Where to Get Help for Consumer Law Essentials

Here are options for further information and assistance with consumer problems.

Access Pro Bono	Volunteer lawyers provide free legal advice to qualifying persons who cannot obtain legal aid or afford a lawyer.	Phone: 604-878-7400 (Greater Vancouver) Toll-free: 1-877-762-6664 www.accessprobono.ca
Better Business Bureau of Mainland British Columbia	A non-profit organization that assists people in the Lower Mainland and interior BC in finding businesses they can trust.	Toll-free: 1-888-803-1222 Email: contactus@mbc.bbb.org www.mbc.bbb.org
Better Business Bureau of Vancouver Island	A non-profit organization that assists people on Vancouver Island in finding businesses they can trust.	Toll-free: 1-877-826-4222 Email: info@vi.bbb.org www.vi.bbb.org
Competition Bureau	A federal agency that helps consumers make informed purchasing decisions. They help combat deceptive selling practices and scams.	Phone toll-free: 1-800-348-5358 Toll-free TTY: 1-800-642-3844 (for hearing-impaired only) www.competitionbureau.gc.ca
Consumer Protection BC	A non-profit organization that helps protect consumers in BC. They provide assistance and investigate complaints relating to certain types of consumer problems and contracts.	Toll-free: 1-888-564-9963 Email: info@consumerprotectionbc.ca www.consumerprotectionbc.ca
Lawyer Referral	The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch offers referrals to lawyers who can provide a half-hour consultation for $25.	Lower Mainland: 604-687-3221 Toll-free: 1-800-663-1919 Email: lawyerreferral@cbabc.org www.cbabc.org

Consumer Law Essentials © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.

A person licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction by that jurisdiction's law society. See "barrister and solicitor."

A conclusion made by a judge which decides a point of law or a fact in dispute.

In law, a form of possession of property in which a "trustee" keeps and manages property for the benefit of another person, the "beneficiary," without owning that property and usually without acquiring an interest in that property other than as payment for their services. The trustee holds the property in trust for the beneficiary. See "constructive trust," "ownership," "possession" and "resulting trust."