Glossary
In Ontario, a minor is anyone under the age of 18. Minors are not legally responsible for some things that they do. For example, you usually can’t enforce a contract against a minor to collect money from them.
The Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund helps buyers who lose money because of a deal with a registered dealer. This can include a car that does not work, or a car that is reported as stolen and taken by police.
Non-profit credit counsellors are people who can give you advice about how to manage your debts and money. Usually, the goal is to help a person repay their debt, or avoid bankruptcy. Non-profit credit counsellors do not make money from the people they are trying to help, but may charge fees to help cover their costs.
A notary public is a person who is allowed to handle some legal formalities. For example, they can certify contracts, deeds, and personal documents. When buying a used car, they can be used to certify a claim you are making to the Motor Vehicle Dealer’s Compensation Fund.
In Debt and Consumer Rights, Payday loans, Housing Law
NSF stands for Non-Sufficient Funds. It means that a person did not have enough money in their bank account to cover a payment by cheque or pre-authorized debit (PAD).
When this happens, the bank usually charges extra fees. When it’s a cheque, both the person who wrote the cheque and the person the money was payable to might be charged extra fees by their banks. NSF cheques are sometimes called “bounced” cheques.
When it’s a PAD, only the person who owed the money can be charged an NSF fee.
If your bank charged you an NSF fee, you can ask if they will waive or cancel it.
A payday loan is a short-term loan (usually 3 weeks or less) that has a very high interest rate. The interest rate on a payday loan is usually much higher than the interest rates charged by credit cards or bank loans. You cannot get a payday loan for more than $1,500. You will usually have to give the payday lender post-dated cheques that they can cash on the loan due date to repay the loan and the interest.
A pension is a type of regular payment a person gets. Usually, someone gets a pension because they are retired or disabled. Pensions are paid by organizations like the government, a person’s previous employer, or from personal investments. Pensions are a type of income.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Elder abuse, Debt and Consumer Rights, Health and Disability
Personal information is any facts about you that identify you as a unique individual. Examples of personal information are your name, contact information, social insurance number, birth date, and address. It also includes facts about your race, religion, beliefs, age, sex, marital status, health or criminal history, education, and more.
Phishing is when an identity thief pretends to be your bank, your employer, a business, or somebody else, and tries to trick you into giving them your personal information. An identity thief may use phone calls, emails, regular mail, or fake websites to get your information.
Postpaid services are cellphone services that you pay for after you use the service. You pay for the amount of service that you used since your last payment. Most monthly cellphone contracts are postpaid. If you have a monthly plan that you pay for after you use the services, you are using postpaid services.
Some prepaid services also have monthly contracts.