Tesla has changed how it does business in Quebec, making their $250 order deposit refundable in the province. This change brings Tesla into compliance with Quebec’s strict consumer protection laws, specifically those enforced by the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC).
In Quebec, the law prioritizes consumer rights in a way that is not commonly seen elsewhere in Canada or the US. Under Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act, any deposit made on a purchase, including vehicle orders, must be fully refundable if a consumer requests it. This law is enforced by the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC), a governmental body that handles consumer rights and ensures businesses adhere to these regulations.
Until last week, Tesla’s website showed the order deposit was non-refundable in Quebec, like elsewhere in Canada and the US. With the laws in place however, customers in Quebec who wanted to cancel their vehicle reservations could still get their $250 deposits returned, but had to escalate their claims to the OPC, which would intervene on behalf of the consumer.
While customers were able to successfully receive their deposits back after engaging with the OPC, it was often a time-consuming and frustrating process.
However, Tesla has now updated their website to show the order deposits are now officially refundable in Quebec, without the customer needing to go through a complaint with the OPC. (h/t: Sébastien Lachance)
This change could be particularly useful for customers who placed an order prior to the return of the referral program. In order to get the $1,300 discount by using a referral link, customers would have to cancel their original order and make another one. Doing so would have put them out $250, but still ahead by $1,050 when completing an order with the discount.
Now with this new policy, you can easily get your original $250 deposit back, and get the full $1,300 referral discount. We are not sure if Tesla will apply this retroactively, but if you have experience with this, let us know in the comments below.
