Find out when you can cancel a contract
Cooling-off period
When you sign a contract with a door-to-door salesperson, you have 10 days to cancel after you receive a copy of the agreement. This is called the cooling-off period.
If you cancel during the cooling-off period, you don’t have to give a reason.
But, you may have to pay some costs if you asked for the product and asked that the equipment be installed in your home before the 10 days are over. These costs may include:
- any rental payments, which are still due if you cancel
- any expenses the rental company must pay to remove the product or service
- charges for unreasonable or excessive wear or use of the product or service
Required information
The contract you make with a salesperson must include all of the following information:
- the seller’s name, telephone number, and address
- your name and address
- an accurate description of the product or service you’re buying, renting, leasing, or financing
- the total cost of each item
- the total amount you must pay, when and how you must pay, and what currency that amounts are listed in if it is not Canadian dollars
- when and where the product will be delivered or when the services will be provided, how they will be installed, and when they will be completed
- a list of your legal rights as a consumer and an explanation of any rights you have to cancel, return, exchange, or get a refund
Prescribed products and services
There are different rules for what information must be in the contract for a prescribed product or service.
The seller must put a cover page on the front of the contract. The cover page tells you about some of your rights. The cover page will also:
- ask you to confirm that you invited the seller to come into your home
- tell you that you can cancel the contract within 10 days for any reason (this is called the cooling-off period)
- remind you to review the contract before signing it
If the contract is signed on or after May 1, 2018, it must also include:
- details about any other contracts that you have with the same seller
- a guarantee that the item will work for the whole term of the contract
- a statement about whether the product is new, used, or reconditioned
- an itemized list of any additional charges like delivery, installation, removal, or late payment fees, and the amount of those charges, including taxes and
- how to cancel the contract and any cancellation fees
If your written agreement does not have all of this information, you can cancel it at any time up to one year after you made the agreement.
Late delivery of goods or services
Your contract must include a date when the products will be delivered or when the services will start. If there is no delivery date or start date, it is 30 days after you signed the contract.
If the seller is more than 30 days late in starting to deliver the products or perform the services, you can cancel the contract at any time. But you lose the right to cancel because of the late delivery or services if you agree to let the seller deliver late or start the service late.
