The seller lied to me about the product, is that a prohibited practice?

Verified 9 August 2026 Law of Quebec and Canada General information, not legal advice

In the United States? This answer is Québec and Canadian law. The US side of this site answers different questions, state by state: different law, and different coverage. Go to the US side

Short answer

Yes. Section 219 of the Consumer Protection Act prohibits any merchant, manufacturer or advertiser from making false or misleading representations to a consumer, by any means whatever. Section 228 covers omission: failing to mention an important fact is a prohibited practice in itself, without any false statement having been made. For the practices listed in s. 253, the Act presumes that, had the consumer been aware of the practice, they would not have entered into the contract or would not have paid so high a price.

In detail

Section 219 is the broadest provision in the title on business practices: it targets no particular medium, but "any means whatever" · words at the counter, an ad, a product sheet, an advertisement. The following sections then name specific cases: falsely ascribing special advantages to goods or services, holding out that their acquisition will result in pecuniary benefit (s. 220), holding out that goods include certain parts or ingredients, ascribing a dimension, weight or size, representing goods as being of a particular category, model or year of manufacture, holding them out as new or reconditioned (s. 221).

Section 228 closes the door on omission. A merchant may not "fail to mention an important fact in any representation made to a consumer". Section 228.1 draws a concrete consequence in the field of warranties: a merchant who proposes an additional warranty without first informing the consumer, orally and in writing, of the existence and nature of the warranty provided for in ss. 37 and 38 is deemed to have failed to mention an important fact, and therefore to have used a prohibited practice.

The practical value of the label is in s. 253. For the practices listed there, the presumption relieves the consumer of separately showing that they would have acted differently: there is a presumption that, had the consumer been aware of the practice, they would not have entered into the contract or would not have paid so high a price. Section 272 then lists what a court may order where an obligation under the Act has not been met · specific performance, performance at the merchant's expense, reduction of obligations, rescission, setting aside, annulment · without prejudice to damages, and it also allows punitive damages to be claimed.

One threshold condition governs everything else. Section 2: "This Act applies to every contract for goods or services entered into between a consumer and a merchant in the course of his business." Between two private individuals, the rules of the Civil Code apply instead, in particular the latent-defect warranty in art. 1726.

What to document

The invoice or contract, with its date. The method of payment · a bank or card statement carries a date no one disputes. Exchanges with the merchant, with their timestamps. The condition of the goods when the problem appeared: a photograph carries its date; a recollection does not.

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Official sources

art. 219 de la Loi sur la protection du consommateur (RLRQ c P-40.1) · read on 2026-08-09

The seller lied to me about the product, is that a prohibited practice?

In detail

What to document

Official sources

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