phone preference scheme

Many doorstep salespeople operate on the basis of making cold telephone calls. In many cases, householders will feel pressurised into accepting a call but often not fully understanding the true reason for the visit. The person making the cold telephone call is focused simply on obtaining the householder's agreement for a salesperson to visit and will usually be on commission for the number of "leads". This means that in some cases, salespeople will not make clear the real purpose of the call and what they are seeking to sell.

Further useful information is contained in the TSI consumer advice leaflet 'Your Rights to Cancel When Buying at Home' (PDF 8KB)

The organisations which make these calls often obtain householder information from commercial data companies which sell contact lists. A number of trade sponsored schemes are available to assist householders to stop some direct marketing companies making such contact.

• The Mailing Preference Scheme
• The Baby Mailing Preference Scheme
• The Telephone Preference Service
• The Facsimile Preference Service
• The E-mail Preference Service

All of these can be accessed via the Direct Marketing Association website

Whilst the above services are positive steps by the industry to self regulate, they are not comprehensive and to an extent, voluntary. They only apply to businesses who are members of the DMA preference schemes which will not include many of the less reputable businesses operating in this field.

BT Privacy

If you are a BT customer, you can also register with the Telephone preference scheme through the BT privacy service which, in addition will give caller display at no extra charge. This is a free service - Tel 0800 916 5544 or visit the privacy section of BT's website

Free door stickers to deter doorstep sellers can also be obtained from BT by calling 0800 169 8585