1704571591 Hard hard the life of a consumer

Hard, hard, the life of a consumer

When we're swooning over the price of butter at the supermarket, it's easy to say that everything is going wrong. However, consumers in Quebec gained rights in 2023.

“The No. 1 complaint topic is still the guarantee for household appliances. We also had a lot of complaints about swimming pools this year,” notes Sylvie De Bellefeuille from Option Consommateur.

The lawyer has seen files come and go over the years. Although Quebecers are still repelled by the guarantee in 2023, she notes that online purchases represent another source of inconvenience.

Because a package delivered by Simons doesn't have the same life as one you receive from a stranger via Amazon. “It is not always easy to convince a Chinese or American trader that Quebec law applies,” explains the budget and legal advisor.

Quebecers also do not make enough use of the chargeback option, which is useful when the Chinese have made mistakes on Amazon and no longer respond to emails. We can then contact our credit card issuer, who will be obliged to issue a refund.

“We don’t know enough about chargebacks in Quebec. “We still have a long way to go,” argues the lawyer.

Quebecers also experienced problems with payment plans (PayBright, Afterpay, Sezzle, Klarna, QuadPay and Affirm) in 2023, as well as transactions between individuals on Marketplace or Kijiji.

New rights

But 2023 has brought more than just ugliness. “A lot has changed on the legislative side,” says Sylvie De Bellefeuille happily.

Quebec passed a law to combat planned obsolescence and guarantee the right to repair for the first time in October.

A new warranty extension for items such as refrigerators is also included in the project.

“It remains to be seen how this all comes together,” moderates the lawyer, who has been working at Option consommateurs for 13 years.

Access to justice for small claims cases has also improved this year thanks to a new law in Quebec, she mentions, while at the federal level the project to tighten the screws on airlines is well underway.

“The number of complaints clearly shows that there is a problem,” she said of the 61,000 files pending with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) – around 13,400 as of March 31, 2022.

For the months of July, August and September alone, the CTA recorded 11,232 complaints in 2023.

The devil is once again in the details. “We have to wait and see how the new regulations are formulated” before declaring victory.

Top 5: The consumer is the joke in 2023

“Don’t let anyone move!”

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Archive photo, Martin Chevalier

Gone are the days when a bandit brandished a weapon and shouted, “And no one moves!” Nowadays, fraud happens online and the target is not the bank but the customer. How many victims have to fight for compensation? The Journal alone reported on at least 30 cases in 2023: a former banker was cheated out of $10,000, a refund of $20,000 was rejected, another of $30,000 was also rejected, a man was arrested within 13 Cheated 13 times in days etc. It never stops! Even entrepreneurs were targeted by the BNC. The law needs to change to better protect the public, as London intends to do.

Loyalty…and data

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Photo Julien Mcevoy

All major chains have announced it in 2023: everyone has their own customer card. Programs of this type are growing as inflation rises, but these cards contain valuable information that is not always protected. Suncor (Petro-Canada), for example, was hacked in June. Offended by the “mismanagement” of the cyberattack on the Petro Points program, a Quebecer filed a motion to authorize a class action lawsuit to hold the Canadian oil company accountable. The matter will progress in 2024.

The Quebec Mystery, Chapter 22

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Photo Marianne White

The mystery of the price at the pump will remain unsolved for everyone in 2023. But those who live in Quebec have even more questions than others. Last September, for example, the standard unleaded liter was 22 cents more expensive in Quebec than in Saguenay. Estimated retail margins have been above average in Quebec since 2021; between 2018 and 2023 they even rose by 10.6 cents per liter. The almighty Pierre Fitzgibbon believes petrol retailers need to justify these generous profit margins. The CAQ minister has also asked the Federal Competition Authority to launch an investigation.

Goodbye, beach gear

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Photo provided by Marc-André Bessette

Who doesn't know someone whose luggage was lost by the tour operator? Flying in 2023 means taking risks, not for your safety. There are countless stories like this: $5,000 worth of luggage goes missing here, a misplaced engagement ring there. Worse still, the number of complaints of all kinds is exploding: from 13,000 in 2022 to over 61,000 today. Luckily, Ottawa is on board. Air Canada will soon have to offer us at least a bottle of water if the plane doesn't take off.

It stays with the insurer

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Photo provided by Geneviève Pelletier

Many Quebecers wrote to the Journal in 2023 to complain about serious deficiencies at Canada Life, an insurer owned by Power Corp. Incorrect information, chaotic customer service, delays, payment failures, robotic responses, skyrocketing wait times… the list of complaints is long. In particular, the Desmarais clan company won a $515 million contract in 2021 to manage the Public Service Health Care Plan (RSSFP) at the federal level.

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