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The VSA is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Motor Dealer Act, its regulations, and other consumer legislation as it relates to the retail sale of cars, light trucks, motorcycles and recreation vehicles, most notably the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act. Links to all legislation can be found on the Legislation Links page of this web site.
The VSA investigators routinely inspect dealerships and carry our investigations in response to complaints. Much of the work and subsequent dialogue is healthy and constructive and does not lead to serious enforcement measures. The chief goal of the VSA's regulatory activity is to obtain voluntary compliance with statutes as well as high standards of business ethics.
If discussion, phone calls, e-mails and warning letters fail to achieve corrective action, or if situations are felt to be urgent, the VSA investigators are empowered by the statutes to impose fines by means of issuing violation tickets. While the VSA licenses both dealers and salespeople, the ticket-writing provisions of the act - as it stands - apply only to dealers.
If an alleged offence is more serious and the investigation produces evidence in support of the allegation, upon the recommendation of an investigator or other VSA staff, a dealer and/or salesperson may be called to a hearing before the Registrar of Motor Dealers. The Registrar has broad powers that include issuing "administrative assessments" to recover the costs of investigations and hearings, putting a receiver in charge of a dealership, or suspending or cancelling a dealer or salesperson licence.
Available below are complete lists of the tickets issued by the VSA investigators and the hearings held by the Registrar of Motor Dealers, since the VSA (previously known as the MDC) commenced operations on June 1, 2004.
SPECIAL NOTES:
- With respect to tickets - once issued - the fines are either paid or contested through the courts. The following lists show the charges but do not indicate whether or not they were disputed and the court outcome. This information can be traced through court records.
- The following hearing lists show all matters scheduled for a hearing before the Registrar. Some matters were resolved following the scheduling of a hearing and never reached the hearing phase. In these situations, corrective action was taken, an administrative penalty was levied and paid, and no one was required to appear at the hearing. Through the hearing process, the Registrar's broad powers include the imposition of assessments up to $50,000 and/or the suspension or cancellation of dealer or salesperson licences. The following lists cite decisions and administrative assessments issued at hearings, but they do not track the final outcome. In most cases, the penalty is paid. A few have been contested in court and outcomes can be traced through court records.
Tickets issued by VSA
Hearings of the Registrar of Motor Dealers
Ticketable Offences
Following is a list of all offences under the Motor Dealer Act and Regulations for which a VSA investigator may issue a ticket. This list shows the section of the act or regulation, and the prescribed amount of a fine for such an offence. These matters are currently under review and recommendations are pending to increase the fines currently prescribed, and to add additional offences.
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