A B.C. man paid $2,100 for a kitten he saw on Kijiji and then changed his mind. Here's why he was entitled to a full refund

A ragdoll kitten is seen in this undated image. (Shutterstock)

A B.C. man who had second thoughts after e-transferring a $2,100 payment for a ragdoll kitten he found on Kijiji is legally entitled to a full refund, according to a small claims decision that sheds some light on the law on these types of transactions.

The dispute dates back to July of last year, when Zhekai Zhang came across an ad from Cream Cake Ragdoll Cattery for a fluffy feline named Mango, a Tuesday ruling from the Civil Resolution Tribunal says.

After some back and forth about the price, Zhang made the transfer to the cattery, whose sole proprietor is Xu Jing.

"Three days later, the applicant told the respondent he wanted to cancel the purchase. The respondent said they suspected the applicant was trying to defraud them. They refused to return the applicant’s money, later saying it was a breach of contract," tribunal member Christopher C. Rivers wrote.

"The respondent undisputedly never gave Mango to the applicant," the decision continues.

Zhang argued that he was entitled to cancel the contract for Mango's purchase under the province's Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act – an argument the tribunal ultimately agreed with.

Distance sales contracts

The legislation gives a purchaser the ability to cancel a "distance sales contract" if certain terms are not met, the decision explains, adding that a contract of that kind is defined as one in which "the contract is not entered into in person, and where the consumer cannot inspect the contract’s goods."

Because Zhang never saw Mango, the agreement to purchase the kitten – even though it was negotiated through text messages and did not include a formal or signed document – constituted a distance contract.

One of the things the law requires of the seller in an arrangement like this one is that they provide specific information to the buyer, Rivers said.

"This includes, among other things, the supplier’s address, telephone number, delivery arrangements, cancellation policies, and refund policies," he wrote.

In this case, Zhang asked Jing where the cattery was located but never received a reply. That move, the decision says, amounted to a "failure to provide the information required," specifically an address, which entitled Zhang to cancel the contract by "giving notice" within seven days.

The tribunal also noted in its decision that even though Mango was being advertised on Kijiji's Vancouver site, the cattery is located in Quebec.

The negotiations and agreement about the kitten's purchase also did not indicate "when and how the respondent would supply Mango to the applicant," the tribunal said, adding that this information is also required. If it is not provided, the contract can also be cancelled as long as the "goods" have not been delivered.

"The BPCPA provisions discussed above are mandatory. Given that, I find the contract is cancelled. Since there is no contract, the respondent does not have any entitlement to the applicant’s money," Rivers wrote.

In addition to a refund of the $2,100, Jing has also been ordered to pay Zhang $69.49 in pre-judgment interest and $125 in tribunal fees.