Sales and promotions advertisements must abide by specific rules.
Merchants must receive your authorization before invoicing you for goods or services.
Unauthorized invoicing
A merchant may offer you a product or service free of charge or at a reduced price for a specific period of time. This may include, for example, Internet service or a newspaper subscription. Once the promotion has ended, the merchant may invoice you for this product or service at the regular price only if you have given the merchant your consent. The merchant may not require that you provide notification that you no longer want the product or service in order not to have to pay for it.
Recourse options if there is a problem
You can report a merchant who fails to abide by these rules by contacting the Office de la protection du consommateur.
In an advertisement, a merchant may not lead you to believe that you will not pay any taxes.
Expressions used
Merchants are prohibited from using wording such as “no GST or QST”, “no taxes” or “tax free.” However, they may use expressions such as “we grant you a discount equivalent to the sales taxes” or “we pay the sales taxes.”
Reporting a merchant
If you do business with a merchant that fails to abide by these rules, you can contact the Office de la protection du consommateur to report that merchant.
Last update : May 3, 2021
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The information contained on this page is presented in simple terms to make it easier to understand. It does not replace the texts of the laws and regulations.
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