ex·tor·tion  (ĭk-stôr′shən)

1. Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.

2. The act or an instance of extorting something, as by psychological pressure.

3. An excessive or exorbitant charge.

Hydro One has Extorted money from their customers through psychological pressure and threats of cutting off their electricity for years. Customers have been grossly overcharged and fraudulently billed due to several reasons including but not limited to, faulty meters and faulty billing systems, which has lead to fraudulent billing. Then Hydro One threatens customers who are unwilling to pay these incorrect bills, with loss of power/electricity. The customer is then forced to pay up or freeze in the winter or go without power in other months. People have lost their homes due to this extortion of money which was then not available for their mortgage payments, food and clothing. Some people were then forced in some cases to sell their homes at a loss, or abandon their homes completely, in order to get out before they were incorrectly/fraudulently lead to believe their power would be cut off. This lead to frozen pipes and huge damages to their homes/investments. These excessive or exorbitant charges have lead some customers to even consider suicide when they feel they have no other recourse and feel it's better than freezing to death. Even the Ombudsman's report clearly states Hydro One misled customers about billing problems. This extortion and fraud must be investigated as per the criminal code. Thank you!