Canada protects card users through network zero-liability policies, the payment-card codes of conduct that the FCAC administers, the Bank Act complaint framework, and provincial consumer protection law. In several provinces, cancelling a distance contract gives you a statutory right to demand that your credit-card issuer reverse the charge.
Who is covered
Cardholders and bank customers in Canada. Federally regulated banks are covered by the Bank Act framework and OBSI; provincial credit unions answer to provincial regimes.
What you get
Reversal of the disputed charge, through the network dispute process, the issuer's zero-liability policy, or a provincial statutory chargeback demand — with free escalation to OBSI.
Where claims go wrong
Asking for a discretionary chargeback when your province gives you a statutory right to demand one.
Not getting the bank's final position in writing before going to OBSI.
Missing the two-year provincial limitation period.
Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.
A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.
The clocks it starts
Report the disputed transaction promptlyCardholder agreements typically require you to report a disputed transaction within 30 days of the statement, and network zero-liability policies are conditioned on prompt reporting. Check your agreement; the period is contractual, not statutory.Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in CanadaNotice period
Bank must deal with the complaint (56 days)Once the bank has had the prescribed period, or has given its final response, you may take the complaint to OBSI. (Period: 56 days. We need the start date to work out your exact deadline.)Bank Act complaint-handling requirements and the External Complaints Body regime — The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments became the single external complaints body for all federally regulated banks with effect from 1 November 2024Response due
Provincial limitation period (commonly 2 years)Fatal if missedMost provinces have a basic limitation period of two years from discoverability for a civil claim. Quebec applies a three-year prescription. Check your province before assuming a claim is dead.Limitation period
What it entitles you to, beyond money
The bank must deal with your complaint within a set periodUnder the federal financial consumer protection framework, banks must have a complaint-handling procedure and must deal with a complaint within a prescribed period — 56 days — before you may take it to the external complaints body. Get the bank's final position in writing; it is what OBSI will start from.The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments became the single external complaints body for all federally regulated banks with effect from 1 November 2024
One external complaints body, free to youSince 1 November 2024 the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments has been the single external complaints body for every federally regulated bank in Canada, replacing the previous position where banks could choose their own. Its recommendations are not legally binding but are almost always followed.The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments became the single external complaints body for all federally regulated banks with effect from 1 November 2024
What the other side will say
Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.
"The chip and PIN were used"
high likelihood
The issuer relies on EMV data to refuse a zero-liability claim.
What answers it
Zero-liability policies are conditioned on the cardholder having taken reasonable care and reported promptly, not on the absence of an authorisation record. Ask which condition the issuer says you failed, and take the answer to OBSI. Card-present fraud with a cloned chip is the bank's risk, not yours.
"Chargebacks are discretionary and we have declined"
medium likelihood
The issuer treats the network process as the only route and closes the file.
What answers it
For an ordinary chargeback that is true. For a cancelled internet or distance contract in several provinces it is not: the consumer protection Act imposes a statutory duty on the issuer to process the demand. Identify the provision, cite it, and copy your provincial consumer affairs ministry.
Where to take it next
01Written dispute to the card issuerState the transaction, the amount and the ground. If you cancelled a distance contract, make the demand under your province's consumer protection Act by name and section, and say that you require the issuer to acknowledge and process it within the statutory period.Claim direct·typically 30 days
02Bank's designated complaints officerEvery federally regulated bank has a published internal escalation path ending in a senior complaints officer. Exhausting it, or waiting out the prescribed period, is the precondition for OBSI.Internal appeal·typically 56 days
03Ombudsman for Banking Services and InvestmentsFree to consumers, investigates on the papers, and can recommend compensation. It has been the sole external complaints body for banks since 1 November 2024, which removed the previous ability of banks to shop for a friendlier one.Ombudsman·typically 120 days·official page
04Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and provincial consumer affairsThe FCAC supervises banks' compliance with the consumer provisions and the codes of conduct. It does not award you money, but a complaint is free and its supervisory findings have teeth. For merchant conduct, your provincial consumer affairs ministry is the right door.Regulator·typically 90 days·official page
05Provincial small claims courtLimits vary by province — commonly CAD 35,000 in Ontario and Alberta, CAD 5,000 in Quebec's Small Claims Division where lawyers are not permitted at all. Filing fees are modest and recoverable.Small claims·typically 180 days
Documents
What this regime can produce.
Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.