For most people, the notion of being under a contract is a source of unease and uncertainty. If you feel stuck in a contract, know that you have more freedom than you think.
Indeed, most of the operators in Quebec tend to follow the section of the Consumer Protection Act that allows you to cancel your contract at any time. This is a good thing, since it’s common sense that we should be able to decide the supplier with whom we want to do business with and be able to change when we want to. Even if a minority of service providers don’t follow this Act, affirming that they are only governed under the Federal Telecommunications Act, know that most of you can take advantage of this right.
Change your service supplier whenever you want, it’s the law!
According to the Consumer Protection Act of Quebec, all Internet services, TV or phone contracts, concluded on or after June 30, 2010, can be cancelled at any time without notice. You simply have to advise your service provider and pay a fraction of the value of the promotions he gave you, if any. (See an example of such a calculation at the end of the article.)
Certainly, advertising by the giants such as Bell, Videotron or Rogers tries to discourage you from cancelling your contract by making you believe that you’re committed for the entirety of the promotion’s term and that you’ll have to pay significant cancellation fees if you decide to leave before the end of the term. However, you should know that you can cancel anytime, termination fees are lower than you think and decrease rapidly over time. These are important considerations since as a consumer you should be able to deal with a supplier who believes in his quality of service, as does B2B2C.
In conclusion, the important thing to remind is that if you have a contract with an Internet service provider, it doesn’t mean you necessarily have to stay with him until the end of your agreement. This applies as well for residential and cellular telephone services, cable television and security systems remote monitoring. So, feel free to look at and move to lower-priced plans offered by one of the many competitors of the telecom giants.
Here is an example to make it as clear as possible
Let’s assume that you have a 1-year contract (365 days) and at the moment you signed your contract, your provider gave you a $120 discount on the installation fees. The amount represents the economic value of the promotion and it’s reduced each day over the term of your agreement. So, if you decide to cancel your contract after 6 months (183 days), you’ll only have to repay $60!
Here is how to calculate this value :
(economic value/nuumber of days in the contract’s term)*number of complete days
In our example, the calculation becomes: (120/365)*183 = $60.
This article highlights the notion of service contract with a simplified perspective focused on providing general information and should not be considered legal advice. It’s possible that you have different conditions with your supplier. We invite you to verify the terms of your contract with them to get more information. If you are one of our clients at B2B2C, please speak with one of our agents. He or she can tell you what are the economic benefits and acquisition periods associated with your services, if any.