The Consumer Protection Act gives AMVIC the authority to inspect all licensed automotive businesses in Alberta, including service and repair businesses. The business is often given a time period to correct issues identified from an inspection and then a followup inspection is conducted to ensure any identified issues are remedied and compliance is met.
AMVIC inspectors have highlighted these recent concerns:
- All-in advertised pricing: When an AMVIC-licensed seller advertises the price of a vehicle, it must include ALL fees and charges the seller intends to charge. The only fees or costs that can be added to the advertised price are GST and costs or charges associated with financing. All-in advertised pricing is the law in Alberta.
- Accurate bill of sale: all incentives must be listed on the bill of sale including, but not limited to cash back, extended or extra warranty and free services such as oil changes and tire packages.
- Loans: remember that loans are open-ended and consumers can pay them out at any point in time with no penalties. Automotive businesses should not be forcing consumers to keep loans active if the consumer wants to pay it out.
AMVIC normally gives businesses approximately two weeks’ notice prior to the inspection, but notice may not always be given. The inspection can take anywhere from an hour to a business day depending on the type and size of the business.
Samples of records regarding automotive business transactions from the past three years may be inspected and could include: Mechanical Fitness Assessments (MFAs), bills of sale, consignment agreements, repair invoices, banking records, vehicle inventory, payroll records and GST remittances. An inspector will also review previous recent advertisements in multiple formats for compliance and to compare to the bill of sale.
For more information on inspections, visit amvic.org.