The Consumer Protection Act

Some of the areas the Act covers are:

• Unfair practices by suppliers
• Automotive sales and repairs
• Collection agencies and debt repayment
• Consignment sales
• Cost of credit disclosure
• Credit and personal reports
• Direct sales contracts (door-to-door sales)
• Employment agencies
• Energy marketing
• Gift cards
• High-cost credit
• Home inspection businesses
• Internet sales
• Loan brokers
• Payday loans
• Prepaid contracting businesses
• Public auctions
• Retail home sales
• Ticket sales
• Time share contracts
• Travel clubs

Last Reviewed: March 2022

The Act is provincial legislation that applies in Alberta only. It applies to certain businesses and their interactions with consumers. Usually, the business or consumer must be in Alberta, or the contract must be offered or accepted in Alberta.

Some parts of the Act or regulations apply only to certain businesses. For example, the part of the Act dealing with payday loans applies only to payday loan lenders and consumers who deal with payday loan lenders.

Last Reviewed: March 2022

A consumer is an individual who has received goods and services from a supplier by way of a purchase, lease, gift or contest. It does not include a person who intends to sell the goods after receiving them.

A consumer also includes someone who must pay a supplier for goods or services another person has received (if that other person does not plan to sell the goods after receiving them).

Last Reviewed: March 2022

A supplier is a person who, in their business:

• provides goods or services to consumers
• manufactures or produces goods
• promotes goods or services
• receives money for providing goods and services

A supplier includes a salesperson, employee, representative or agent of a business that is a supplier.

Last Reviewed: March 2022

The Act lists many types of unfair practices. Essentially, an unfair practice is anything a supplier says or does that is not true and that could negatively affect the consumer. For example, lying about a product’s qualities or price, or pressuring a consumer into buying something.

Other unfair practices under Act include:

• Unduly pressuring or influencing a consumer to enter into a transaction
• Taking advantage of the consumer because the consumer does not understand the character, nature, language or effect of a transaction
• Using exaggeration, innuendo or ambiguity about a material fact of a transaction. A material fact is any information that one would expect to affect a consumer’s decisions to enter into a transaction.
• Charging a price for goods or services that is grossly higher than the price for similar goods and services without telling the consumer of the price difference and reason for the difference
• Charging a price for goods or services that is more than 10% (to a maximum of $100) higher than estimated. The rule does not apply if:
  • The consumer agrees to the higher price before the goods or services are supplied
  • The consumer asks for more or different goods or services, and the consumer and supplier agree to change the estimate.
• Charging a fee to provide an estimate for goods or services. This rule does not apply if:
  • The consumer knows ahead of time a fee will be charged and the amount
  • The consumer has agreed to pay the fee.
• Entering into a transaction if the supplier knows (or should know) the consumer will not get any reasonable benefit from the goods or services
• Entering into a transaction if the supplier knows (or should know) the consumer is likely not able to pay the full price for the goods or services
• Including terms or conditions that are harsh, oppressive or excessively one-sided
• Falsely representing that a transaction involves or does not involve rights, remedies or obligations
• Doing or saying anything that might mislead the consumer
• Giving an opinion if the consumer is likely to rely on the opinion to the consumer’s disadvantage
• Saying that goods or services are something they are not, such as about sponsorship, performance, ingredients, accessories, quantities, uses, benefits, connection to someone, status, quality, standard, etc.
• Saying the goods are new when they are not, or used when they are not
• Saying the goods or services are available for a reason that is not true
• Saying they can supply goods or services when they cannot
• Saying a second supplier will provide discounted goods or services when the first supplier knows the second supplier will not
• Saying goods or services will be provided in a time period when the supplier knows they will not
• Saying a price benefit exists but it does not
• Saying that a part, replacement, repair or adjustment should or must be done, but it does not
• Asking for information, conduct a survey or solicit goods for a purpose that is not the case
• Falsely saying a person does or does not have authority to negotiate a contract
• Not giving the total price of the goods or services, or emphasize instalment payments over the total price
• Not fully disclosing or clearly stating all the terms of an ongoing contract, such as duration, changes in price, renewals, extensions, changes, etc.
• Giving an estimate for goods or services when the goods or services cannot be provided for that price
• Marketing goods or services in a way that makes the consumer think the price is for more goods or services than is the case
• Saying the consumer will get a benefit for helping the supplier find other consumers when it is unlikely the consumer will get that benefit
• Saying that goods are available at a marked down price if reasonable quantities are not available at that price, unless the supplier makes it clear that quantities are limited
• Advertising or promoting goods or services in an editorial, documentary or scientific report without saying the purpose of the ad is to sell the goods or services

Last Reviewed: March 2022

If a supplier engages in an unfair practice, a consumer has many options such as:

1. File a complaint with Service Alberta’s Consumer Investigations Unit.
2. Cancel the transaction for free and return the goods. This applies to written and unwritten contracts, and regardless of when the unfair practice occurred (before, during or after the time the contract was entered into).
3. Seek recovery of money if cancelling the transaction is not possible because:
   1. returning the goods or canceling the service is not possible
   2. cancelling the transaction would hurt a third-party involved who acted in good faith and for value.

In these cases, a consumer can get back one or both:

• the amount that their payments exceed the value of the goods or services, or
• damages (monies paid to compensate the consumer)

For options 2 and 3, you must notify the supplier of what you want to do within one year of the unfair practice. The notice must include:

• a statement that you intend to cancel the transaction (option 2) or seek recovery (option 3)
• your reasons for doing so
• the date and place of the transaction
• what remedy you want (a refund, damages, etc.) and the amount

You must deliver the notice to the supplier.

4. Sue the supplier in Provincial Court because you suffered damages or loss due to an unfair practice. The court can order an appropriate remedy (resolution), such as ordering the supplier to pay money to the consumer or ordering the supplier do something for the consumer. In making a decision, the court will think about whether you have taken steps to lessen the damage you suffered before suing the supplier.

Last Reviewed: March 2022

No. Arbitration is a way of solving a dispute. An arbitrator is a person who decides the outcome of a dispute, instead of a court. The people involved in the issue appoint an arbitrator who has knowledge of and experience with the issues.

The law says that suppliers cannot force you to resolve the disputes through arbitration. Any arbitration terms in a contract are void (not enforceable).

Arbitration is allowed in two situations:

• you and the supplier agree to it after the dispute has come up, or
• the consumer has the option to choose arbitration or court to solve a dispute after the dispute has come up.

Last Reviewed: March 2022

No. Anything that says you waive your rights under the Consumer Protection Act is void.

Last Reviewed: March 2022

No. A contract cannot say you cannot post a review of the business or transaction. The law also says that a person cannot sue you for damages related to your review or complaint (unless your review or complaint was made in bad faith, such as harassing or malicious). A person also cannot sue you for filing a complaint with Service Alberta.

Last Reviewed: March 2022

A negative option practice is where a supplier:

• provides goods or services to consumer (or enhances a service the consumer is already receiving) that the consumer did not ask for and
• requires the consumer to pay for the goods or services unless the consumer tells the supplier they do not want the goods or services.

Negative option practices are not allowed in Alberta. A consumer does not have to pay for any goods or services they receive under a negative option practice.

    Last Reviewed: March 2022