Consumer Protection:

Question: What can a Paralegal like Freed Legal Services help me with if I think a business in Ontario used unfair terms in a consumer contract?

Answer:   Freed Legal Services is a Paralegal service that helps Ontario consumers address consumer protection issues under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, including unfair practices, unlawful door-to-door contracts, deceptive conduct, and problems with contracts or implied warranties for goods and services  if you are dealing with a dispute, you can contact (800) 716-1897 to discuss your situation, review your documents, and determine practical next steps toward resolving the matter fairly across Ontario.

In the world of commerce, and in particular matters of consumer transactions, the individual person as a purchasing consumer is often at significant disadvantage in business dealings, especially when such business dealings involve large corporations.  To help balance the playing field, so to help ensure that individual consumers receive fairness during business dealings, consumer protection laws were put into place.

Without the protection of consumer protection statutes, consumers would be subjected to the common law and the age old adage of buyer beware or caveat emptor as such is known in Latin) and often referred to within historical legal precedents.

The Law

The law contains many statutes that contain provisions providing protection to consumers including, among various others:

• The Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, Chapter 30, Schedule A;
• The Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34; and
• The Sale of Goods Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.1.

In addition to the statute laws as above, and despite buyer beware principles, the common law as ruled by judges also contains protections for consumers such as implied warranties requiring that sellers to supply products appropriate for the intended purpose or for the performance of good work.

Common Issues Include: