Business practices that mislead you or give you false hope for the purpose of encouraging you to buy are illegal. They can include:

• false advertising;
• false information provided by the itinerant salesperson verbally or in writing.

For example, an itinerant merchant cannot make false promises about the offered good or service. He does not have the right to claim that installing a heat pump will help you save 50% off your heating bill if he cannot support his claim.

Recourse

The law stipulates that recourse is possible when an itinerant merchant has provided you with false or misleading information. You will need to:

1. Inform the merchant of the problem and present your solution to him.
2. If you cannot reach an agreement, you must send a demand letter to the merchant. The page on how to Send a demand letter explains what you need to do.
3. If the merchant does not respond to your demand, ask the court to settle the issue. The page on how to Make a claim to the small claims court will provide you with all the details you need.

You can also contact the Office de la protection du consommateur to find out if you can file a complaint.

The advertised price must include all the amounts that you are required to pay for the good or service, excluding taxes. This price must be emphasized more than the individual amounts that make up the price. It cannot be increased, unless products or services are added at your request.

Amounts that can be added

Some amounts can be added to the advertised price. Those amounts are required under the provisions of a government act or regulation and must be collected and given to a public authority. For example:

• Québec sales tax (QST);
• goods and services tax (GST).

Prohibited actions associated with advertised prices

All merchants, manufacturers and advertisers are prohibited from:

• only indicating the periodic instalments to pay when purchasing a small household appliance without mentioning the total cost;
• requiring a price that is higher than the advertised price;
• advertising a reduced price when this is not true;
• making consumers believe that the good or service is more competitively priced when you can purchase the same good or service at the same price or at a lower price from another merchant.

Did you run into a problem?

The advertised price is not the price that you are asked to pay. You are entitled to ask to pay for the good or service at the advertised price.

You can also file a complaint with the Office de la protection du consommateur if you realize that a merchant does not respect pricing rules. Go to the Contact us page to find out how you can reach us.