by Eric Rogers
It’s 6pm on a Thursday, and you just sat down for dinner with the family after a long day. There is a surprising knock at the door. You pointedly ignore it, hoping you imagined the sound of unexpected knuckles on wood. They knock again, and again. You are forced to answer the door to a smiling stranger with “the best offer you have ever heard”. They could be offering anything from a new, cheaper phone plan to a high-speed monorail that will put your city on the map. What they are selling does not matter, but how they do it makes all the difference.
What to Know About Door-to-Door Sales and Your Rights
Door-to-door sales representatives are a common experience. Even if some can be a little pushy, most are selling an actual product from an actual, reputable company. However, there has been a rise in door-to-door sales scams involving auctioneer-speed negotiations, unclear costs, and unfulfilled promises. These sales representatives will say anything they need to make the deal, the unsuspecting victim will sign the sales representative’s phone, then a week later a contract will show up in their email containing completely different terms.
The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”) was enacted to combat shady door-to-door sales techniques, referred to as “direct sales contracts”. The Act gives a lot of structure to what a direct sales contract must contain to be valid, including:
- The supplier’s name;
- The supplier’s business address and telephone number;
- The date that the contract was entered into;
- A detailed description of the goods and services to be supplied;
- A detailed statement of the terms of payment;
- The total price under the contract, including the total cost of credit;
- If credit is extended or arranged by the supplier, a description of the structure of the credit;
- A notice of the buyer’s rights of cancellation;
- A legible name of the salesperson who signed the contract on behalf of the supplier;
- The place where the contract was entered into; and
- The signature of the buyer.
A buyer may cancel a direct sales contract for any reason within 10 days of receiving a copy of the contract. To do this, they must tell the supplier that they are cancelling the contract.
Further, the contract is only binding on the buyer if they receive a copy of the direct sales contract at the time the contract is entered into. This means that if the buyer does not receive a contract containing all of the above-noted information by the time the salesperson leaves their door, and instead receives it a week or even a day later, the contract does not bind the buyer to anything. There is no time limit in this scenario for the buyer to tell the supplier that they are not going through with the contract, although best practice would be within a year.
Once the supplier is given notice that the direct sales contract is cancelled, they have 15 days to fully refund the buyer.
There has been a particular rise in door-to-door sales schemes involving heating and cooling equipment installations. A common lie in these scams it to claim that the buyer will be eligible for CleanBC Energy Saving Program rebates that will cover most of the cost. In order to be eligible for a CleanBC rebate, the contractor must be a registered CleanBC Energy Savings Program Contractor, of which there is a list on the CleanBC website (www.betterhomesbc.ca). As well, the equipment installed must be eligible for the rebates. Before accepting that your heat pump installation will be partially covered by rebates, do your due diligence and look into both the contractor and the equipment.
If you or someone you know have been scammed by unscrupulous door-to-door sales techniques, reach out to the experienced lawyers at Baker Newby to learn more about your rights and possible solutions.
