Put Your Foot Down! Stop The Doorstep Villains

Every year, Trading Standards receive complaints from scores of consumers who have had problems with goods and services from doorstep traders. Some of the complaints concern terrifying and harrowing tactics. The Police also receive similar calls about the behavior of some cold callers.

The three main areas of concern are:

• High pressure selling: some companies stay for hours, and wear people down so they buy expensive products, from burglar alarms to double glazing. Often, consumers can't cancel, or lose deposits if they change their mind.
• Cowboy builders and maintenance contractors: some traders call door-to-door, pretending major repairs need doing, from tarmacing drives, to roofing repairs - in some cases, elderly people are driven to their banks to withdraw thousands of pounds to pay for overpriced and shoddy repairs.
• Distraction burglary and bogus officials: a particularly worrying variation is the bogus official who gains entry to a house, with or without an accomplice and robs the householder whilst they are 'distracted'.

These practices are aimed at the most vulnerable in our society; elderly, disabled and housebound, young single parents and those for whom English is not their first language. Research by organisations such as Help the Aged has shown that the effects on a victim can be devastating, making them lose the confidence to live independently, and maybe even hastening their death.

A Foot in the Door – how to be safe as houses

A roundup of advice and tips on Buying at Home, from Trading Standards

SHOCKING EXPERIENCES

Since the gas and electricity markets were opened up to competition, consumers have complained about companies using high-pressure sales techniques to get them to switch suppliers. A favourite trick is to knock on your door and ask you to take part in a survey or sign a request for more information – however, lots of people then discover they’ve signed a contract to get their gas or electricity from another supplier!

•  If you want to get the best deal with your gas and electricity, shop around and ask for quotes from as many companies as possible.
• Don’t sign anything on the doorstep without reading it first!
• If you do sign up because the sales person pressured you, don’t panic!
• You will probably be able to change your mind, so get some advice from Trading Standards or your local Citizens Advice Bureau as soon as possible. 
• Report any experiences of what you think are bad sales practices by gas and electricity companies to Trading Standards.

CAUSE FOR ALARM

Over the years, lots of consumers have had problems with companies selling expensive home alarm systems door-to-door that aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be!

• Watch out for so-called ‘free’ installations – often, buried in the small print, you find you have to agree to daily monitoring charges for a minimum amount of time - these can add up to over £1,000! Not so free after all.
• Warn elderly relatives and neighbours to watch out for burglar or fire alarm companies who scare vulnerable consumers into buying expensive systems with alarming tales of robbery and assault in the home.

DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION

A particularly nasty type of thief carries out the so-called ‘distraction burglary’. They get access to your house by posing as a bogus official, perhaps saying they are from the water or gas ‘board’ or from the ‘council’, needing to carry out emergency repairs. They ask you to go with them to the gas meter or the stopcock, or some other part of the property, and while you are ‘distracted’, either they or an accomplice will steal your purse or other valuables.

• If someone calls on you unannounced like this, always ask to see their ID card before letting them in. Look at any ID card carefully – just ‘flashing’ it at you is not enough.
• If you are still worried, shut the front door whilst you ring up the organisation that they claim to be from – look this up in the phone book, and don’t rely on any numbers the ‘official’ gives you.
• Remember that a genuine official won’t mind you taking these precautionary checks – in fact, many councils and utility companies tell their staff to encourage you to do this.
• Many utility companies operate special free ‘password’ systems, so you can be sure the caller is genuine – ask your gas, electricity, water, or phone supplier for more information.

THE ROAD TO RUIN

Don’t be taken in by gangs of workmen calling at your home, offering to tarmac your drive. These workmen rarely give you a correct name or contact address, and often use underhand tricks to get you to part with your money.

! Don’t believe any trader who claims to be working ‘for the council’ and who has ‘spare tarmac’ left over – this won’t be true!

• Don’t agree to any work on the basis of a verbal quote – often consumers are quoted a low price, say £50, to tempt them into the deal, their drive is dug up, and the tarmac gang then claim they meant £50 per metre!
• If you do need work done on your drive, shop around and get written quotes from 2 or 3 local companies, on headed paper with full contact details, including a landline telephone number – this way, if something goes wrong with the work, you can get in touch with them again.
• Watch out, too, for gangs offering to do other work such as garden landscaping, roofing, guttering etc – the same tips apply!
• Whatever you do, don’t agree to be taken down to the bank by these conmen to get money out. 

If you ever feel intimidated by them close the door and call the Police. Warn any elderly neighbours and relatives about the risks of these gangs, and notify your local Neighbourhood Watch contacts if you see these gangs operating in your street.

GLAZING OVER

You are in the middle of your supper, or a cliff-handing episode of your favourite soap, and the phone rings, or the doorbell goes. When you answer it, a salesperson starts trying to sell you double glazing, or solar heating, or a conservatory etc. We’ve all been there, and it can be very irritating! The majority of these companies are reputable, and will understand if you say no – but some of them use very high pressure selling techniques to get you to sign on the dotted line.

• Don’t be bullied into signing up for something if you don’t want it – ask the salesperson to leave and if they won’t, call the Police.
• Don’t be taken in by any tempting offer of ‘discounts’, especially if they start ringing their head office to ‘negotiate’ big reductions for you – this is all part of the sales pitch. Also, ignore claims that discounts are for that day only – again, this is a common ploy to fool you into thinking you are getting a fantastic bargain.
• Be very sceptical of any verbal terms and conditions offered by the salesperson – check the written terms and conditions carefully, and if it isn’t there in writing as part of the standard contract, it may not be honoured by the head office. It will also be your word against theirs that the offer was made in the first place.
• If you do get caught out and sign up for anything, get some advice immediately from your local Trading Standards or Citizens Advice Bureau – in many case, you may have a right to cancel. See ‘Check Your Rights ‘ below.
• Fed up with phone calls from companies trying to sell you stuff from insurance policies to major home improvements? Register with the Telephone Preference Service on 0845 070 0707 to stop the nuisance! 

CHECK OUT YOUR RIGHTS

‘Doorstep Selling’

• If someone calls at your home uninvited and sells you something, in most cases you will have a right to change your mind – the Doorstep Selling Regulations may allow you to cancel within 7 days as a result of an ‘unsolicited’ visit.
• Do note, however, that the goods must be worth £35 or more, and that some goods or services are excluded, such as perishable food, and most building work.
• Very important – these rights DO NOT APPLY if you invited the company to visit you, i.e. you made the first move by ringing them up or requesting a visit by returning a reply coupon, for example. 

‘Credit’

• If you signed a regulated credit agreement to buy goods or services at home, then you are entitled to be sent a copy of the agreement in the mail from the finance company, and you will then have 5 days from receipt of this copy to change your mind. (Note: a regulated credit agreement covers most deals up to the value of £25,000). 

‘Telephone Selling’

• Most goods and services bought over the telephone can be cancelled within 7 working days if you change your mind – these rights are provided under the Distance Selling Regulations, and also apply to sales via the internet, mail order and digital television – i.e. those sales not carried out face-to-face in a shop.
• If you agree to a home visit from a company after they phoned you, you will also have the right to cancel anything you subsequently buy from them, as the visit did not take place at your ‘express request’ – see Doorstep Selling’ above.

Aberdeen City Council, Trading Standards Service,

St. Nicholas House, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1BX

Telephone: (01224) 523737 Fax: (01224) 645786

 

Web http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/Aberdeen/

E-Mail: tradingstandards@aberdeencity.gov.uk

 

Copyright © Aberdeen City Council Trading Standards Service 2004