The Competition Bureau has reached a consent agreement with Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Company (Enterprise) to correct what the Bureau concluded were misleading advertisements. Enterprise will pay a penalty of $1 million and review its practices to ensure that its advertisements comply with the law.

“I commend Enterprise for collaborating with the Bureau to reach a resolution that ensures truth in advertising. Consumers will now be able to trust that the prices they see advertised are the ones they will pay, and won’t be surprised by extra fees.”

John Pecman,
Commissioner of Competition

• The agreement, which is registered with the Competition Tribunal and is legally binding, resolves the Commissioner’s concerns; as such no further legal proceeding is required at this time.

• The Administrative Monetary Penalty is paid to the Receiver General of Canada and becomes part of the government’s general revenues.

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Company operates under the trade names Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car in Canada. Individual locations may be independently operated.

• This agreement also addresses the concerns raised by the conduct under the provisions of the Competition Act that came into force when Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation was adopted. As such, the agreement applies to all representations regarding prices and discounts, including those distributed in electronic messages.

• Over the last years, the Bureau has been particularly active in fighting drip pricing, a practice in which additional fees are added later in the purchasing process and the real price of a product or service ends up being much higher. Ensuring truth in advertising in Canada's digital economy is a priority for the Bureau and targeting hidden fees is a key focus of its efforts.

• In June 2016, Avis and Budget paid a penalty of $3 million dollars and in April 2017, Hertz and Dollar Thrifty paid a penalty of $1.25 million. In both cases, the Bureau had concerns over similar pricing practices and the Bureau further concluded that some of these fees were described in a way that implied that they were mandatory taxes or surcharges imposed by various governments when, in fact, the companies chose to impose the additional mandatory fees to recover part of their own cost of doing business.

• The Bureau will continue to examine similar conduct in the car rental market and will take appropriate action as necessary.

Related Products

• Hiding the true cost of a product or service

Associated Links

• Hertz and Dollar Thrifty to pay $1.25 million penalty for advertising unattainable prices and discounts
• Avis and Budget to ensure prices advertised are accurate

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The Competition Bureau, as an independent law enforcement agency, ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace.