Consumers Council of Canada (CCC)
2017
Canadians are less reliant on stores and becoming more reliant on electronic commerce. “Shopping” now involves a few clicks or taps on a computer, smartphone or other devices to purchase goods and services. There are more choices of merchants, and more choices of how to pay for purchases. There are also more challenges for consumer protection. When you purchase something online, you expect it to arrive on time and matching the description. When it doesn’t, and the seller is uncooperative or unresponsive, a buyer’s protection rights can depend on a number of factors: how they paid, their province of residence and its consumer protection rules, the policies of payment card issuers, networks and online marketplaces, payment industry codes of conduct, and the merchant’s rules disclosure. When the buyer is in Lethbridge and the seller in Luxembourg, resolution of disputes can be complex. One consumer protection is the chargeback, a commitment by some payment networks to allow consumers to recover costs in certain circumstances.
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OCA Funded ResearchThis research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.
Consumers Council of Canada 201-1920 Yonge Street Toronto, ON M4S 3E2
Source: Consumer Policy Research Database