A Unity, Sask., farmer is upset about paying $99 for information
already available for free elsewhere.
Eileen Debelser sent the money for a book on federal and provincial
grant and loan sources after receiving a “very official looking”
mailout from a company called Info Can in Ottawa.
She thought she was dealing with a government outlet and was eager to
seek all possible financial support for a newly installed well.
Instead of the booklet she requested, she received a CD and disk,
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neither of which can be used on her older model home computer.
“I feel stupid,” Debelser said.
“I wish I would have checked it out better.”
After receiving the CD, she contacted Saskatchewan’s Better Business
Bureau for help finding phone numbers for the company.
Pam Klein at the BBB, which has received numerous calls about Info Can,
says the information Debelser hoped would be in the booklet is also
available for free from libraries, the internet and the
Canada-Saskatchewan Business Service Centre at 800-667-4377.
She advises consumers to call with their questions about companies and
products before sending money through the mail.
Complaints about companies can be reported to BBB offices in each
province or in Ottawa at 613-237-4856.
Saskatchewan Justice’s consumer protection department has also received
calls about Info Can. It advises getting information about government
programs from government sources.
Info Can, contacted on a toll-free phone number in Ottawa, said it
updates these booklets every three months.
It says the package details provincial and federal grant and loan
programs, and information on business planning, marketing and
manufacturing. The books or CDs, priced at $99.27, are tax deductible
expenditures.
The eight-year-old company’s refund procedures, listed in the booklet
and CD, require that customers file a written application for refunds.
Its concern is that the materials might be copied and then returned for
a full refund.
Debelser would like a refund, but is waiting for Info Can to mail her
the booklet she first requested.
