This story is a very interesting one that has a history dating back to a time where sleazy car salesmen would say anything to consumers in order to get the sale (like it doesn’t still happen today right?). Fast forward to 2019 and you will see an entity in BC called the “Vehicle Sales Authority of BC” (or VSA for short) is enforcing a rule that prohibits BC residents from receiving the Tesla referral award when influencing someone to purchase a Tesla vehicle.
This week I spoke to ‘Chris’ from the VSA, where we had a discussion over the phone regarding the rule in question. I asked Chris what he thought about the rule and while he said the rule did seem ‘very broad’, yet he declined to give a personal opinion on the matter stating the VSA merely enforces the law. The only way this rule could be changed would be to speak with my MLA. The problem seems to be related to the interpretation of a ‘salesperson’ as Chris explained it to me.
The actual documentation from the VSA’s own website can be found here:
https://mvsabc.com/v1/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/VSA-Fact-Sheet_ReferralFees.pdf
https://mvsabc.com/v1/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019-09-26-Industry-Comm_Referral-Fee-Facts.pdf
http://mvsabc.com/v1/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Bulletin23.16.pdf
In 2019, Tesla was forced to mention this exclusion for BC residents on their referral program website (quite abruptly might I add):
https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/support/referral-program
Eligibility
- Eligible purchases of a new or leased Model S, Model X, Model 3 or Model Y:
- Free Supercharging miles will apply to any vehicles on the same account and will expire 6 months after the miles are added. If all mileage on an account is used before expiration, the expiration date for the next referral is reset to 6 months.
- Model Y drawings happen on a monthly basis and Founders Series Roadster drawings occur on a quarterly basis. No entry fee, payment or purchase required for the drawing.
Must be at least 18 years old to be eligible for benefits and are non-transferable or redeemable for cash. The customer is responsible for all taxes and local requirements and fees. Program and awards are conditional on and subject to local laws and regulations. Unfortunately, British Columbia residents are not eligible for referrer program awards.
The customer may not be an employee, legal representative or partner of Tesla or any Affiliate of Tesla. Nothing in the Referral Program shall be deemed to create any kind of relationship between the referrer and Tesla or any of Tesla’s Affiliates. The referrer has no authority to represent or bind Tesla. Terms and conditions are subject to change.
Why was BC the only province excluded? Does the rest of Canada understand that citizens are not car sales-people? How does referring someone to purchase a car differ from referring someone to purchase a product on Amazon (which has referral awards) or even referring someone to purchase a home in BC (which is allowed see below):
https://www.recbc.ca/professionals/knowledge-base/guidelines/trading-services
Paying and Receiving Referral Fees
Some licensees pay or receive referral fees. Typically, referral fees are paid by a licensee for receiving a ‘‘lead’’ which results in the licensee earning remuneration. A licensee might receive a referral fee for referring a client to another licensee or service provider if that client uses the services of that other person. The following are issues that licensees should be aware of related to the payment or receipt of referral fees.
Paying a referral fee to an unlicensed person 3-3 (1)(f).
A licensee may pay an unlicensed person a referral fee as long as
- the unlicensed person does not solicit, for the purposes of making a referral, the names of persons who may want to acquire or dispose of real estate;
- the practice of making referrals is not the main business of the unlicensed person making the referral; and
- the unlicensed person making the referral does nothing else that would require them to be licensed (refer to the definition of ‘‘real estate services’’ in section 1 of RESA).
Those who intend to pay a referral fee to an unlicensed person have an obligation to first ensure that person satisfies the above criteria. Section 6-1 of the Rules prohibits the payment of any remuneration to an unlicensed person in relation to real estate services if that person is required to be licensed. For this reason, it is important that a brokerage has clear policies, and advises its licensees accordingly, with respect to the payment of referral fees. It may also be useful to obtain independent accounting advice with respect to any tax implications that may be associated with the payment of referral fees to unlicensed persons.
Even when we hire home inspectors, there is never a guarantee of the accuracy of the information in the report provided from the home they inspect and the liability they face is limited:
This is evident in the fact that BC is changing those rules (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/housing-and-tenancy/buying-and-selling-property/improving-consumer-confidence-home-inspections-intentions-paper-final-jan-7-2020.pdf?bcgovtm=20200309_GCPE_AM_SPEC_2__FBIG_BCGOV_EN_GEO__15VID) and
All we ask is that they review the ‘sales person’ definition and either differentiate a regular ‘john doe’ from a professional or clarify the rules to match reality.
Consider the fact that all Tesla vehicle sales take place online, and that influencers on youtube, blogs, etc are frequently considered when people make purchases for products but are these influencers sales-people or just product reviewers, and how is BC protecting its residents any more than the rest of Canada?
I have had 3 people (whom I have never met in person) use my referral to purchase Tesla vehicles in 2020, through my youtube videos and online posts. Anyone living in any other province in Canada would have received those awards but not me. Did this rule protect consumers in BC? No, it did not. Am I a Tesla sales-person? No, I am not.
I have taken the matter to my local MLA, Mike Morris who I continue working with, in the hopes to get this rule changed. Thus far there is a petition signed by hundreds of supporters located here:
I will post updates to this page as i receive more information, but at this time I have ‘referred’ the story to CBC news and their provincial news team is investigating as well!
