 

The January probe showed technicians from Burnaby's Pro Ace Heating and Cooling trying to up sell a CTV producer on pricey parts that weren't needed.

 

During the probe, an "Ace" technician suggested a $500 fix on a furnace that was deemed "in great working condition" just minutes earlier by an independent furnace expert.

 

The BBB pulled the company's accreditation, citing unresolved customer complaints. Pro Ace appealed the decision in February, but was not allowed to have its accreditation reinstated.

 

After the undercover probe, Pro Ace owner Ali Soroush said he was unhappy with the employee's behaviour, saying he was unprofessional -- but not unethical -- because in the end he fixed the problem and only charged a $90 call out fee.

 

Now, Soroush has launched a new furnace company, Canadian Standard Heating and Cooling, that operates from the same address.

 

"We brought it in to expand the business in case if Ace, because of CTV News, is falling. We don't fall with it -- we just have it as a back up," Soroush told Steele on Your Side in a telephone interview.

 

"I don't want to fall because some people or some stupid technicians come and make mistakes. It's not me. I'm an honest family man -- businessman."

Related: Furnace company claims reinvention after CTV probe

 

The new company has been selling discount furnace inspections on daily deal websites like SocialShopper, Groupon and Dealfind.

 

When people on the SocialShopper message board pointed out the Pro Ace connection on its most recent deal the outcry prompted the site to pull the deal down.

 

"Due to ongoing negative comments being posted on our discussion board while this deal was live we made the decision to remove the merchant's deal from our site," a SocialShopper representative said in an email to CTV News.

 

Social Shopper said it would offer refunds for anyone who purchased the voucher.

 

Soroush says he's the real victim.

 

"I'm not a bad person, I had technicians that pretty much I fired -- ok fine. But we don't promote such thing. We disagree with such practices," he said.

 

The president of the Better Business Bureau says it's up to companies to regain consumer trust.

 

"There's always an opportunity to change your reputation in the marketplace and it can take some time. It's not as easy as changing a name -- it's as easy as doing the right thing," said Lynda Pasacreta.

 

The Better Business Bureau relies on consumers to let it know when a company has resurfaced under a new name, so it can update its records to let potential customers know about the connection.

 

Consumers can also call the BBB to ask if a particular individual owns more than one company.

 

Soroush said he took a cue from our probe and did his own hidden camera investigation. He claims to have put a camera in the furnace room of an employee's home... He then damaged a small switch and called several competitors in to figure out what was wrong. Soroush claims nine of the 10 companies tried to rip him off by offering to sell pricey replacement parts that weren't needed.

 

As for Canadian Standard Heating and Cooling, potential customers can decide for themselves if the new name does mean a new beginning.

 

Watch CTV News tonight for the full report from Lynda Steele...