A furniture retailer in the Lanaudière region took the law into its own hands by posting the names of Indigenous customers whose payments were late on Facebook. The practice could violate the Consumer Protection Act.
Withdrawn since, the publication of Ameublement Lavoie & Lachapelle mentioned the name of 11 customers, without however identifying them with a link to their personal page.
It also read: “Contact us please write to me privately for amounts overdue on your payments”.
The store’s co-owner, Béatrice Lavoie, says she deleted the post because “people were posting mean comments to the business.”
This isn’t the first time Ameublement Lavoie & Lachapelle has used the technique, “and we’d do it again if it wasn’t for the negative feedback.”
The individuals targeted are all Indigenous members of the Atikamekw community, many of whom live in Manawan, less than 100 km from Saint-Michel-des-Saints, where the store is located.
“Only the Attikameks are entitled to credit with us, so we cannot be accused of racism”, pleads Mme The way.
Many of the comments under the removed post accused the company of anti-Indigenous racism.
A legal practice?
Ameublement Lavoie & Lachapelle is in the process of closing. The company is currently liquidating its inventory and has put its building up for sale. “We will cease our activities as soon as the building is sold,” says the co-owner.
Publishing the names of customers in this way could violate the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, according to the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC).
The 11 individuals targeted by the publication could also file a complaint with the OPC, “because such a practice could contravene the Act respecting the collection of certain debts”.
“It should be noted that under this law, persons who are the subject of prohibited collection practices may claim damages from the offender, as well as punitive damages,” warns Charles Tanguay, spokesperson for the ‘UCI.
According to Béatrice Lavoie, who bought the company in June 2021 with three other shareholders, the former owner has used the technique many times in the past, without raising the ire of the people concerned.
“The previous owner did it regularly,” she says.