Do you want to cancel a purchase from an itinerant merchant? You can do so free of any charges or explanations by acting within the prescribed deadlines, even if the merchant has already delivered the goods or services.

In addition, in certain situations, cancelling this contract may also result in the cancellation of another contract entered into on an incidental basis.

Cancellation deadline: 10 days or one year

You generally have 10 days to cancel your contract, but that deadline can be up to one year under certain circumstances.

How to calculate the 10-day deadline

The 10-day deadline begins the day after you received your copy of the signed contract.

For example, if you were given your copy on a Tuesday, you are entitled to cancel your contract up to Friday of the following week. If the 10th day falls on a weekend or a statutory holiday, the deadline is extended to the next weekday or regular workday.

Situations in which the deadline can be extended to one year

In certain cases, you may cancel the contract in the year that follows the day on which it was signed by both parties (the merchant and you). To do, you must find yourself in one of the following situations:

• The merchant entered into a prohibited contract after November 7, 2024 inclusive (e.g., a heat pump, an air conditioner, decontamination, insulation, etc.).
• The merchant with which you did business did not hold a valid permit from the Office de la protection du consommateur when you signed the contract.
• Your contract did not contain all of the information required by law.
• The merchant did not enclose the mandatory documents with the contract, i.e.:
  • the Statement of consumer cancellation rights;
  • the cancellation form.
• The merchant did not deliver the goods or services within the 30-day period that follows the date indicated on the contract or, after this 30-day period, on the date agreed upon with you.
• The security the merchant provided to the Office was not valid or did not comply with the requirements when you signed the contract.

Procedure to cancel the contract

You can choose either of the following options:

• Notify the merchant in writing that you want to cancel the contract. The Office de la protection du consommateur recommends that you send this notice by registered mail. You can either:
  • use the cancellation form the merchant enclosed with the contract; or
  • send the merchant a letter.
• If you purchased a product, return it to the merchant in the condition in which you received it.

In legal terms, this is called “contract resolution.” This means that the merchant and you must find yourselves in the situation you were it before the contract was signed. If you paid the merchant any money, the merchant must give you a full refund within 15 days after either sending the form or letter or returning the product.

Any fees incurred to return a product are to be covered by the merchant. If the purchased goods or services resulted in any modifications to your home, for example, the merchant must return the premises to their initial condition.

If you have damaged the goods, the merchant is entitled to refuse to cancel the contract.

Contract entered into on an incidental basis

Did you enter into another contract as a result of some form of intervention by the itinerant salesperson? This could be a credit, maintenance or warranty contract, for example.

Cancelling the contract with the itinerant merchant automatically cancels this other contract, even if this second contract was entered into with another merchant. The itinerant salesperson is then responsible for reimbursing any amounts you have paid, include any amounts paid to the other merchant.

The Office recommends that you send a copy of the cancellation form or letter to this other merchant.

If your contract was entered into before November 7, 2024, cancelling a contract with an itinerant merchant only cancels the credit contract used to finance the purchase, if this contract was entered into as a result of some form of intervention on the part of the itinerant merchant.

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