We hear from lots of folks in BC who are looking for help with various consumer issues. To help us help you, we’ve put together our top tips on how to be an awesome complainer.
What to do before you contact us
1. Explore our website to find out if we can help you with your issue. You may even find a solution to your problem! We know our name suggests we can help with everything but we can only help with certain issues under our laws. If your issue is not covered by our laws, consider doing some of your own research online to find relevant organizations, regulators or agencies that can help.
2. Try to resolve the problem with the business directly. This is always the fastest and most effective way to reach a solution. Most businesses care about your satisfaction and want to reach a fair resolution.
How to be an awesome complainer
Prepare a simple timeline of events.
What have you done to resolve the issue so far? What was the outcome? Map out any important events or communication with the business. Stick to the important facts and leave out unnecessary detail.
Gather your supporting documents.
Do you have a contract to reference? Highlight the important dates or info on it. What about any receipts? Screenshots of phone records? Emails? Try to gather all the things you need before you call so you have the important information ready to go.
Consider your desired outcome.
Identify what your goal is. Remember to be reasonable and seek a remedy that’s proportionate to the problem you experienced. Are you looking for an apology/acknowledgement of the issue? A refund, compensation, or something else entirely? This helps determine the appropriate course of action.
Prepare any questions.
While we may not always know the answer, we’ll do our best to figure it out with you.
Manage your expectations for a solution.
Start by finding out which topics we can help with directly. When we can’t help, sometimes we will offer a referral elsewhere. Sometimes the only recourse is through the courts.
Please be patient.
Our investigations follow due process, which can take time. Learn more about how we handle formal complaints.
Be kind.
We know consumer issues can be emotional and stressful (we’ve been there). Please remember we’re human too and we are doing our best.
How to contact us
- Call us at 1.888.564.9963, press 1, and leave us a voicemail with your question. We do not answer our calls live and we ask for your patience as it may take us a few days to return your call.
- Send us a message on Facebook or Instagram.
- Submit a complaint using our online complaint form.
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About Consumer Protection BC
We are not-for-profit regulator responsible for overseeing certain industries and specific consumer transactions in British Columbia. If your concern is captured under the laws we enforce, we will use the tools at our disposal to assist you. If we can’t help you directly, we will try to offer a referral to a relevant organization, if one exists. Other times, court or legal assistance may be the best option. Explore our website at www.consumerprotectionbc.ca
A dentist that treat me once and I paid for it, wants me to pay for another appliance that I did not agreed to nor do I have a contract for. They order to lab and demand me to pay even thought I don’t trust the quality of work this dentist does.What can I do? Can you help?
Hi Jules, thanks for reaching out to us here. Based off what you told me, it sounds like that issue does not fall under the laws we’re responsible for. If you’re not able to work it out with the business directly, I believe your recourse would be through the courts. You may be interested in reaching out to the Civil Resolution Tribunal to see what the process would look like for you. They can resolve issues and claims under $5000. We wrote a blog post about them, if you’re interested in learning more: https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/2017/09/resolving-small-claims-strata-disputes-online-expect-crt/. I hope this helps and best of luck