2017–18 Project Summaries: Option consommateurs

Option consommateurs
Centre for Sustainable Development
440-50 Sainte-Catherine Street West
Montréal, QC H2X 3V4
Tel.: (514) 598-7288
Toll Free: 1-888-412-1313
Fax: (514) 598-8511

A bargain or a technical problem? Pricing errors in Canada’s e-commerce

Option consommateurs will examine the extent of pricing errors advertised online and will propose possible solutions that would be fair to both consumers and businesses.

Do tradition and innovation mix? The benefits and risks of peer-to-peer insurance for consumers

Option consommateurs will examine the peer-to-peer insurance (P2PI) phenomenon in Canada. New Web platforms facilitate P2PI by allowing insurance customers to create online networks that share risks. Users determine what asset-associated risks will be covered and collectively decide on the eligibility of claims.

Insurance price comparison websites: Are they an effective tool?

Option consommateurs will provide a comprehensive picture of the comparison sites in Canada and determine whether the problems present in other countries, such as suggesting insurance based on business relationships and pressuring consumers to buy quickly, exist in Canada.

Silence is consent: Opting out in the digital age

Option consommateurs will examine the consequences for consumers of having contractual relationships imposed by default, determine whether consumers can terminate them easily and how they can communicate instructions.

Changes to prices advertised online: Analysis of business practices and the legal framework in Canada

Option consommateurs will conduct a study on changes/variations to prices advertised online in the Canadian context. Personalization on websites can be helpful for users but it also may be used at their disadvantage by manipulating the products shown (i.e. price steering) or by customizing the prices of products (i.e. price discrimination) depending on their computer, location, profile or search history.