TERRACE BAY NEWS FEBRUARY 12, I975 Buying and borrowing can sometimes cause problems. This is what Ontario is doing to protect you. ©000000000000 SIGN HERE There are basic common sense rules for buying and selling. Unfortunately, people don't always know these rules or follow them, and that allows unscrupulous sellers to take advantage of people. Common sense is your best defence. But you have another defender, too. Two pieces of legislation have been passed by your On- tario Government in order to help you. The Consumer Protection Act is designed to protect you from problems that may arise when you buy goods or services, or borrow money. It is administered by the Consumer Protection Bureau, which also handles complaints and inquiries about question- able business practices, and it controls: © registration of itinerant sellers (i.e., door- to-door salesmen) ® contracts over $50 where delivery of goods, services or payment has not been completed ¢ full disclosure of credit terms ® special discounts for getting friends to buy (referral selling) ® unsolicited goods (including unsolicited credit cards) e false or misleading advertising ® penalties for offences The Consumer Reporting Act is another law designed to protect you. It gives you the right to know what credit and personal in- formation about you is on file with com- panies, and an opportunity to have inaccu- racies corrected, and prohibits consumer reporting agencies from using information unless it is stored in Canada. According to this Act, you are entitled to request in writ- ing that the contents of your file and the sources of information be disclosed to you. Your Ontario Government has also pre- pared two easy-to-understand booklets that describe the Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Reporting Act. The book- lets explain these two important Ontario laws more fully. If you would like copies, write to: Ontario Consumer Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1Y7 Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations - Sidney Handleman, Minister Government of Ontario William Davis, Premier