Here’s how to get a refund on your Quebec day camp

You’ve registered for – and paid for – a day camp for the kids, but now your summer plans have changed. Are you entitled to a full or partial refund? You sure are, according to Quebec’s Consumer Protection Office.

According to the office, if you cancel your plans before the start of the camp, you won’t have to pay any additional fees or penalties. In an email sent to Noovo Info, the OPC explained that you will be entitled to a full refund of the amount you’ve already paid.

If you cancel after the camp has started, you will still be required to pay for the services already provided, and the day camp organizers may also charge a penalty equal to the lesser of $50 or 10 per cent of the cost of the services not received.

“For example, your contract provides for a 10-day stay at a rate of $40 per day. You cancel after two days. You will be charged a penalty of $32, which corresponds to 10 per cent of the cost of the remaining eight days,” explained the OPC.

The law doesn’t apply to certain camps, including camps run by public institutions, such as a municipal recreation department.

Here’s how to cancel

To cancel, send the day camp a written notice or fill out the cancellation form that accompanied the contract you signed upon registration. The OPC recommends sending the documents by registered mail. The contract is cancelled upon sending the form or notice.

From the date the letter is sent, the camp has 10 days to reimburse you, if applicable, the office explained.

What if the camp refuses to refund me?

If your day camp refuses to reimburse you according to the regulations outlined above, the Consumer Protection Office recommends that you call the office to file a complaint. The office will provide you with an information kit, including a formal notice form on the Office’s letterhead that you can use to escalate the claim.

If that approach doesn’t result in a refund, you could then turn to small claims court.

- With a report from Émile Bérubé-Lupien at Noovo Info