Door-to-door and unsolicited locksmiths

When a sale is unsolicited

NSW Fair Trading puts the test in three parts. “An unsolicited consumer agreement is when:

• a supplier or salesperson approaches or telephones you without you inviting them
• negotiations take place over the phone, or in person at a location other than the supplier’s premises
• the total value of the agreement is more than $100, or the value was not agreed on.”

“If something goes wrong, it’s the responsibility of the business to prove that the agreement was not an unsolicited consumer agreement.” The ACCC adds that the rules do not apply where the total value is under $100, “no matter how the consumer was approached.” A quote you asked for can turn into an unsolicited deal, too, as the quotes guide explains.

The hours and the knock

NSW Fair Trading notes that a supplier or agent “can visit at any time if an appointment has been made and accepted.”

At the door, the ACCC says a salesperson must tell you their name, the name and address of the business they represent, and why they are visiting. A door-to-door salesperson “must also tell a consumer upfront that they can ask the salesperson to leave at any time”; if you ask, they must leave straight away, and the business cannot contact you again for the next 30 days. For calls, the ACCC says consumers “can sign up online to the Do Not Call Register” to prevent telemarketing calls from businesses selling products or services. A ‘do not knock’ sign counts too: salespeople “must treat that sign the same as a specific request from a consumer to leave.”

VICConsumer Affairs Victoria’s home improvements checklist has a plain warning: “Be wary of people who knock on your door or who telephone you unexpectedly, offering cheap deals on jobs around your home. They may be travelling con men.”

Selling security can need a licence

NSWNSW Police says that, generally and with some exceptions, people who sell or install security doors, roller shutters or other security equipment, or who give advice about it “(for example, by assessing customers’ needs and recommending appropriate products)”, need a Class 2B and/or Class 2C security licence. Among the exceptions are people employed to make phone calls encouraging people to sign contracts for security equipment.

WAIn Western Australia, the security consultant licence covers advising on protecting property and also going from place to place looking for people who may be prepared to contract for security equipment or services.

The licence check works on the doorstep as well as on a booked job.

The agreement and the cooling-off

If you agree to buy, you must get a written sales agreement, straight after signing if you sign in person. Its front page must carry this notice:

The ACCC’s own advice is short: “Don’t sign a sales agreement without reading it in full first. You don’t have to agree to anything on the spot.” It also says “It’s also against the law for a business to use physical force, coercion or undue harassment on consumers.”

During the cooling-off period, the ACCC says the seller can supply products you agreed to buy if they cost less than $500 including GST. However, they can’t:

• “supply any services, except electricity, gas or emergency repairs
• take payment for any products or services, except for electricity, gas or emergency repairs.”

Break the rules and the period grows. “The cooling-off period becomes 3 months if the salesperson:

• phones or visits the consumer outside the allowed hours
• doesn’t give their name or the name and address of the business they represent
• doesn’t say why they are calling or visiting.”

It becomes 6 months if the salesperson doesn’t tell you about the cooling-off period, doesn’t give you a written copy of the agreement, leaves out required information such as the cancellation form, or supplies products or services during the cooling-off period (outside the exceptions above).

Cancelling

To cancel within the cooling-off period you simply tell the seller, by phone, in person, by post, email or fax, or with the form in the agreement, and the seller must immediately return any money you have paid. NSW Fair Trading adds that any related contract is also void, and that “It’s an offence for anyone to tell you to waive your cooling-off rights.”