A new report from Footscray Community Legal Centre,  Strangers_are_Calling, found these groups were less able to understand complex energy contracts or identify deceptive selling methods. The report also found that many consumers from newly arrived communities developed fear and mistrust of strangers as a result of negative experiences arising out of door to door sales.

The report was commissioned after Footscray Community Legal Centre’s community outreach workers became alarmed at the number of financial and legal problems they were seeing that were a direct result of energy switching.

‘Energy regulators have supported door to door marketing as necessary to develop a competitive market. However this report suggests that misleading sales to members of newly arrived communities leads to a lack of trust which works against government settlement policies designed to promote assimilation of these communities. Misleading sales are a problem across the board, but it’s magnified where consumers aren’t familiar with our market or have limited English – they’re easily pressured into signing contracts that leave them worse off and suffering a loss of trust.’ said Denis Nelthorpe of Footscray Legal Service.

The report is based on face-to-face interviews with community members. Their stories are those of confusion, anxiety and hardship and they make a compelling case for the introduction of greater consumer protection in energy sales or, ideally, an end to door-to-door selling by the energy industry. Their stories also illustrate the danger of policy silos which allow one arm of government to promote competitive markets through door to door sales at the expense of the settlement policies designed to assist assimilation being promoted by another arm of government.

Strangers are Calling! recommends

• a collaborative approach to energy policy where the Department of Resources and Energy work with sectors such as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship;
• support and expansion of the Do Not Knock campaign;
• continues enforcement against illegal door-to-door sales practices;
• an alternatives to energy marketing when dealing with vulnerable consumers;
• targeted community education; and
• an enhanced Code of Conduct from energy retailers.

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This article was originally published as Footscray Community Legal Centre’s media release launching Strangers are Calling!

Helping consumers opt out of door-to-door energy sales

Of particular interest to us was a recommendation in the report which would complement the Do Not Knock sticker and help households avoid door-to-door energy sales.

At present, energy retailers are required to maintain a ‘no contact list’ – this is a list of consumers who have requested not to be visited by the energy retailer and it’s a list they must abide by. But as things currently stand, every energy retailer maintains its own list so, in order to opt out of door-to-door energy sales completely, consumers must register their details with each individual retailer.

CUAC’s report makes the very sensible suggestion that the Essential Services Commission’s energy comparison website, www.yourchoice.vic.gov.au, include a tool that allows consumers to ‘request addition to retailers’ No Contact list via a single, centralised form’.[1]

We’ve indicated our willingness to work with CUAC to help it advance this welcome initiative.

Consumer detriment

CUAC’s report recognises the role that door-to-door selling has had in giving Victoria’s energy market ‘the highest switching rate of any in the world’, but also recognises the consumer detriment caused by door-to-door sales. From the annoyance value of being interrupted at home, to more significant detriment where a salesperson has acted poorly or where the consumer is vulnerable.

The report also considers the possibility that some consumers may be signing deals at the doorstep which cost more than their current energy plan. Identifying a lack of research in this area, the report calls on the Victorian Government to undertake research to establish if and to what extent households who switch energy providers at the doorstep end up paying more for their electricity.

Call for the ESC to take a greater role in enforcement

Another of the recommendation in the report is that the Essential Services Commission be more proactive in ‘promoting compliance with its Energy Marketing Code’.[2]

The report points out that the ESC has ‘at no time used its statutory powers to enforce compliance’,[3] and draws a stark contrast with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which recently used its powers to take energy retailers and energy marketing companies to the Federal Court.

More information about the work of the Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre can be found at http://www.cuac.org.au/.

Developed by Victoria Legal Aid, this “how-to” guide provides a step by step overview of how you can run your own community education session. It has comprehensive speakers notes, plus a guide to all the available resources that will help you educate people about the Do Not Knock sticker and how to use it.

If you need any more information or have feedback on this resource, contact us at campaigns@consumeraction.org.au

This week, 3 of the dedicated staff at Consumer  Action took part in a 10km fun run in Melbourne.  They did their bit to help promote awareness of the  sticker by wearing magnificent capes – no small feat on a warm afternoon!

Wearing a cape is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, so here are a few other ways you could help promote the sticker:

• If you’re on Facebook, click the ‘Share’ button on the Get the Sticker page to post it to your Wall
• Tweet about it! Use the hash tag #donotknock and link to the  Get the Sticker page
• Send your family and friends a link to the page via email
• If you’re a community organisation, sign up to become a partner and give out stickers through your shopfront or client program
• Individuals can order stickers to give out through your networks – some people get stickers for their parents group, community group, retirement villages. Use the regular order form

And of course if you’d like to  get in touch about your own idea – or to get the pattern for your own cape – please do!

You can too! Just pick up the stickers you need from the distribution points listed here, or fill in this form to request a quantity. If you commit to handing out 20 stickers we’ll cover the postage.

Or if you really want to help, why not take the artwork to your local printer and get them made. You should be able to get several hundred for not much more than $100. (Often there’s a minimum run).