A merchant showed up at your door and you accepted his offer. You can cancel this contract without paying any fees or giving any explanations within 10 days of having received your copy of the signed contract.

This rule applies when the door-to-door salesperson did not tell you that he was stopping by. It is also applicable if he arranged to see you before showing up, by phoning you for example.

The contract can be cancelled even if the merchant:

• already provided you with a service. Example: he already started the work;
• already gave you the good that you purchased.

How to calculate the 10-day deadline

The 10-day deadline starts the day after you receive your copy of the signed contract.

Let’s say you received your copy on a Tuesday. You can cancel your contract up until Friday of the following week. If the 10^th day is on a weekend or falls on a statutory holiday, the deadline is postponed to the following work day.

How to cancel a contract

You can choose one of the following options:

• Inform the merchant in writing of your intention to cancel the contract. The Office de la protection du consommateur recommends that you use registered mail. You can either:
  • use the cancellation form that the merchant attached to the contract, or
  • write him a letter.
• If you purchased a good, return it to the merchant in the state in which you received it.

In legal terms, it is known as a « contract cancellation ». This means that you and the merchant must find yourselves in the same situation as the one prior to the signature of the contract. Did you give money to the merchant? He must reimburse you within 15 days of your having sent the form or letter, or of having returned the good.

Fees associated to the return of the good are the responsibility of the merchant. If the purchased good or service led to changes in your home, the merchant must return your home to its original state. For example, it may entail repairing the wall that was opened to install an air conditioning unit.

If you damaged the good, the merchant can refuse to cancel the contract.

Cancelling within one year

In some cases, you can cancel a contract within one year of having received your copy of the signed contract. However, one of these situations must apply to you:

• The merchant with whom you did business did not have a valid permit from the Office de la protection du consommateur when you signed the contract.
• Your contract did not contain all the information required by law.
• The merchant did not attach the mandatory documents to your contract:
  • the statement of consumer cancellation rights,
  • the cancellation form.
• The merchant did not provide you with the good or service within the 30 days of the date indicated on the contract or, after the 30 days of the date agreed with you.
• The surety provided by the merchant to the Office is not valid or does not comply with the security required at the time you signed the contract.

Cancelling a credit agreement

Did you sign a credit agreement to finance your purchase? Cancelling a contract with an itinerant merchant automatically leads to the cancellation of a credit agreement used to finance the purchase. These 2 contracts form one whole.

The Office recommends that you send a copy of the cancellation form or the cancellation letter to the financial institution or the company that financed your purchase.

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