When you buy goods or services by phone or mail order, or over the Internet, you may be making what is called a distance sales contract. The resources below explain what this contract means and the situations in which you may be able to cancel the contract.

Good starting points include:

• Shopping by Phone, Mail or the Internet, from the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, explains the laws that apply to shopping online and what your options are.
• Better Business Bureau Consumer Tips, from the Better Business Bureau of Mainland British Columbia, provides an extensive list of consumer tips, organized alphabetically. See the section on “Online Shopping”.
• Consumer Law and Credit/Debt Law, from the Legal Services Society, is a manual for paralegals, legal information counselors, and lawyers. It includes information on distance sales contracts in the chapter on “Cooling-off periods”.

tags

online shopping, contracts, consumer rights, distance sales contracts, ecommerce