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Door-to-Door Seller Charged With Misleading Albertans

March 26, 2004

Edmonton... The Alberta government has laid 47 charges against Gold Medal Project Inc. in response to complaints the unlicensed company had sold discount cards while claiming to help children's charities.

Gold Medal Project is charged with 40 counts under the Fair Trading Act for operating without a valid direct selling licence, misleading consumers, representing that its discount cards had benefits or sponsorship when they did not and representing that businesses listed in the program would offer discounts when they would not. The company is also charged with failing to refund consumers within the required 15-day timeframe after cancelling their purchases.

The company is charged with seven counts under the Charitable Fundraising Act for representing that a portion of its discount card proceeds would be donated to a charity - without that charity's consent - and unlawfully using emblems associated with a charity without consent.

Gold Medal Project president Eric Boulter faces 47 charges and employee Kenneth Edwards faces 37 charges for similar offences. In all, Alberta Government Services received complaints from 85 consumers in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Grande Prairie and other areas who had bought the discount shopping cards.

The charges stem from allegations Gold Medal Project told consumers the proceeds would go to Child Find, Block Parent or the Missing Children's Society. Other consumers allege they were led to believe the money would benefit Alberta's Amber Alert program. None of the charities, however, were directly affiliated with the discount program. Amber Alert is government-sponsored and no fundraising is required. Many businesses listed in the program no longer honoured the Gold Medal cards.

Gold Medal Project's first provincial court appearances are scheduled for March 30 in Red Deer, April 1 in Edmonton and April 2 in Calgary. Penalties under both acts include fines of up to $100,000 or up to three times the amount obtained by the offence and/or up to two years in prison.

Albertans should be aware that, with the arrival of warm weather, unlicensed door-to-door operations with charitable pitches surface more often. With any door-to-door seller, Albertans should ask for identification and proof of a valid provincial licence. The security posted by a licensed company can help consumers get their money back if problems occur.

Alberta's Fair Trading Act requires all door-to-door sellers to be licensed. A security must also be posted if the product sold is valued at more than $25. Albertans have the right to cancel door-to-door purchases within 10 days for any reason and without penalty. The right to cancel extends to a year if the company is not licensed.

For more information, a tipsheet called Dealing with Door-to-Door Sales is available through www.gov.ab.ca/gs or the Consumer Information Centre at 1-877-427-4088.

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Gwen Vanderdeen-Paschke
Alberta Government Services
(780) 415-6051