OPC Travel Counsellor Mock Exam 1

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. When must you issue an invoice to a customer?

   1. As soon as money is received, deposit or final payment
   2. Only when the customer returns from the trip
   3. Only if the customer asks for one in writing
   4. Only at final payment, just before the customer leaves

2. For how long is the travel counsellor certificate issued or renewed?

   1. 2 years
   2. 3 years
   3. 1 year
   4. 5 years

3. For how many travel agents can a certified counsellor work at the same time?

   1. Three at most, under the Regulation
   2. As many as he likes, after telling the Office
   3. Only one
   4. Two, if they are in different cities

4. Which of these roles is part of the OPC's mandate?

   1. Selling travel insurance to agency customers
   2. Monitoring merchants and bringing penal proceedings
   3. Negotiating commissions between tour operators and agencies
   4. Setting the price of packages sold by agencies

5. When a contribution must be collected, which agent collects it from the customer?

   1. The Office, by mail to the customer
   2. The tour operator that designed the package
   3. Revenu Québec, together with the QST
   4. The agent dealing directly with the customer

6. Who must provide the individual security required with a general licence?

   1. The travel agent
   2. The travel counsellor
   3. The customer, with the deposit
   4. The supplying tour operator

7. For an advertisement saying from $999, which condition remains necessary?

   1. Always, it is an allowed phrase
   2. Only for cruises
   3. Never, the phrase is banned
   4. If that price is truly available

8. Except in force majeure, what notice must the agent give if it cancels a trip?

   1. At least 7 days
   2. At least 30 days
   3. No notice
   4. At least 24 hours

9. A package sold online is payable in euros. What must be stated before the contract is made?

   1. The tour operator's bank
   2. The payment currency
   3. Last year's exchange rate
   4. Nothing, currency is irrelevant

10. Which category may use the s. 39.1 exemption after obtaining a certificate and providing its copy before contracting?

    1. Customers who also buy travel insurance
    2. A diplomatic mission established in Canada
    3. Agency employees
    4. Seniors aged 65 and over

11. When does the FICAV step in for an agency that has ceased business?

    1. When the individual security is insufficient
    2. Only if the agency had more than 10 employees
    3. Before the security is even used
    4. Never, the FICAV covers suppliers only

12. What legal role can the invoice play?

    1. It can serve as the service contract
    2. It replaces the customer's travel insurance
    3. It acts as a temporary agency licence
    4. It replaces the customer's passport

13. Outside the specified distance-communication exceptions, what formal prerequisite accompanies the lawful grounds for a post-contract price increase?

    1. A short email to the customer a week before departure
    2. None, if the increase is under 10% of the total price
    3. A clause in the contract and prior oral and written notice
    4. The Office's prior approval for each increase

14. A clause in a travel contract is ambiguous. How must it be interpreted?

    1. As the Office advises
    2. In the consumer's favour
    3. In the tour operator's favour
    4. In the agency's favour

15. How may the agent withdraw money from the trust account?

    1. By cheque or a documented bank transfer
    2. At an ATM with a bank card
    3. At the bank counter, in cash
    4. Any way, as long as it is recorded

16. A counsellor sells a hotel he knows is dirty and poorly rated without warning the customer. Which obligation is at issue?

    1. Renewing the certificate
    2. Keeping books
    3. Paying the FICAV contribution
    4. Prudent supplier selection and relevant information

17. The president of the Office upholds a decision to refuse a licence. Where can the agency challenge it?

    1. At the Administrative Tribunal of Québec, within 30 days
    2. With the advisory committee, within 10 days
    3. With the minister, within 90 days
    4. At the Small Claims Division, within one year

18. An individual is convicted of a first offence under Travel Agents Act s. 4. What fine range does s. 39 provide?

    1. $600 to $15,000
    2. $50 to $500
    3. $25,000 to $100,000
    4. $100 to $1,000

19. An agency stops paying its suppliers because its trust account is in deficit. What can the president of the Office do to protect customers?

    1. Require only the manager to retake the exam
    2. Set new prices for the agency
    3. Transfer the licence to a competitor
    4. Appoint a provisional administrator

20. Which situation is expressly exempted from the certificate on OPC’s current definition page?

    1. Any counsellor selling only train tickets
    2. An employee of an agency holding a restricted licence
    3. Any counsellor selling only within Québec
    4. Any counsellor aged over 65

21. Which of these must be given to the customer BEFORE a distance contract is made?

    1. The agency's profit
    2. The other group members' names
    3. The counsellor's salary
    4. The cancellation conditions

22. The customer paid for an ocean-view room and gets one facing the parking lot. Which obligation is breached?

    1. Security bond
    2. Conformity
    3. Confidentiality
    4. Certification

23. During a rebate period, what must the invoice show?

    1. No FICAV mention at all on the invoice
    2. Only the word "exempt", with no amount
    3. A doubled contribution to compensate
    4. The 0.10% contribution, then a rebate line

24. The agency changes its director. Within what time must it notify the Office?

    1. At the annual renewal
    2. Within 48 hours
    3. Within 15 days
    4. Within 60 days

25. Where must a travel counsellor carry on business?

    1. In premises the counsellor rents in his or her own name
    2. Anywhere, as long as there is a cell phone
    3. In, or attached to, an establishment of the agent
    4. Only at the head office of the Office de la protection du consommateur

26. Under Penal Procedure Code s. 160, what is the ordinary deadline to send a plea after a statement of offence is served?

