The Service Statement presents the commitments of the Office de la protection du consommateur regarding the quality of its services. You can also refer to the printable version of the Declaration of services to the public.
The tracking charts present the commitments contained in the Service Statement that were reached during each fiscal year, from April 1st to March 31st.
The Office de la protection du consommateur is the Québec government agency responsible for protecting Québec consumers. To fulfill this responsibility, it provides services to consumers and merchants.
Among other things, its role is to:
- monitor the application of the laws under its responsibility;
- receive complaints from consumers and inform them about their rights;
- issue certificates, permits, licences and exemptions in certain business sectors;
- ensure that merchants are aware of and abide by their obligations.
The Office is committed to providing:
- respectful service;
- reliable service;
- timely service;
- the confidentiality of personal information;
- simple procedures to receive services;
- fair delivery of services;
- accessibility to services in consideration of the specific needs of its clientele.
Furthermore, the Office shall take the necessary measures to make its documents and services accessible to persons with disabilities.
Requests for information and complaints
The Office provides personalized replies to requests for information it receives by telephone, in writing or in person. In addition, it receives complaints from consumers regarding merchants and informs them of their rights and recourse options.
Commitments regarding service standards | Target |
|---|---|
| Ensure that calls are taken by a legislative and regulatory compliance inspector within 15 minutes | For 85% of calls |
| Send a personalized reply to information requests sent via the online form within 2 business days | For 95% of requests |
Tools for consumers
The Office provides tools to consumers to help them solve a problem with a merchant, such as information kits and formal notice forms.
Commitment regarding service standards | Target |
|---|---|
| Send an information kit to help settle a dispute with a merchant by email within one business day | For 100% of admissible complaints |
Compensation for consumers
The Office provides compensation to consumers when a merchant that has provided security to be issued a permit or licence by the Office can no longer abide by its obligations, for example as a result of a business closing or declaring bankruptcy.
Commitments regarding service standards | Target |
|---|---|
| Acknowledge receipt of a compensation claim within 30 days after receiving the claim | For 95% of compensation claims |
| Notify claimants of the results of the compensation claims analysis within 3 months | For 90% of compensation claims |
Permits, licences and exemptions
The Office issues permits or licences in approximately ten business sectors (web page in French only), as well as exemptions for merchants that wish to be relieved of the requirement to deposit their customers’ funds in a trust account in certain situations.
Commitments regarding service standards | Target |
|---|---|
| Issue a new permit or licence within 15 business days after receiving a complete application that complies with requirements (normal processing) or within 3 business days (priority processing) | For 95% of applications |
| Send a renewal notice at least 4 months before the expiry date of the permit or licence currently in effect | For 90% of renewals |
| Renew a permit, licence or an exemption within 15 days of the expiry date of the permit, licence or exemption currently in effect, where the request is received within the legally prescribed deadlines | For 95% of renewal requests |
Processing of complaints regarding the quality of services
The person responsible for the quality of services receives and processes complaints, suggestions and comments related to a service provided by the Office or the conduct of its personnel, with a view to continuously improving its service delivery.
Commitments regarding service standards | Target |
|---|---|
| Process and follow up on complaints and comments received by the person responsible for the quality of services within 15 business days | For 95% of complaints and comments |
Your cooperation is essential for us to be able to honour our commitments regarding the standards and quality of the services provided. We are therefore counting on you to:
- provide us with all of the information and documents required to process your request;
- show courtesy and respect toward our personnel at all times.
The Office makes every effort to provide you with services of the highest quality. Despite these efforts, however, there may be situations about which you would like to file a complaint or suggest improvements. In such a case, you can contact the person responsible for the quality of services:
- by completing the online form;
- by mail:
Qualité des services
Office de la protection du consommateur
100, rue Laviolette, rez-de-chaussée, bur. 11
Trois-Rivières (Québec) G9A 5S9
Services to consumers
We reply to your requests for information and receive your complaints by telephone, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can also contact us in writing at any time using our online form.
The Office also has 11 regional offices across Québec that are open to the public according to a predetermined schedule. Before going to one of these offices, be sure to check the interactive map for the business hours of our various offices.
Services to merchants
The way merchants can reach us depends on the reason they want to contact us. Merchants are invited to consult the section titled Nous joindre – Commerçants (in French only) for all the details.
