Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A
Publisher/Sponsor:
Ontario Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services
Administered by the Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services, the Act provides legislation that covers a wide range of matters involving transactions for goods or services made between consumers and suppliers. The overall goal of the Act is, of course, to protect consumers in these dealings.
The Act defines a consumer as an individual acting for personal, family or household purposes but does not include a person who is acting for business purposes; a supplier is defined as a person who is in the business of selling, leasing or trading in goods or services. Therefore, a “consumer agreement” is an agreement or transaction between a supplier and a consumer in which the supplier agrees to provide goods or services in exchange for payment. Consumer agreements can take on many forms other than the standard retail transactions that one thinks of when hearing the term “consumer”. The Act addresses such specifics as:
- warranties,
- credit agreements (the loaning of money or extending credit, but does not include money lent for mortgages),
- leasing,
- time share agreements (the Act does not apply to purchases or leasing of real estate),
- estimates for work or repairs,
- repairs to motor vehicles (e.g., all repairs or replacement parts carry a minimum 90 day or 5000 km warranty),
- advance payments,
- the quality of goods supplied,
- false or misleading advertising,
- gas marketers and energy suppliers,
- “personal development services” (health clubs, sports clubs, modelling agencies, etc.), and
- transactions that are made using the Internet.
In a number of situations, the Act protects consumers with a “cooling off period” on specified agreements. In essence, the Act grants a 10-day period in which the consumer has the right to cancel a contract or return for a full refund, any goods that they may have purchased. Cooling off periods are particularly useful when consumers may have been particularly susceptible to undue sales pressures, such as agreements entered into for time shares or memberships for fitness clubs.
Consumer-related issues that are not addressed by the Consumer Protection Act are dealt with in a number of more specific acts, including, the Securities Act, the Insurance Act, the Loan and Trust Corporations Act, the Residential Tenancies Act, the Ontario Energy Board Act, the Payday Loans Act, and the Sale of Goods Act.
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