    1. 10 days
    2. 30 days
    3. 90 days
    4. 60 days

27. An airline goes bankrupt after the customer paid the agency in full. Can the FICAV step in even though the agency is solvent?

    1. No, the customer must sue the airline
    2. Yes, but only for domestic flights
    3. No, only if the agency closes
    4. Yes, for a supplier's default

28. What statement about the money received must appear on the invoice?

    1. That it belongs to the agency
    2. That it is received in trust
    3. That the bank guarantees it
    4. That it is non-refundable

29. A counsellor moves house. Within what time must she tell the Office?

    1. At the next renewal
    2. Within 5 days
    3. Within 15 days
    4. Within 60 days

30. A printed ad shows a package at $1,899. What other information is required?

    1. How many customers were satisfied
    2. The agency's profit
    3. The period to buy at that price
    4. What the package cost last year

31. A tour sold for $1,700 goes up $136 (8%) because of a fuel surcharge. What right does the customer have?

    1. Make the agency pay half of the fuel surcharge
    2. Choose a full refund or similar services
    3. Pay the increase in instalments, interest-free, after returning
    4. None, a fuel surcharge is a valid reason for the increase

32. Under the CPA, which advertising is specially regulated?

    1. Advertising in English only in Québec
    2. Advertising aired on weekends
    3. Ads by agencies over 10 years old
    4. Advertising aimed at children under 13

33. Which of these withdrawals from the trust account is allowed?

    1. Paying for the agency's advertising
    2. Paying the receptionist's salary
    3. Paying the agency's office rent
    4. Paying the hotel booked for that customer

34. A customer fills out a medical questionnaire for travel insurance. What may the counsellor do with that information?

    1. Keep it to offer the customer other products later
    2. Share it with the tour operator to adapt the package
    3. Send it only to the insurer, keeping no copy
    4. Keep a copy on file for the customer's next trip

35. Is the FICAV contribution calculated before or after GST and QST?

    1. Before the taxes
    2. On the taxes only
    3. After the taxes
    4. As the customer chooses

36. An agency opens a second branch in Laval. What does it need?

    1. A new certificate for each counsellor
    2. Nothing, the licence covers all of Québec
    3. A second security deposit paid to the FICAV
    4. A duplicate licence for that establishment

37. A counsellor meets a customer in a café, outside the agency. What must the counsellor do if the customer asks?

    1. Show a commission statement
    2. Hand over the tour operator's licence
    3. Be able to demonstrate the counsellor’s status on request
    4. Have an exclusivity contract signed

38. A provisional administrator serves the bank with notice under Travel Agents Act s. 15. What is required for a trust-account withdrawal?

    1. Any agency counsellor’s verbal agreement
    2. Approval of the travel-agent advisory committee
    3. Only the unpaid supplier’s demand
    4. The provisional administrator’s written authorization

39. A supplier default prevents use of four nights of a paid seven-night related service. Under s. 43.7(b), how is that related service’s refund assessed?

    1. The full stay price, regardless of nights used
    2. A flat $500 per traveller
    3. No refund, part of it was used
    4. In proportion to the unused nights

40. What general small-claims limit does Québec currently publish, excluding interest?

    1. $25,000
    2. $15,000
    3. $10,000
    4. $5,000

41. After the purchase, the Government of Canada issues an official advisory to avoid all travel to the destination. How does the Regulation classify this?

    1. A mere customer preference
    2. The customer's own fault or choice
    3. A cause beyond the customer's control
    4. A default by the travel agency

42. Without written delegation to an officer or staff member, who must carry out the trust account’s banking transactions?

    1. An inspector from the Office
    2. The licence holder
    3. Any counsellor
    4. The supplying tour operator

43. Which authority publishes Canadian APPR information to check passenger rights after a flight delay or cancellation?

    1. The Autorité des marchés financiers
    2. The Office de la protection du consommateur
    3. The Canadian Transportation Agency
    4. The FICAV, which always pays first

44. In whose name must the phone and email of a home establishment be?

    1. The owner's spouse's
    2. The licensed travel agent's
    3. The authorizing municipality's
    4. The counsellor's who works there

45. After how long without a new tie to an agent does a suspended certificate stop having effect?

    1. 6 months
    2. 2 years
    3. 1 year
    4. 5 years

46. An agency repeats a false hotel description in its own ad. Can it dismiss every obligation solely because the tour operator wrote it?

    1. Only the media outlet that ran the ad
    2. Only the tour operator who wrote it
    3. No one, the error was in good faith
    4. No; its own advertising also binds it

47. A business traveller books by phone two days before departure. How may the refund conditions be given?

    1. Verbally
    2. Only by mail
    3. Only in person
    4. After the trip

48. A transactional website gives no purchase period for its prices. When is that allowed?

    1. When prices are displayed only in US dollars
    2. When the prescribed boxed notice is on the home page
    3. When the customer ticks an acceptance box at checkout
    4. When the website is hosted on a server outside Québec

49. For an oral distance contract, what adaptation replaces prior written disclosure of the price-change clause?

    1. By reading the clause by phone after the trip
    2. No need, the clause is implied
    3. By sending a copy of the contract within 15 days
    4. By posting it on the agency website

50. Customer A deposited $2,000. The agent must pay the tour operator $2,500 for A. May the agent use $500 deposited by customer B?

    1. Yes, if B is repaid before departure
    2. Yes, if the account total allows it
    3. Yes, with B's verbal consent
    4. No, never more than that customer deposited