Promotional Contests Made Clearer to Consumers Through Competition Bureau Investigation

OTTAWA, December 2, 2003 — Consumers will no longer be misled by "scratch and win" promotional flyers used by a vacuum cleaner distributor following a settlement reached between the Competition Bureau and the Woodbridge, Ont., company. Concerns over the marketing practices of Tristar Distribution Center and its president, Trevor Brisebois, have been resolved by way of a consent agreement filed today with the Competition Tribunal.

After an investigation, the Bureau found that Tristar and its distributors had used "scratch and win" promotional flyers that gave the impression that recipients had won a prize when in fact receiving the prize was conditional on agreement to participate in an in-home product demonstration. It is a violation of the deceptive marketing practices provisions of the Competition Acto make representations that are false or misleading in a material respect.

"The Bureau is committed to ensuring that promotional contests used to promote goods or services are done so by providing consumers with fair and accurate representations," said Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner, Competition Bureau.

Under the terms of the consent agreement, which will remain in effect for 10 years, Tristar and Mr. Brisebois have agreed to:

• publish a corrective notice in newspapers across Ontario;
• pay an administrative monetary penalty of $75,000;
• administer their new corporate compliance policy to cover their marketing practices; and
• not make false or misleading representations in future promotional material.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.

Court document
Consent Agreement (PDF: 253 KB)

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