Where to Get Help for Consumer Law Essentials
Here are options for further information and assistance with consumer problems.
| Access Pro Bono | Offers clinics where lawyers provide free legal advice to people who cannot afford a lawyer and who cannot get legal aid. | Phone: 604-878-7400 (Greater Vancouver) Phone toll-free: 1-877-762-6664 |
| Better Business Bureau of Mainland BC | Assists British Columbians (except on Vancouver Island; see below) in dealing with consumer problems. | Phone: 604-682-2711 Phone toll-free: 1-888-803-1222 |
| Better Business Bureau of Victoria | Assists people on Vancouver Island in dealing with consumer problems. | Phone: 250-386-6348 Phone toll-free: 1-877-826-4222 |
| Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) | The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre investigates reports of scams whether by telephone, facsimile, postal mail or the internet. You can report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. | Phone toll-free: 1-888-495-8501 Phone from overseas: 1-705-495-8501 |
| Canadian Home Builders Association of BC | Helps consumers plan their renovation and explains what to do when there are problems. | Phone toll-free: 1-800-933-6777 |
| Clicklaw | An Internet portal for public legal information and education in British Columbia. | www.clicklaw.bc.ca |
| ConsumerInformation.ca | An Internet portal site from Industry Canada’s Office of Consumer Affairs. It provides useful information about how to protect yourself from scams, including identity theft, advance fee loan scams, telephone scams and more. | Email: consumer.information@ic.gc.ca |
| Competition Bureau | The Competition Bureau deals with complaints about scams in the marketplace. | Phone: 819-997-4282 Phone toll-free: 1-800-348-5358 |
| Consumer Protection BC | Consumer Protection BC is the regulator of a variety of industries and specific consumer contracts in the province. It’s mandate is to licence and inspect its regulated businesses, respond to consumer inquiries, investigate alleged violations of consumer protection laws and educate consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities under the laws they administer. | Phone: 604-320-1667 Phone toll-free: 1-888-564-9963 |
| Credit Counseling Society of BC | Provides assistance with debt problems. | Phone toll-free: 1-888-527-8999 Email: info@nomoredebts.org |
| Dial-A-Law | Dial-A-Law is a library of practical legal information. It is operated by the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. You can listen to the Dial-A-Law scripts over the phone, or read them on the website. The scripts are available in English, Chinese and Punjabi. | Phone: 604-687-4680 Phone toll-free: 1-800-565-5297 |
| Lawyer Referral | Offers advice and information from a lawyer for a fee of $25 plus taxes for the first 30 minutes. | Phone: 604-687-3221 (Greater Vancouver) Phone toll-free: 1-800-663-1919 from anywhere else in the province. |
| Mediate BC | Mediate BC specializes in a wide variety of dispute resolution tools and processes. | www.mediatebc.com |
| People's Law School | View the online animations "You Owe Money" and "Someone Owes You Money." | www.publiclegaled.bc.ca; click on "Media" and then "Videos" |
| This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2013. |
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 Consumer Law Wikibook © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.
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