Dozens claim southern Alberta company took their money — or their house — and ghosted them

Dozens of Albertans are alleging they are out huge sums of money, in some cases their entire life savings, after an alleged house moving scam.

CityNews has spoken with multiple people who claim they paid Wade’s House Moving to either purchase a home and transfer it to their foundation, or sell their home and have it moved.

Angie Wolsey says she has been in a state of limbo for months after purchasing her dream home for herself and her three kids, just for the company to completely vanish.

“I put down a 10 per cent deposit to view the home,” Wolsey claimed. “There were lots of delays, I ended up transferring my deposit to a different home.

“In total I paid Wade’s $150,000 for a home, got my foundation all ready for the home to be transferred, then I found out it was no longer in business.”

Wolsey says she was shocked, adding the business appeared reputable.

“A friend recommended looking into having a pre-built home moved, I looked online and it seemed like a really good business,” she said. “They (Wade’s) had been in business for over 60 years, it had its own TV show at one point.

“I don’t know what to do at this point, my hope is to still get the house that I purchased, but it appears Wade’s never paid the home owner for it.”

Former customers allege the company would take deposits of 10 per cent or more for people to view a house and then they would be given the chance to buy.

As the move date would get closer, former clients say they would have to pay the rest of the amount, and the seller was paid out to have their home moved.

People claim they made purchases from the business because of its extensive track record, and the fact that some employees were going above and beyond to provide an excellent service.

Wolsey is not alone in her nightmare. A Facebook page is gaining traction as people try to bring light to the alleged scams.

Shauna Stone, who is in the group, says she was scammed more than three years ago.

“I spoke about this in 2021, when this happened to me,” Stone alleged. “I had a new baby and we had to live in a trailer.”

Ultimately, she eventually got her money back after hired a lawyer.

“We were very fortunate, we were able to get over $100,000 back,” Stone said.

Even though she considers herself lucky, Stone acknowledges that many people are not as fortunate right now.

“I am worried many people will never see their money, there are people in the group who lost their life savings, people sitting with full foundations that don’t have a home,” she added. “This is fraud, they are selling houses that aren’t theirs. Now there are people with their hopes and dreams down the toilet along with their entire life savings.”

It’s not just people who were looking to buy a home who are out of money: people looking to sell their home also allege they have been scammed.

“It appeared to be a reputable company, they had their own TV series, we didn’t think it would end up like this,” said Sergio and Christina Maione, who had planned to sell a home in Edmonton.

“We worked out a contract, agreed on a price,” Sergio explained. “Essentially they (Wade’s) came to pick up my house, they left with it, and we haven’t heard from them since.”

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The couple says it has felt like an unfathomable situation, with a legal battle getting underway.

“We started asking about a payment schedule, and they were so good at responding right until the move of the house,” Christina said. “They were great at building our trust, then they stopped answering our calls, our emails, [it was] always the same excuse.”

There are feelings of anger and frustration, as the couple describes feeling sick seeing so many people in the same position.

“Seeing so many people with life savings, retirement savings, gone,” Sergio said. “The money is one thing, but the justice that needs to be served is another.”

Other people in the Facebook group say the contracts never appeared off, adding there was never any suspicion they were going to lose all their money.

Others say they aren’t quite ready to share their story with CityNews, but claim their family is now homeless after never receiving the home they paid $420,000 for.

The RCMP confirms to CityNews it has received numerous complaints about the company, but was unable to say whether or not an investigation is underway, instead describing it as a civil matter.

Police add the information has been forwarded to the provincial consumer investigation unit.

CityNews also reached out to the Taber Police Department with regard to the investigation.

“Taber Police Service is aware and there is currently a multi service investigation underway,” the department said in a statement. “Due to the fact an investigation is ongoing, we are unable to share any further details at this time.

“Please refer to the Taber Police Service social media platforms for any media releases in the future.”

According to the Better Business Bureau, Wade’s House Moving is no longer in business, and the company’s website is down.

CityNews attempted to reach out to the business directly, and was met with a voicemail saying the business is suffering from staffing shortages, and the best way to get a hold of the company would be to email them.

Wade’s House Moving didn’t respond to several emails sent by CityNews.