Doorstep Selling Examples

Building Works and Repairs

Doorstep sales of home repairs and maintenance have been the subject of CABx evidence reports over many years. Commonly such cases involve external work to the owner-occupier’s property such as roof and gutter repairs and resurfacing of driveways. The key problems are high costs, poor quality of work and difficulty locating the trader when problems arise. High costs and poor quality of work were amongst the issues highlighted in a National Consumer Council report in 1996.

A CAB client from Yorkshire paid £850 in cash for replacement of the gutter and fascias on his home. The workman had knocked on the door and offered to do the work. The client wrote a cheque but the man insisted on cash and wanted more than the £850. The gutters leaked but the client could not contact the workman despite having two telephone numbers.
An elderly CAB client from Berkshire was approached by a builder who said she needed work on a sagging gable on her house. Once the gable was removed she was told much more work needed to be done. She ended up paying £5,000 and was given a receipt saying ’15 years guarantee on all work’. A piece of the gable fell off and she had been trying to get the builder to return but all she has achieved is a large phone bill.

These cases illustrate the need for better consumer information and education to make consumers more aware of their rights. Neither of these clients were given the cancellation rights they were entitled to and neither was able to find the trader when repairs were required. But consumer education can only go so far in resolving these problems. Information and education must go hand in hand with adequate consumer protection legislation, and active enforcement to secure compliance where needed.

Home improvements

Home improvements such as double-glazing have been the subject of doorstep selling for a number of years. For example in 2001, local trading standards departments reported to the Office of Fair Trading that they had received 104,794 consumer complaints about home improvements. Of these, a significant proportion, concerned selling techniques.

CABx evidence reports about doorstep sales of home improvements are commonly made about double-glazing and conservatories. The industry trend for doorstep sales naturally relates to the need to come to the prospective consumer’s home to discuss the product in relation to that specific building.

A CAB client from Yorkshire receiving Income Support and Attendance Allowance was persuaded to sign for a double-glazing contract for £1,000 during a visit to her home. Worried about whether she could afford this she only agreed with the assurance that she could cancel if funds were not available. This was not recorded on the paperwork. She has problems with her sight and only spoke to her family about this four weeks after she had signed the agreement.

A West Midlands CAB client was persuaded to sign a double-glazing contract on the understanding that they could cancel within seven days. No time was given for them to read the contract before signing. They had responded to a TV advertisement. The contract itself made it clear that there was no cooling off period for customers who were not buying with a linked credit agreement.

A CAB client from Bedfordshire agreed to purchase a conservatory during a solicited visit. They signed on the understanding that they could phone and cancel the following day but when they did this they were informed that costs had been incurred, for which they would be charged.

A common feature is that even when a consumer has cancellation rights and cancels, the sales person re-contacts the customer in an effort to reinstate the contract. This practice seeks to render the specific consumer protection aimed at combating high-pressure sales from unsolicited contacts ineffective.

A CAB in Suffolk described the experience of their clients, an elderly couple, as harassment. They were pursued to reinstate a double-glazing contract they had cancelled several times. The wife had sent the salesperson away when he cold-called but he returned later and persuaded the husband to sign for £3,000 worth of work. Their son helped the couple cancel when he discovered they did not know what they had signed. The salesperson returned when the wife was in hospital, following a heart attack, and persuaded the husband to re-instate the order and a credit agreement. Again their son helped them cancel and told the company not to call again. The salesperson re-contacted arranging to call in the evening and on that occasion the son was there and sent him away.

CABx evidence suggests an increasing use of doorstep selling for burglar alarms and solar heating equipments, resulting in similar problems for consumers.

A client from Yorkshire was referred to his local bureau by his bank as they were alarmed at the cost of a home security system he had been sold following a doorstep sale. The company had made an unsolicited phone call to arrange an appointment. They visited the next day to ‘assess his needs’ and fitted the system the following day. The initial quote was for £2,995, which was reduced to £2,250 when he said that was too expensive. Monitoring costs were an additional £12.42 a month. A local alarm company estimated that a top-of-the-range system for this client’s house would cost £700-£800. Despite being entitled to cancellation rights this consumer paid for the system because it had already been installed.

A CAB client in Devon responded to an unsolicited mail shot from a solar heating company. He was persuaded to pay a deposit of £2500 for a £9,000 contract following what the client described as enormous pressure from the salesperson. No cancellation rights were available because the client solicited the visit. The company charges a huge cancellation fee.

A CAB in Cornwall reported that their client had responded to an advertisement for solar heating. She knew about solar heating but was interested to find out more about the ability of solar panels to provide hot water. The company phoned to make an appointment whilst their representative was ‘in the area’. He stayed over five hours. The client signed a contract for £6,000 to get rid of him and paid a deposit of £1,000. The contract was described by the bureau as being riddled with statements about it not being cancellable. This client is in her 80’s and lives alone. She told the bureau that had she had someone else there she would have been able to get rid of the salesperson. She said she was embarrassed to tell her son.

These are expensive products where time to consider the purchase and make comparisons with other products and prices are essential for consumers. Where sales methods have been shown to cause consumer detriment a cancellation period for all purchases made in the home, whether the visit is solicited or unsolicited, could act as an incentive to salespeople to represent the contract fairly, or risk cancellation.