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."