Deceptive telemarketing

The Competition Act prohibits the making of false or misleading representations in order to promote the supply of a product or a business interest during person-to-person telephone calls. Telemarketers are prohibited from engaging in certain practices including: requiring payment in advance as a condition for receiving a prize that has supposedly been won in a contest or game; failing to provide adequate and fair disclosure of the number and value of the "prizes"; offering a "gift" as an inducement to buy another product, without fairly disclosing the value of the gift; and offering a product at a grossly inflated price and requiring payment in advance.

Telemarketers are also required to disclose: the name of the company or person they are working for; the type of product or business interest they are promoting; the purpose of the call; the price of any product being sold and any restrictions or conditions that must be met before the product will be delivered.

For details on how the Competition Bureau enforces the law, please visit our Law and Litigation section.