In Ontario, many of your rights as a consumer are proscribed primarily by Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act (the “CPA”).
Firstly, when you sign a contract in Ontario:
• for a product or service you buy from a door-to-door salesperson (also called a direct agreement);
• to pay in advance to join a fitness club or gym (also called a personal development contracts);
• to buy a newly-built condo (under the Condominium Act);
• to get a payday loan (under the Payday Loans Act); and
• to purchase a time share,
you are statutorily entitled to a “cooling-off period”, being a specific number of days during which you can cancel the agreement without reason or penalty.
You can cancel the contract anytime within the cooling-off period by writing a cancellation letter to the business. Any agreements you made with the purchase, like financing plans, will also be cancelled.
You don’t need to give the business a reason for cancelling.
For most contracts, the company has fifteen days to return your money.
If the contract was for a product, the seller is also responsible for picking up the product or paying for it to be picked up if they want it back.
Secondly, for your holiday shopping, when you order a product, it must be delivered within thirty days of the promised delivery date, or you can ask for a refund.
However, if you choose to keep the item that was delivered late, you lose your right to get a refund for it.
You also cannot be charged for receiving an item or service that you did not request. You can use the item or throw it away.
For more information, contact us or check out ontario.ca by searching “consumer protection”.