To see the discussion dating back in April of 2019 check out this link:
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/bc-and-new-referral-program.148421/
Update: September 23, 2020
Today I finally received information from the VSA regarding the actual laws involved in this policy, the very first point in that email I believe is flawed in the very definition of a salesperson:
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/laws/stat/rsbc-1996-c-316/latest/rsbc-1996-c-316.html
“salesperson” means
(a)an individual, other than a motor dealer, who, on behalf of a motor dealer and for or in the expectation of a fee, gain or reward,
(i)solicits, negotiates or arranges for the sale of a motor vehicle to a person, or
(ii)in any way participates in the soliciting, negotiating or arranging for the sale of a motor vehicle to a person, or
(b)an individual who is a motor dealer and who
(i)solicits, negotiates or arranges for the sale of a motor vehicle to a person, or
(ii)in any way participates in the soliciting, negotiating or arranging for the sale of a motor vehicle to a person;
Tesla owners are not “solicits, negotiates or arranges for the sale of a motor vehicle”, we do a product review and in most cases never actually meet the person who uses our referral code, they watched out video or read our blog and used us as a referral.
Today I spoke with my local MLA’s office “Mike Morris” in Prince George, BC and the person I spoke with tended to agree that this interpretation of sale person being applied to Tesla owners is seriously flawed.
After speaking with Christ I feel I was given wrong information from him. Chris stated that the ‘law’ banning Tesla owners from referrals existed long before the VSA’s existence. However, in an email, I received from the VSA today they stated:
“We understand that you are looking for an explanation regarding why referral fees are not allowed in British Columbia.
The VSA Fact Sheet, Referrals provides the legal reason as to why referral reasons are against the law in British Columbia. The explanation in the Fact sheet is a combined reading of the following legislative provisions and court decisions interpreting words and phrases within those provisions:”
That means they re-interpreted the Motor Vehicle act into this anti Tesla rule! Its therefore the VSA who created this not the government.
Update November 26, 2020:
Today I spoke to the Ombudsman as I was directed to do so by my local MLA. The ombudsman stated they cannot help me without some kind of complaint being filed. The circular finger-pointing continues. I contacted my local MLA and will now see if I can get him to introduce a motion to clearly define a ‘salesperson’ so as to exclude regular citizens and therefore this house of cards comes to an end.
Update December 4, 2020:
I have once again contacted the Minister of Transportation BC, local MLA’s Shirley Bond and Mike Morris and thus far have received no response after another week. I will begin calling people and getting a human on the phone and keep trying to get answers regarding what steps to take to get this changed. In the meantime enjoy this video talking about more lobby groups changing laws in Michigan, US:
Update December 24, 2020 (Merry Christmas):
I finally received the following reply from the ‘Ministry of Public Safety’:
Email: mark_vejvoda@hotmail.com
Dear Mark Vejvoda:
I am writing in response to your email of November 27, 2020 addressed to the Honourable Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, regarding referral fees for vehicle sales. The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General is responsible for the regulation of vehicle salespeople, and I am pleased to respond to your email.
The Vehicle Sales Authority regulates vehicle salespeople on behalf of the Province. Being licensed, salespeople are held accountable for their actions. This includes being held to a code of conduct that includes a requirement to not make false or misleading representations. This accountability provides protection to consumers who rely on representations made by salespeople when purchasing vehicles.
A referral program creates a situation where a vehicle owner may not have the potential purchaser’s interests in mind. The potential purchaser may not be aware that the vehicle owner could receive a referral fee or other compensation, or that the vehicle owner has an incentive to make representations that may be misleading.
Allowing an unlicensed and incentivized person to solicit business for a dealer goes against the intent of the Motor Dealer Act. The Province remains committed to protecting consumers and is not contemplating changes to the regulations at this time.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns about this matter.
Sincerely,
Elaine Vale
A/ Executive Director
Corporate Policy and Planning Office
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
pc: The Honourable Rob Fleming
579413
I have emailed a reply asking for a deeper discussion over the phone as I feel this reply does not cover most of the points mentioned above in this article.
Update January 12, 2021:
Today I spoke with a public servant (Elaine) from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia. We spoke for a long time where I covered all of the points above and how the new ‘online’ economy does not match with the current Bid Dogging rule. While she agreed that in general cars and other products being sold online needs to be revisited as current laws do not properly address what is going on in the real world, she quickly dismissed this discussion as ‘not a priority at this time’. There does not appear to be a way to get this rule changed merely by providing arguments (such as some of those above) but rather we need to convince our local MLA’s to ‘make this a priority’ and sadly this is how the entire art of government lobbying works. We will need to get creative if we want to change the minds of slow-moving politicians in this regard.
To conclude one cannot help but admit that our local government here in BC does not understand electric cars, does not understand online sales, and does not understand that the future is already here while they live in the past. This entire experience fulfilled almost every stereotype that I have of slow, mostly unresponsive government agencies living in the dark ages while caring nothing about customer service or providing clear direction relating to how to get to the next step.