Before signing up for home phone services, the Office de la protection du consommateur advises that you carefully evaluate your needs.

You may also need to choose between 2 types of contracts: an open-ended contract, or a fixed term contract.

Relevant questions

These questions should help you choose the plan that best suits your habits and your needs:

• What is your budget?
• Do you need optional services that may be offered by the provider (voicemail, call display, call waiting, etc.);
• Do you need a long-distance call package?

Open-ended contracts

If you choose an open-ended contract:

• you will receive a bill each month, but you will not be bound by a contract for a fixed period of time;
• the price of the services may be raised. See Amending a contract for further details;
• you will not normally pay fees if you cancel your agreement.

Fixed length contracts

If you choose a fixed length contract, you will be bound by an agreement for a fixed period of time, lasting, for example, from 1 to 3 years. During this time, the price of the services cannot be raised. See Amending a contract for further information on this subject.

If you cancel your contract, you may have to pay cancellation fees. Before signing an agreement with a service provider, find out about these fees. They vary based on whether you received a discount on a product essential to the use of the service, such as a phone or a VoIP modem. For more information, see the following pages:

• Cancellation fees: contract with a device discount;
• Cancellation fees: contract with no device discount.