Door-to-door sales have come under scrutiny, with aggressive campaigns among energy retailers and other service providers to persuade consumers to switch contracts. Long gone are the days when sellers hawked wares such as encyclopaedias and vacuum cleaners at the door — nowadays it is the promise of potentially saving money on energy or phone bills. Unfortunately, consumers often end up worse off as a result of signing up to a contract at the door or agreeing to something over the phone.
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) commenced on 1 January 2011, and gathers together diverse State laws into a national regime for controlling what are called “unsolicited consumer agreements”, which includes door-to-door sales and telemarketing.
Whilst regulation of door-to-door sales is not a new idea, a consistent and simplified national regime helps consumers to understand their basic rights.
Door-to-door sellers often exploit the vulnerability of the elderly, migrants who might struggle with English, and full-time carers at home during the day. An important aspect of the ACL is that the consumer has the right to ask the seller to leave, and the seller must leave immediately when requested. Unfortunately, elderly members of the community may be too polite, or migrants may be trying hard to fit into a new culture, and find it hard to be assertive enough to tell the seller to leave.
As part of a nationwide Do Not Knock campaign, the Legal Services Commission of South Australian has, in conjunction with Victoria Legal Aid and the Victorian Consumer Action Law Centre, produced a Do Not Knock sticker to deter unwanted door-to-door sellers. They send the simple message that door knockers are unwelcome at the address.
The stickers and a pamphlet outlining consumers rights are available for free from any Legal Services Commission office or via the publications page on this website. For legal advice about door-to-door sales, phone the Legal Help Line on 1300 366 424.
Visit www.donotknock.org.au for more information and insights into the campaign, including information in other languages.
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