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Department of Justice and Community Safety

DOOR-TO-DOOR TRADING

Guide to the ACT Door-To-Door Trading Act 1991

Benefits of Regulation

Door-to-door traders benefit from clear guidelines on acceptable door-to-door trading practices in the ACT.

Other traders in the marketplace are given the opportunity to engage in fair competition for consumers' business. Fair trading practice is supported. Unfair trading is penalised.

Consumers benefit by being placed in a more equal bargaining position and through having access to remedies if they encounter unscrupulous door-to-door traders.

For example, the 10 day cooling-off period for most agreements gives consumers time to reflect on the bargain and to compare the merchandise and the terms of the agreement with what is available elsewhere.

Door-To-Door Trading

Traders engage in door-to-door trading when they telephone or call personally on consumers, at places other than the traders business premises, with a view to selling goods and/or services. [s.3(1)]

Door-to-door traders must:

  • work within specific trading hours [s.9]
  • observe an acceptable code of conduct [s.10 & s.11]
  • allow consumers to cancel agreements if
    • traders breach the code of conduct
    • agreements seek to deny the consumers rights, or
    • agreements seek to exclude the operation of ACT laws [s.5 & s.12]

Most agreements arising out of door-to-door trading must comply with the Act. Only agreements following contact initiated by the consumer may be excluded. [s.4(1)(b)]

Where the consumer's invitation to call follows a personal approach by the trader (eg a personally-addressed letter, a phone call or some other form of personal contact), the trader is considered to have initiated the contact. Any subsequent agreement is regulated by the Act.

On the other hand, if the consumer's invitation to call follows general newspaper or TV advertising targeting the world at large, subsequent agreements are not regulated by the Act. The consumer is considered to have initiated the contract and thus not need the protection offered by this Act. [s.4(2)]

Door-To-Door Traders' Conduct

Door-to-door traders must

  • immediately identify themselves and their purpose, when calling on consumers. A business card, including any supplier's name and address, must be produced [s.10(1)]
  • leave premises if and when asked to do so [s.10(1)]

Traders must NOT

  • call on consumers:
    • on Good Friday, Easter Sunday or Christmas Day [s.9(a)]
    • before 9am or after 5pm on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays (other than bank holidays) [s.9(b) & s.3(1)]
    • before 9am or after 8pm on any other day [s.9(c)]
    unless invited by the consumer to do so.
  • harass or coerce consumers [s.11]
  • make agreements misrepresenting consumers' rights under the Act [s.5(1)(c)]
  • make agreements claiming to exclude the operation of ACT laws [s.5(1)(a) & (b)]
  • list the consumer as a defaulter or debtor (or threaten to) where an agreement has been (or could be) legally cancelled [s.17(1)(b)]

Cooling Off Period

As a general rule, there is a 10 day 'cooling-off' period for door-to-door trading agreements to supply goods and/or services.

During this cooling-off period, traders must NOT:

  • accept any money or other consideration from the consumer during the cooling-off period [s.8(1)]
  • supply services to the consumer during the cooling-off period [s.8(2)]

The only EXCEPTIONS are when goods/services:

  • have a known value of $50 or less [s.6(1)(a) & (b)]. (A series of related agreements may be read together to exceed the $50 limit) [s.6(2)]
  • are supplied by charitable organisations [s.6(3)(c)]
  • consist of providing credit only. (If a trader arranges credit when selling goods/services, the agreement has a cooling-off period.) [s.6(3)(b)]
  • consist of providing insurance only. (If a trader arranges insurance when selling goods/services, the agreement has a cooling off period.) [s.6(3)(a)]
  • are being bought by a company [s.3(1)]
  • are being bought for business purposes [s.4(4)(a)]
  • are specifically excluded by the regulations under the Act. [s.4(4)(b) & s.6(3)(d)]

NB: Agreements exempted from the 10 day cooling-off period may still be cancelled within a 6 month period, if traders breach the general code of conduct set out in the Act [s.12(1)]

Agreements

All agreements subject to the 10 day cooling-off period must be legible and machine-printed or typewritten. [s7(1)(b) & (j)]

Agreements must include:

  • full details of terms agreed to [s.7(1)(a)]
  • details of the consumer's total financial liability (or the method of calculating it if the final figures are not known) and any other consideration agreed as part of the deal [s.7(1)(a)(i)]
  • full details of any work to be done [s.7(1)(a)(ii)
  • the supplier's full name and address [s.7(1)(a)] and the dealer's full name and address, if the dealer is not the supplier [s.7(1)(e)
  • a notice, in upper case type not smaller than 18 point, immediately above where the consumer signs, which reads:
    • "THIS CONTRACT IS SUBJECT TO A COOLING-OFF PERIOD OF 10 DAYS".[s.7(1)(f)

With written agreements, traders must:

  • read aloud [s.7(2)], and then hand the consumer a machine printed or typewritten notice explaining the consumer's right to cancel the agreement. This notice is to be separate from the agreement. A cancellation form must be provided as well [s.7(1)(g)]
  • make sure the agreement is signed by or for the supplier before handing it to the consumer to sign [s.7(1)(c)]
  • give the consumer a duplicate of the agreement immediately after it has been signed by both parties [s.7(1)(d)]

Consumers' Rights

Consumers have the right to

  1. cancel the door-to-door agreement within 6 months if the trader
    • breaches the trading hours or otherwise fails to observe the acceptable code of conduct [s.12(1)(b)]
    • makes agreements misrepresenting consumers' rights under the Act [s.12(1)(a)]
    • makes agreements claiming to exclude the operation of ACT laws [s.12(1)(a)]
    • makes agreements containing terms prohibited by the regulations[s.12(1)(a)]
  2. cancel agreements with a 10 day cooling-off period
    • at any time during the 10 day cooling-off period following the agreement, if they change their mind [s.12(2)(a)] or
    • within 6 months of the agreement, if the trader fails to observe the general code of conduct or the special requirements for written agreements contained in the Act [s.12(2)(b)]

NB: Consumers can claim their statutory right to cancel an agreement, even if they have agreed otherwise with the trader. Consumers cannot waive or negotiate away this statutory right [s.16]. Consumers can claim their statutory right to cancel, even after all the terms of the agreement have been carried out [s.12(3)(b)]

Consumers' Obligations

Consumers must

  • notify the supplier in writing if cancelling the agreement [s.13]
  • give this notice to the supplier personally, or post or deliver a notice to his or her address (at home, at work or as stated in documents given to the consumer) [s.13(2)(c) & (3)]
  • nominate one of the reasons for cancelling under the Act, unless cancelling within the 10 day cooling-off period where no reason is required [s.13(2)(b)]

Cancellation

The consumer is entitled to any money paid to the supplier, along with anything else handed over (or its equivalent) [s.14(1)(a)]

The consumer need only return goods to the place they were received. If goods remain uncollected after 28 days, ownership passes to the consumer [s.14(2)]

If goods have been negligently damaged by the consumer, the consumer must compensate the supplier for this damage, as well as returning the goods [s.14(3)]

If goods cannot be returned, the consumer must pay the supplier the value of the goods at the date of supply [s.14(4)]

The supplier is entitled to goods supplied or their value (as at the date supplied) [s.14(1)(b)(i)]

The supplier is entitled to payment for services supplied after the cooling off period but before the agreement was cancelled [s.14(1)(b)(ii)]

Liability for Employees and Agents

A trader, and others benefiting financially from an agreement, may be prosecuted for breaches of the Act committed by an employee or agent, unless they took reasonable steps to prevent such conduct [s.18(3) & (4)]

Where a company commits an offence, unless they could not reasonably have prevented the offence [s.18(5)]