What warranty protection do Canadian consumers have?
Beyond any manufacturer warranty, provincial Sale of Goods Acts imply that goods are of merchantable quality and reasonably fit for their purpose, and provincial Consumer Protection Acts generally prohibit sellers from waiving these implied warranties in a consumer sale. Quebec goes further with a statutory legal warranty of reasonable durability under its Consumer Protection Act.
Can a store refuse a refund if the product is defective?
For a genuinely defective product that breaches the implied warranty of quality, provincial law entitles you to a remedy even if the store has a no-refund policy, because that policy cannot override statutory warranty rights. Depending on severity you may be entitled to repair, replacement, a price reduction, or rejection of the goods for a refund. Store policies apply mainly to change-of-mind returns.
How is a Canadian warranty refund calculated?
If you reject non-conforming goods, you recover the purchase price, often reduced by an allowance for the use you had before the defect appeared, plus reasonable incidental losses. If you keep the goods, you recover the cost to repair them or the reduction in value. Quebec’s legal warranty can support a full refund for a serious latent defect.
What is the Quebec legal warranty of quality?
Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act and Civil Code impose a legal warranty that goods must be durable for a reasonable time given their price and use, independent of any manufacturer warranty. A consumer can demand repair, replacement, a price reduction, or cancellation of the sale for a latent defect, often without the multiple-repair thresholds used elsewhere.