Dear Licensees,

On February 25, the BC Government tabled amendments to the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCPA) affecting all consumer contracts in BC. The amendments aim to:

• (a) prohibit certain terms in a consumer contract,
• (b) standardize certain terms across all types of consumer transactions
• (c) enhance consumer rights to review contracts before agreeing to them, and
• (d) enhance consumer rights to cancel a contract without penalty under certain circumstances.

Many of the proposed changes require regulations to be passed to clarify what the new requirements will be. In this Bulletin, we will identify those changes we know are being proposed. Additional Bulletins may follow.

Bill 4 – 2025, the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act, 2025 (see here). Currently, the Bill is still before the BC Legislature and not yet law.

Based on our current reading of the amendments, what follows is a high-level explanation of the new requirements of the BPCPA:

New Prohibited Terms

The amendments will prohibit a supplier (motor dealer) from including in a consumer contract a term or acknowledgement:

• (a) that restricts or prohibits a consumer from posting an online review,
• (b) that restricts or prohibits a consumer from participating in a class action proceeding,
• (c) that requires a consumer to resolve disputes only through arbitration or another type of dispute resolution process. In other words, a consumer has a right to bring a court action.

Any such terms are deemed void and unenforceable. It will also be an offence to include such terms in a consumer contract. These prohibitions do not require any regulations and become law once the amendments are passed by the BC Legislature. 

Disclosure Requirements

In addition to existing BPCPA requirements, the new amendments will require in a consumer contract:

• (a) A dealer registration number in all forms of consumer contracts. This is required by the Motor Dealer Act, but is now also a requirement in the BPCPA,
• (b) Information on any promotional offers and the terms for renewing contracts after the promotional period ends, such as what the terms will be after that promotional period ends, and
• (c) For consumer contracts identified in the regulations, the cancellation rights of a consumer in the form that the regulation requires.

A supplier (motor dealer) must:

• (a) include all the terms in a consumer contract required by the BPCPA,
• (b) allow a consumer an opportunity to view the entire contract before the consumer enters the consumer contract. A signature on a worksheet is not viewing the entire contract, and
• (c) if the consumer requests, provide at no charge a copy of the entire contract before the consumer enters into the contract.

Consumer Contract Cancellation Rights

Under the new amendments, consumers can cancel a contract, without penalty and for a full refund, if:

• (a) The dealer does not include in a consumer contract the information that is required by the BPCPA,
• (b) The information the dealer provided to the consumer prior to the consumer entering into the contract, is different from the final contract (including price),
• (c) The dealer failed to allow the consumer an opportunity to view the entire contract before it being entered into, or to provide a consumer a copy of the entire contract upon the consumer’s request, before the consumer contract being entered into,
• (d) If the consumer contract is a future performance contract (e.g. a consumer has placed an order for a vehicle to be delivered at a later date), a consumer may cancel a future performance contract:
  • (i) if the dealer does not provide a copy of the future performance contract within 15 days of it being entered into, the consumer has one year to cancel the contract, and
  • (ii) if the goods (motor vehicle) are not delivered within 30 days of the agreed to supply date, at anytime before the goods are delivered,
• (e) If it is a distance sales contract (eCommerce), within 7 days of the consumer receiving a copy of the distance sales contract.

Returning Goods & Refunds

If a consumer cancels a consumer contract under the BPCPA, the dealer:

• (a) Must within 15 days of cancellation, provide instructions of how the goods (vehicle) are to be returned, and those instructions are to be consistent with the dealer’s return, exchange, cancellation, and refund policies, that the dealer disclosed to the consumer earlier, and
• (b) If the dealer does not provide instructions within 15 days, the consumer does not have to return the goods and the consumer’s obligations under the consumer contract are deemed discharged.

Where a contract is cancelled and a refund is to be made, the dealer must:

• (a) Provide a refund without deduction of all the monies received, in respect of the consumer transaction (ex. vehicle sale) and any related consumer transaction (ex. insurance policy), whether the monies were received from the consumer or from another person, within 15 days of:
  • (i) The date notice of cancelation is received by the dealer, or
  • (ii) If the consumer received the goods, the date the goods were returned to the dealer.

Subscription Service Contracts

There are also amendments to the BPCPA regarding subscription service contracts. Suppliers cannot unilaterally change subscription service contracts without giving consumers the right to cancel.

Direct Sales

The BPCPA will now prohibit a supplier from arranging credit (finance or lease) or offering to arrange credit in a direct sales contract. A direct sales contract is where the contract is entered into in person away from the supplier’s usual place of business. Based on Government communications, this is aimed at door-to-door sales. Currently the BPCPA Regulation exempts tradeshows, exhibitions, and mall kiosks from these provisions. It also exempts those registered under the Motor Dealer Act. We are monitoring to see if these exemptions change.

BC Civil Resolution Tribunal

The amendments will add the BC Civil Resolution as a tribunal with authority to adjudicate consumer claims under the BPCPA, and award consumers damages or other remedies.

Talk To Your Legal Advisor

This Bulletin has provided a high-level description of proposed amendments to the BPCPA. The Legislature may change the proposed amendments, and subsequent regulations may add more detail. This Bulletin cannot be taken as legal advice and is not legal advice.

As dealers operate slightly differently, we suggest dealers speak with their legal advisors to obtain more detail about these proposed changes and how they may impact your day-to-day operations, and what changes need to be made to your consumer contracts.

On March 6, 2025, the law firm of Fasken published an article about these changes (click here).