With winter not even half over, customers of a local snow-removal company are discovering they have reached the limit allowed in their contracts.
This winter, Richard Renald purchased his first-ever snow-removal contract from Northern Snow, a snow-removal company based in Sault Ste. Marie.
A truck driver by trade, Renald said he purchased the contract to ensure his wife could get in and out of the driveway with ease while he was on the road.
He said he was surprised to receive an email from the company stating its workers have removed more than the 400 cm limit of snow from his driveway, as contracted, and there will be an additional charge.
Renald is disputing that Northern Snow has removed as much snow from his driveway as they say. He notes that Environment Canada data has recorded fewer than 320 cm has fallen to date this winter — well below the 400 cm threshold the company has cited.
"There's no way at all, especially from my driveway. I have it on camera. I have my own snowblower and I've done it the majority of the time before they even got here," Renald told SooToday in a phone interview on Monday.
A 400 cm limit for snow removal was never discussed when he signed up or when he referred others to the service, Renald said, but he doesn't dispute that it is written in the contract in black and white.
"If I would have known there was a limit I would have never even done it, because I do my own driveway often. It was literally just so my wife could get out of the driveway when I'm at work," he said.
Renald said he called to cancel the remainder of the contract and will dispute the surcharge.
Even as of Tuesday morning, the company's website stated that a season's pass includes "flat rate — unlimited service" but by the evening that wording had been removed.
Renald posted his experience on Facebook to alert others that there may be additional charges because the company says its workers have removed more than 400 cm of snow so far this season.
"We would have never known if it wasn't for this email that I happened to see, and they send multiple emails a day sometimes. So I feel like I got scammed. That's how I feel," Renald said.
The Facebook post was met with some who agreed with Renald's position, while others said they were happy with the service, that people should have had a closer look at the contract or been more understanding because of the massive amount of snow that has fallen on the city.
Northern Snow is owned by 24-year-old entrepreneur Stefano Narducci, who started the business about six years ago. Over the past five years he has built his snow removal customer base up to about 4,200 people.
Narducci told SooToday that this has been an extraordinary winter and that he never expected to have to activate the 400 cm clause in the snow removal contract.
"We've never ever had to do this nor did we ever want to do this," Narducci said.
The sheer amount of snow that has fallen over the course of the winter so far has led to massive overtime costs to pay his operators and extra expenses like the additional gasoline needed for his machinery to criss-cross the city, sometimes doing the same driveways multiple times per day.
Narducci said the average cost of a snow-removal contract with the company is about $687.
For the past three years, Northern Snow has offered a section of its website called Dispatch Logs, which records the amount of snow that has been deposited by Mother Nature each day.
Narducci said the company measures the amount of snow that has fallen from a central location in the city and records those results on video.
"It's important for our customers to understand that the snow statistics provided by Environment Canada are based on data collected from the airport, which can vary significantly from actual snow accumulation in the city of Sault Ste. Marie itself and that could often lead to inaccurate readings for residents in town," Narducci said.
Asked about the discrepancy between the Environment Canada data and the measurements collected by the company, Narducci said the company noticed it as well.
"When we started experiencing really heavy snow this year and we saw how many times we were going out, we came to a realization a little over a month ago that we have a lot of the season left but our contract is a little bit (too low), because we're going off Environment Canada statistics based on what our contract says," said Narducci.
He said an effort was made by the company to get in-city accumulation statistics from Environment Canada, but so far that's been unsuccessful.
"I'm also trying to see if they have any other resources or a meteorologist or somebody in the actual city who takes measurements that could back our dispatch logs," he said.
Narducci said many customers are understanding and have already paid the surcharge for the company's operators removing more than 400 cm of snow, but noted he has also heard some of the backlash.
Some people who have had their contracted amount of snow removed have decided to not continue with the service and discontinued the service, he said, but many have expressed happiness with the snow removal.
Customers who pay the surcharge, which Narducci said averages about $80 for some people, will be met with no additional charges for the rest of the contracted season.
"Despite the heavy year, despite the continuous snow, despite that we're about halfway through the season, we want to let our customers know that we're going to be servicing their driveways for the remainder of the season at no additional charge as a courtesy," he said.
"We're working really hard to improve our stats so that there is zero hiding — with taking the video recordings, showing the date, the time, and the measurement in the central part of the city.
"And then as a backup too, we're working with Environment Canada at this given moment to see if they could provide us some better statistics for the actual city," Narducci said.
He also said the 400 cm limit will be better communicated for future contracts.
"When do we really ever get 400 centimetres? It's been a long while. With that being said, I think for the future it's something we're going to mention. It's something that we might change as a company — our service, the way we present it, the way we charge it."
On Wednesday morning, Northern Snow sent the following message to customers:
Dear Valued Customers,
First and foremost, we want to express our deep appreciation for your trust and support. Your satisfaction has always been, and will always be our top priority.
After careful consideration, we have decided not to enforce the recently issued surcharge based on our measured statistical snow accumulation.
What This Means for You:
Full Service Will Continue: Your driveway will continue to be serviced for the rest of the season.
Refunds Issued: Any customer who has already paid the surcharge will receive a refund within 5-10 business days.
Cancelled Customers Reinstated: If you previously cancelled your service due to the surcharge, we will honour your original contract and continue servicing your driveway for the remainder of the season.
Clarification on Snowfall Measurements
At Northern Snow, we've always tracked and recorded snowfall data for Sault Ste. Marie to ensure accuracy in our operations. Over the past two winters, our measurements have consistently been lower than Environment Canada's, which reported higher seasonal snowfall totals than what we recorded. Because of this, we trusted their data as a reliable source and structured our contract around it.
However, this season has been different. Our recorded snowfall has reached 459cm—significantly higher than Environment Canada's reported totals. After reaching out to them, we learned that their snowfall data is measured at the Sault Ste. Marie airport, rather than within the city itself. In most years, the airport typically receives more snowfall than urban areas, but that hasn't been the case this winter, creating an unexpected discrepancy.
We want to assure our customers that our measurements have been honest and carefully recorded, and we are confident in their accuracy. However, because our contract is based on Environment Canada's statistics, we will honour that agreement and not implement any additional charges based on our recorded totals. We appreciate your understanding and will continue to prioritize transparency and integrity in all we do.
Moving Forward: Enhancing Transparency
To further strengthen our trust and commitment to you, we are actively working on improving the accuracy and validation of our snowfall measurements. As part of this effort, we are exploring ways to better document and compare our local data with Environment Canada's reports. Our goal is to provide greater transparency and ensure that our measurements accurately reflect the conditions in our service areas.
Our Commitment to You
We understand that reversing our previous decision may raise concerns, and we deeply regret any confusion or frustration this situation has caused. Please know that our goal was never to take advantage of our valued customers. We take full responsibility for our initial decision and hope this course correction reassures you of our integrity.
Our team remains dedicated to providing the best possible snow-blowing service to you for the rest of the season and beyond. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you for allowing us to serve you.
Sincerely,
Stefano Narducci & Nicholas Chiarot
Owners, Northern Snow