Your rights and obligations > Civil law > Other

Questions and answers

Can Clara legally buy a cell phone?

Young people of any age have the right to buy things that meet their “ordinary” or “usual” needs (for example, food, transportation, or clothing). “Ordinary” or “usual” needs are your basic needs.

Does this mean that Clara’s purchase is illegal and that the contract of sale is invalid?

It depends on each case. When a person is less than 18 years old, both his capacity to show good judgment (the law says his “discernment”) and his age (after all, there is a difference between a 10 year old and a 17 year old!) must be considered, so that the court can evaluate whether he really needed his new gadget and whether he is not too disadvantaged by the contract. Obviously, no store employee is going to prevent your 11 year old stepbrother from buying a slurpee. But an in-ground swimming pool salesperson will probably ask him to come back with a parent!

If Clara works on call, she might really need a phone. But does she need a $250 phone? Probably not…

Can Clara or her mother have the purchase of the cell phone cancelled because Clara is less than 18 years old?

When a person under 18, like Clara, buys something alone, without her parents, and the purchase is too expensive, the purchase can be cancelled or the purchase price can be reduced if there is lesion.

Lesion exists when one of the people who signs a contract gets many, many more benefits from the contract than the other person. For example, if someone pays $5,000 for a used computer with a black and white monitor and no CD burner, clearly the person who sold the computer received a disproportionate benefit compared to the poor person who bought it.

A person also suffers from lesion if he accepts obligations that are much too large compared to what he can pay or the benefits he receives in return. For example, despite all the benefits she gets from her cell phone, Clara really can’t pay her $100 monthly cell phone bill because she has no money other than her allowance!

How can you cancel a contract if you think you are a victim of lesion? Your mother, father, or tutor must ask the court to cancel the contract. A person who is less than 18 years old can’t make such a motion in court alone. In Clara’s case, the judge will look at what the contract asks her to do compared to what she gets out of it and why she wanted to buy a cell phone. The judge will then decide whether or not there was lesion.

This kind of procedure is long, and after all is said and done, quite expensive (haven’t you ever wondered why your parents don’t buy you a lawyer for your birthday?). Ideally, before making a big purchase like an expensive cell phone, you would think about whether or not you really can afford to pay for it.

Different rules apply if Clara’s mother had been with her when Clara bought her cell phone. Her mother would have acted for Clara and dealt with the salesperson. Therefore, Clara wouldn’t have been able to invoke lesion.

Can Clara legally have a credit card in her own name?

Yes and no. Most credit card companies require the main cardholder (the person responsible for the credit card) to have reached the age of majority. Be happy that you don’t live in Nova Scotia or the Northwest Territories because there you have to wait until you turn 19 before getting your own credit card.

However, some companies might allow Clara to be a co-holder of a card belonging to an adult like her father or mother (of course, the adult must agree to this).

Do Clara’s parents have to pay on her behalf if she can’t pay?

No. Although, Clara’s parents have to house her, feed her, and provide for her basic needs, they don’t have to support her expensive tastes!

The merchant made a contract with Clara, not her parents. Therefore, he can`t hold them responsible for her! However, the situation would be different if Clara’s parents had “endorsed” the contract. By “endorsing” the contract, her parents would have given a “suretyship”. A suretyship guarantees that someone else will pay on your behalf if you can`t pay.

If I want to cancel a contract with a company and the company refuses, can I simply cancel the pre-authorized debiting of my account?

No, this is not enough.

There is a difference between the way you pay and the sum of money that you owe. Automatic payment from your bank account is just one way of paying. If you close your account or cancel the automatic payments, you are only telling the merchant that you want to change the way you pay. This doesn’t change the fact that you still have to pay!

Be careful! If you close your account without informing the store or service that automatically deducts from your account, your payments will be considered late and you will be charged interest. In the long run, this could get pretty expensive. If you refuse to pay, the merchant could sue you at the Small Claims Court.

Keep in mind: the fact that you did not pay is recorded in a credit report. Later on, if you need to borrow a lot of money (to buy a car, for example) you could be refused a loan because in the past you were bad at paying.

Are extended warranties from merchants necessary?

When you buy something, there are two types of warranty: legal and conventional (“extended”).

The legal warranty is less well known because it exists without being offered to you at the store. It’s a warranty from the Consumer Protection Act. It comes along freely with what you buy from a merchant, without you having to ask for it. It guarantees that a new item will function properly for a reasonable period of time, depending on the type of item. For example, it isn’t normal that a sound system stops working after two months.

The extent of the legal warranty depends on how much you paid and how you used the item. The legal warranty of a $300 new home theatre system will definitely be shorter than that of a $3500 system. The legal warranty of a discman wouldn’t apply if you broke the discman after using it as a hockey puck. If Clara’s cell phone stops working two months after she bought it (and she didn’t use it improperly), the merchant will have to either repair or replace it, or reimburse Clara. The merchant decides how he will provide Clara with a cell phone that works.

The conventional or extended warranty is the kind of warranty that is often offered by merchants. It is like an extra to the legal warranty. For example, if your purchase is defective, an extended warranty can guarantee that you will be able to return it and select another equivalent product. Sometimes, getting an extended warranty is a good idea; at other times, no. Take the time to check each time whether it’s really worthwhile to get an extended warranty. If the extended warranty for your cell phone is only for two months, the legal warranty (automatically given to you by law) is more than enough. But if, for example, you think that a sound system will break down after four years, it might be a good idea to “extend” the warranty a bit.