Since September 12, a new law governs two very common practices: reselling show tickets and renewing subscriptions signed up for online. Two obligations now change things for consumers, according to the Office de la protection du consommateur.
On a resale platform, you must now be warned as soon as you land on the site that it is a resale platform, and that cheaper tickets may be available through the official box office. Before you buy, the reseller must disclose the name of the ticket's most recent owner, confirm the ticket is being resold, specify the seat, and provide the official box office's contact details — along with a full price breakdown: the ticket's value when it was issued, plus each added fee listed separately. Reselling above the official price now requires written consent from both the show's producer and the venue operator.
For subscriptions entered into online — cell phone, internet, streaming, meal delivery, gym memberships — the merchant must now offer an accessible, easy-to-find cancellation button that lets you end the service without having to justify your decision.
The law also adds a mandatory notice: when a promotional discount is about to end, the merchant must warn you in writing 2 to 10 days beforehand, clearly stating the new price and when it takes effect. And when a remote service is advertised with a periodic payment, any non-periodic fees (installation, activation) must be displayed clearly next to the recurring amount — not buried in the contract's fine print.
Both changes touch decisions newcomers make very often in their first months in Quebec: choosing a phone plan, setting up home internet, or buying tickets to a first show here. Our guides on choosing a phone plan and home internet walk through the classic contract pitfalls — this new law removes at least one of them: the surprise price hike once the promotional period ends.
Good to know for newcomers. In practice, keep an eye on your email in the days after you sign up for a subscription — that is when the discount-ending notice is supposed to arrive. And if you buy tickets somewhere other than a venue's official box office, check first whether the previous owner's name and the price breakdown are clearly shown: their absence is now, by itself, a sign something is off.
