Thinking of leaving your current rental?
Start by finding out what you are actually signed up for. We are not going to tell you what your current provider charges, because we have not read your agreement and neither has anyone else who writes pages like this. What we can do is show you where to look, and tell you plainly what Arctic’s terms are so you can compare them yourself.
Four things to check in your current agreement
Find your agreement
It is usually a PDF emailed when you signed up, or in the online account of whoever you rent from. If you cannot find it, they are obliged to give you a copy on request.
Look for the buy-out clause
It tells you what it costs to own the equipment outright today. Some agreements set this on a fixed schedule, others calculate it at the time. Those are very different things to be signed up to.
Look for the term and any escalation
Check whether the monthly amount can rise, and by how much. Look for the words "annual increase", "escalation" or "CPI".
Look for exit and removal charges
Some agreements charge to remove equipment, or require the old unit be returned in a particular condition. Worth knowing before you decide anything.
Once you know those four numbers you can make a real decision, with us or with anyone else. If you would rather talk it through with a person who is not trying to close you on the call, ring 1-833-ARCTIC1 (1-833-272-8421).
What you would be signing up to here
Compare these against the four things you just looked up. All four are answered, including the one most providers leave you to find in the agreement.
- Your buy-out price is fixed on the day you sign, on a schedule that drops every year and never rises.
- Rental rates adjust once a year on your install anniversary, and the exact amount for every year is set out in your agreement before you sign. Purchases do not change at all.*
- The equipment becomes yours at year 15, at no extra cost.
- Service and repairs are included for the full term of a rental.
- You can transfer it to the new owners if you sell, with no transfer fee.
- Financing comes straight from Arctic. A rental or financed purchase may be subject to a credit check.
- A 30-day trial on a rental, with one exclusion for builder installations.
Switching is not always the right move
If you are a long way into an agreement with a low fixed buy-out coming up, the sensible thing is usually to buy your existing equipment out and keep it, even though that means we do not get your business. If the equipment is near the end of its life anyway, replacing it is the better call regardless of who you replace it with.
We will tell you which of those you are in. It costs us nothing to be straight about it, and a homeowner who was told the truth once tends to come back when the system does eventually fail.
Arctic does not pay out or buy out another provider’s agreement on your behalf, and anyone who offers to is usually building the cost back into your monthly price. Whatever you owe your current provider stays between you and them.
If you do decide to switch
Settle with your current provider
Buy out or end the agreement on their terms. We can talk you through what their letter is asking for, but the account is yours to close.
Pick your equipment and how to pay
Rent it, finance it straight from Arctic, or buy it. Same install every way, and you pick the date and window.
We install and take the old one
Removal of the old unit is included in the price, so there is nothing left in your basement to deal with.
Fine print
- Your monthly rental adjusts once a year, on the anniversary of your install. Increases are nominal in nature and tied to CPI and Arctic’s annual surcharge. The exact amount for every year is set out in your agreement before you sign. Purchase and financed prices do not change. How the annual adjustment works
- The buy-out price follows a fixed schedule set on the day you sign: a percentage of the installed price for each year of the term, never below the minimum in your schedule, plus HST. It drops every year and never rises. If you sell your home, the new owners can take over the rental once they accept the agreement and your account is paid up to date. Buying out or transferring
- A rental or a financed purchase may be subject to a credit check, as your agreement explains. Arctic finances its own customers directly, and there is no application fee. Arctic registers its security interest in the equipment under Ontario’s Personal Property Security Act, against you as a person, never against the title to your home. Credit checks, and what Arctic registers
- The 30-day trial applies to rentals only. Financed and outright purchases do not include a trial. The 30 days run from the day your equipment is installed, not from the day you order, and the trial does not apply to new home installations arranged through a builder, where the equipment comes to you through your Agreement of Purchase and Sale. The 30-day rental trial in full
The full terms are in our Rental Agreement and Terms of Use, and in the agreement you read before you sign.
Want a second opinion on your current agreement?
Call and read us the buy-out clause. We will tell you what it means, even if the answer is to stay where you are.