Returns, Exchanges and Cancellations: What Quebec Law Actually Requires You to Do

A customer comes back three weeks after a purchase. The sweater does not fit anymore, it is not defective, but she wants a refund or an exchange. Your staff are not sure what to say at the counter, and neither are you. The answer depends almost entirely on one thing: does your business have a return and exchange policy, and if so, did you make it known before the sale was completed.

The default rule: a sale is final

Under Quebec's Consumer Protection Act, a merchant is not required to take back a good that is not defective. If a customer simply changed their mind, a completed sale stays final, subject to exceptions set out in the law, such as the cancellation period that applies to certain distance contracts. Nothing forces you to accept a return just because a customer asks nicely.

Many business owners do not realize this and accept returns out of habit, assuming the law requires it. It does not. You are free to decide never to take back a non-defective item and still stay entirely within the law.

Once you adopt a policy, you are bound by it

That said, most businesses still choose to offer exchanges or refunds, often to stay competitive or keep customers coming back. Nothing obliges you to, but once you do, you have to follow exactly what you announced: the time limit, the condition the item must be in, whether a receipt is required. Whatever you set becomes a commitment to the customer.

The Office de la protection du consommateur makes a second point that is less widely known: this policy has to be brought to the customer's attention before the sale is completed, not afterward, once they come back disappointed. A sign at the register, a line on the invoice, or a clear note on your online store all work, as long as the customer can see it before paying, not only if they think to go looking for it.

You still choose the form the refund takes: cash, a store credit, or an exchange for another item. You can also require the original receipt as proof of purchase, set a specific time limit, or ask that the item be in resalable condition. These are your conditions, as long as they are clearly posted and applied the same way for everyone.

What changes when the good is defective

The situation is entirely different when an item does not work or cannot be used for its normal purpose. The law then sets out specific obligations, whether or not you have a return policy at all. Depending on the case, the merchant or the manufacturer must:

• repair the item within a reasonable time
• exchange it if the repair is not possible or is not done in time
• refund the customer if neither repair nor exchange works

If the customer has not received a satisfactory response within ten days of requesting a repair, or if the promised repair timeline is not met, they can demand an exchange or a refund directly, without waiting any longer. This legal warranty applies even if your store otherwise posts an all-sales-final policy.

What about a service instead of a good

A salon, a garage, or a professional office is not selling a good, it is selling a service. The same basic principles apply: you are free to set your own cancellation or refund policy, but you then have to follow it.

Two rules are worth knowing ahead of time. First, if you have not delivered the promised service within thirty days of the date set out in the contract, or a new date agreed with the customer, they are entitled to cancel. Second, once a cancellation is valid, whether you or the customer initiated it, any amounts already paid must be refunded in full within fifteen days. A deposit taken for an appointment that ultimately does not happen falls under this rule.

The real risk is not having no policy

The risk is not turning down returns on non-defective items: the law allows that. The real risk is posting a policy and not following it at the counter. An employee who refuses an exchange that the sign at the register clearly allows exposes the business to a valid complaint, because the Office treats that commitment as part of the terms of sale announced to the customer.

Worth checking this week

Take a look at your register, your standard receipt, and your website. If a sign or a line mentions exchanges, cancellations, or refunds, check that it matches exactly what your staff actually do at the counter. If nothing is posted anywhere, ask yourself whether having no policy is really your choice, or whether you simply never got around to writing one down.