Moving deposits, cancellations and no-show movers: your rights

How much deposit is normal

A mover can legally ask for payment before the move (OCA). What matters is how much, and if you can get it back.

We read the websites of 1,123 Canadian moving companies. The ones that state a booking deposit follow three patterns:

• No deposit: you pay after the move.
• A flat amount, usually $50 to $150 for a local move.
• A share of the price, from 10% to 30% of the move.

The official advice leans small. Québec’s consumer office says to pay no deposit if you can, or “only a very small amount” (OPC). Then you won’t lose money if the company closes or doesn’t show up. Consumer Protection BC warns about “an unreasonably large deposit” or a request to pay in cash (CPBC).

BC has the only legal cap we found, for contracts signed at your home. If the down payment is over $100 or 10% of the price, whichever is less, the contract isn’t binding on you (BC regulation). It doesn’t apply to online or phone bookings.

Pay it the safe way

• Use a credit card. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre advises a payment method with fraud protection, like a credit card. It notes that fraudsters often ask for e-transfers (CAFC). The consumer law refund rights below also work through credit cards.
• In Québec, it’s the law. A mover booked by phone or online can ask for payment in advance only by credit card (OPC).
• Never pay cash without a receipt.
• Booking more than 2 months ahead in Québec? Check if the mover has a trust account, and make the cheque out to “[company name] in trust” (OPC).
• Get the terms in writing before you pay: is the deposit refundable, and until when?

If the movers don’t show up

A mover that confirms a date and doesn’t come has broken the contract. Do this, in order:

1. Call and text the mover. Note the time of each try.
2. Take screenshots of your booking, the confirmed time and your messages.
3. Book another mover if you have to, and keep every receipt.
4. Write to the first mover the same day. Ask for the deposit back, and for the extra cost of the replacement.
5. If they don’t pay, send a final demand, then go to small claims court or a tribunal.

BC’s Civil Resolution Tribunal shows what this can be worth. In one case, a mover confirmed a pickup, never came, and refunded the $100 deposit. The tribunal also ordered it to pay $2,100: what the customer spent on a last-minute replacement (Scott v. Vega Line, 2019 BCCRT 926). A claim for a helper’s waiting time failed, because there was no proof of the time or cost.

Late movers are treated more lightly. When a crew arrived 1.5 hours late, the tribunal took $100 off the bill (2 Burley Men Moving v. Maxfield, 2021 BCCRT 223). Québec’s consumer office gives the same steps for a late mover: negotiate, send a formal notice, then go to court (OPC).

Our guide to claims against movers has a final demand letter and the small claims limits in each province.

When the law lets you cancel

Consumer law gives you a right to cancel in three situations. None of them is a general “change your mind” right for every move.

Sources: Ontario Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and O. Reg. 17/05. Québec OPC and Consumer Protection Act, s. 55, 57 and 59. BC Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act. Alberta Consumer Protection Act and Internet Sales Contract Regulation. Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2023 isn’t in force yet.

The 30-day rule protects you from a mover that keeps postponing. It doesn’t let you cancel under consumer law on the morning of the move. A no-show on the day is a breach of contract, handled as shown above. If you agree to a new date in writing, the 30 days count from that date.

Send any cancellation by email or registered mail, so you can prove the date. In Ontario, BC and Alberta, a written notice counts from the day you send it (Ontario CPA, s. 92).

If you cancel

Outside those legal rights, your contract decides what happens to the deposit. Some movers refund it in full with enough notice; others keep part or all of it as the date gets close. Ask before you pay, and get the answer in writing.

Who cancelled can decide the case. In one BC case, a mover postponed a move, then said the customer had cancelled, and kept $2,247 of the deposit. Phone records showed otherwise, and the tribunal ordered the full refund (Herr v. 3 Sisters Transport, 2022 BCCRT 503). Keep every message about dates.

Getting your money back

If you cancel under the law and the mover doesn’t refund you in 15 days, your credit card can help:

• Ontario. Send your card issuer a signed, written request within 60 days after the refund was due. The issuer must answer within 30 days (Consumer Protection Act, 2002, s. 99; O. Reg. 17/05, s. 85).
• Québec. For a phone or online contract, ask your card issuer within 60 days after the mover failed to refund (OPC).
• BC and Alberta. The card issuer must reverse the charge within 2 billing cycles or 90 days, whichever comes first. In BC this covers phone and online contracts; in Alberta, online ones (BC, s. 52, Alberta, s. 12).

Outside these rules, your card network’s own dispute process applies. Each network sets its own guidelines (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada). E-transfers and cash aren’t covered by these legal card rights.