A Port Coquitlam-based snow clearing company has to pay nearly $3,000 to a driver they short-changed, according to a recent Civil Resolution Tribunal decision.
Nagi Masoud was working as a subcontractor for Invictus Professional Snowfighters Ltd. in January 2022 when he crashed into a customer’s property, breaking some glass. The crash led to an ICBC claim that held Masoud 100 percent responsible.
Later that year, Invictus informed Masoud the company was charging him $1,200, which is the amount their customer had to pay for an “integrity inspection,” according to the company. Invictus deducted that sum from the wages they owed Masoud. Another invoice for $1,732 was also not paid.
Masoud responded by asking for a copy of the integrity inspection bill. Invictus refused, stating that the company’s invoice was: “the only one you will receive,” according to the tribunal decision.
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Invictus told the tribunal the company paid for the property damage and had not been reimbursed by ICBC.
However, because Invictus didn’t submit any documentary evidence, the issue of who paid the $1,200 bill was not resolved, according to Civil Resolution Tribunal vice-chair Shelley Lopez.
“I find it unproven that Invictus paid any money to anyone for the property damage,” Lopez wrote.
Invictus didn’t prove the company sustained any loss as a result of Masoud’s crash, meaning the company was not entitled to knock $1,200 off Masoud’s wages, Lopez concluded.
The snow clearing company claimed Masoud’s work “was not done to standard,” but failed to prove that point, according to Lopez.
Invictus provided no witness statements, photographs or description of how the work was substandard, Lopez added.
The company previously paid Masoud $532 out of the $3,465 he was owed.
The tribunal awarded Masoud $2,932, along with $57 of interest and a $125 reimbursement of his Civil Resolution Tribunal fees.