Consumers across Australia, particularly in regional and low-income communities, have seen a surge in door-to-door sales offering vocational training courses from private colleges. If you have been targeted we want to hear from you. Spruikers (often from the same companies that were engaged in Energy D2D sales) have been known to enrol students in courses [...]
31
Jan
New statistics show fall in door-to-door marketing complaints
This week the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) released new quarterly statistics that show a massive drop off in complaints about energy marketing and transfers. During October to December 2013, EWOV experienced a whopping 41% decrease in door-to-door marketing cases relative to the July to September 2013 quarter – a decrease of 158 cases. [...]
14
Dec
Court imposes penalties for ignoring ‘do not knock’ sign
The Federal Court has ordered by consent that AGL South Australia Pty Ltd (AGL SA) and its marketing company, CPM Australia Pty Ltd (CPM), pay a total of $60,000 in penalties for failing to leave a consumer’s premises despite the presence of a ‘Do Not Knock’ sign on the consumer’s front door. The proceedings related [...]
12
Nov
Charities, religious callers, market researchers and the Do Not Knock sticker
One of the most frequent questions we’re asked is whether the Do Not Knock sticker applies to charities, religious visitors, and market researcher agencies. The Do Not Knock sicker applies to salespeople engaged in door-to-door selling. This is called an ‘unsolicited consumer agreement’ under the Australian Consumer Law, and it includes: when a seller, or [...]
23
Oct
Rash of complaints about salespeople puts the heat on auto industry
Every few months, Consumer Action provides the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with a set of complaints submitted by consumers via the Make a Complaint Form on the website. Complaints cover a range of issues—misleading claims, rudeness, door-to-door sales outside the hours permitted for selling. But most commonly the complaint involves a prominent Do [...]
11
Oct
Federal Court finds Do Not Knock Sign is ‘an unambiguous request to leave the premises’
The inventor of the Do Not Knock sticker has welcomed today’s Federal Court ruling that the sticker is legally enforceable under the Australian Consumer Law. The decision means ignoring the sticker could lead to a fine of $10,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a business. Consumer Action Law Centre developed the sticker in response [...]
27
Sep
ACCC takes action against Origin Energy and Salesforce for door-to-door selling
Copied below is the ACCC Media release of 27 September 2013, outlining action against Origin Energy And Salesforce. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has filed proceedings in the Federal Court against Origin Energy Retail and Origin Energy Electricity (Origin Energy), and marketing company SalesForce, in relation to their door-to-door sales practices. “These are the [...]
16
Sep
Australian Power and Gas the latest energy retailer taken to court over door-to-door selling
The organisation behind the national Do Not Knock campaign has welcomed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Federal Court proceedings against Australian Power & Gas Company Ltd (APG) in relation to its door-to-door selling practices. It’s the fourth case in twelve months in which the ACCC has taken action against an energy retailer for [...]
24
Jul
Energy retailers improve their behaviour, but Simply Energy & Red Energy didn’t get the memo
335 complaints about door-to-door salespeople have now been lodged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission through www.donotknock.org.au. And while the latest round of complaints suggests that energy retailers as a whole have responded to the community’s concerns about door-to-door sales, it appears Simply Energy and Red Energy didn’t get the memo. Energy retailers represented [...]
19
Jun
Do Not Knock campaign has another win
Consumer Action Law Centre’s Do Not Knock campaign notched up another win today, with Origin Energy announcing it will stop using door to door selling by 30 September 2013. Origin’s announcement comes just months after Energy Australia and AGL declared that they were walking away from door to door selling. ‘This is great news for [...]
