B.C. door-to-door financing scheme penalized just before practice is outlawed

The Canadian Home Improvement Credit Corp. agreed to repay $113K after B.C. regulators uncovered allegedly illegal door-to-door lending practices

The province’s consumer protection watchdog has reached an undertaking agreement with an Ontario home and business finance company to repay nearly $113,000 to B.C. customers for allegedly illegal contracts and repayment demands significantly higher than the amounts owed. The Canadian Home Improvement Credit Corp. (CHICC) conducts door-to-door financing for home and business improvements but ran afoul with Consumer Protection BC, which identified 53 consumers whose contracts did not include a total contract price as required by law, according to the agreement announced July 16. The agreement comes just weeks before the regulator is set to ban door-to-door financing in B.C., when changes to the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act come into force Aug. 1, 2026.

The company’s clients also alleged the company used a debt collector Solomon Jones LLP to make repayment demands thousands of dollars in excess of what was owed to close the contracts. The regulator alleged CHICC “harrassed” consumers in doing so. The company, headed by CEO Eamonn Glavey, “must refund affected consumers, cancel certain contracts, remove any liens or charges created under those contracts, change its business practices,” according to the undertaking.

“Consumers have a right to know the full cost of a contract before they sign and to be treated fairly when debts are collected,” said Louise Hartland, director of public relations for Consumer Protection BC, in a news release. “This undertaking delivers meaningful remedies for affected consumers and requires important changes to CHICC’s business practices,” said Hartland, adding the case “highlights risks that can arise when consumers enter financed direct sales contracts without clear information about the total cost.” BIV's free newsletters cover daily business, real estate, B.C. politics and more.

Sign up here for B.C.’s most important business news delivered directly to your inbox.