Bills and formal notices

• What do I have to do to dispute an invoice (heating, telephone, cable, etc.)?
  
• Do I need a lawyer to issue a formal notice?
  
• Bell is threatening to suspend my basic service. Does it have the right to do this?
  

Housing

• I plan to hire a contractor to carry out restoration work. Do I need a license?
  
• I have to choose a restoration contractor. How can I find somebody qualified?
  
• I have chosen a contractor to do some work for me. Do I have to sign a contract with him?
  
• The renovation work I’m planning involves a significant investment. Can the contractor I deal with guarantee the work?
  
• The contractor I signed a contract with did his work badly. Do I have any recourse?
  

Commercial Practices

• What is the price accuracy policy exactly?
  
• I’ve paid one installment on an article, but I don’t want to buy it any more. Will I be refunded?
  
• I‘ve just bought an article that I don’t want any more. Is the retailer obliged to take it back?
  
• I’ve just bought an article that is defective. Is the retailer obliged to compensate me?
  
• Can a contract be concluded even if I never signed anything?
  
• I decided to have my car repainted in order to give it a fresh look. Is the work guaranteed? Do they have to give me an invoice?
  
• For my birthday, I received two copies of the same book as presents. Is it possible to take one back and to obtain a refund?
  
• I bought a camera with a one-year guarantee on parts and labour. Inside the box, there was a coupon that I was supposed to fill in and return to the manufacturer in order to validate the guarantee. I didn’t do that. Is my guarantee valid all the same?
  
• In his advertising, a well-established retailer details the periodic payments needed to purchase certain articles, but omits to state their total price. Is this legal?
  
• I went to a retailer to buy a clock radio that in a flyer was advertised on sale for $25. Once I got there, I learned that there been an error in the flyer and that the article in question was not on sale at $25, but at $50. Does the retailer do have the right to require me to pay that amount?
  
• Last week, I went to the supermarket in order to buy a product that was advertised as being on sale. There was none on the shelves and a clerk told me that there they had no more in stock. Do I have any recourse?
  
• I registered in a flamenco course. After two weeks, I realized that I did not have enough time to devote to this activity. Can I obtain a refund?
  
• I am often bothered by telephone solicitation. I want this to stop. What can I do?
  
• I have just found out that the television set I paid $1600 for generally sells for less than $800. Can I ask for a reduction?
  
• Three weeks ago, I had my washing machine repaired. However, it still has the same problem. Can I ask them to repair it for free?
  

Legal protection

• What is legal insurance?
  

Personal information and privacy

• Am I obliged to give personal information (Social Insurance Number, driver’s licence number, health insurance number) to anyone who requests it?
  
• Can a company refuse to provide me a good or a service because I do not want to give personal information?
  
• I had a surgical operation and I would like to see my file. Do they have to comply with my request? If so, can they require me to pay charges?
  
• I have just learned that a company I have been dealing with for a while sent information about me to a credit bureau, without my consent. Do I have any recourse?
  

Identity Theft

• What is identity theft?
  
• I am a victim of identity theft. What can I do?
  

Credit File

• What is in my credit file?
  
• Can I consult my credit file?
  
• There are errors in my credit file. How can I correct them?
  
• The credit office refused to correct the errors in my credit file. How can I exercise my rights?
  
• Am I obliged to accept someone consulting my credit file?
  

Agreements with public utility companies

• My electricity bill is overdue. What can I do?
  
• Is it true that Hydro-Quebec allows people with low income to make special arrangements?
  

Preauthorized debit

• My insurance company debited my account twice instead of once last month. What can I do when errors occur with regard to preauthorized debit?
  

Recovery

• A debt collector telephones me several times a week. What are my rights?
  
• Can a creditor seize my social assistance cheque?
  
• Can a bailiff come to my home at any time?
  
• I have a job. Can the court order part of my salary to be garnished in order to repay my debts?
  

Repayment from your account

• Can someone take money from my account to repay a debt without my consent?
  
• Can the bank repay itself from the employment insurance cheques I deposit in my account?
  

Basic banking services

• Can I cash a government cheque if I don’t have an account in a financial institution?
  
• What do I have to do to open a personal account?
  
• The bank refuses to open an account for me because I have a bad credit rating. Does it have the right to do that?
  
• The bank refused to open an account for reasons that don’t seem valid to me. What can I do?
  
• A credit card issuing company sent me a card I hadn’t applied for. Do they have the right to do that?
  
• My credit card was stolen. Will I have to pay for the transactions that the thief made with my card?
  
• When I received my account statement, I noticed that the card-issuing company had raised my credit limit without notifying me. Are they allowed to do that?
  

In time of financial crisis

• I’m too deeply in debt. What options do I have?
  

Securities

• I want to make investments and I'm looking for a qualified investment dealer. How can I make the right choice?
  
• I’m not satisfied with the advice my investment dealer gives me. What can I do?