We buy goods and services in many different ways. There is the traditional way, whereby we visit various commercial establishments and shop around till we find what we want at a price acceptable to us.
The Doorstep Contracts Act stipulates that on placing an order, consumers should not be requested to pay a deposit- Odette Vella
But we may also buy goods or services from the comfort of our home. Doorstep selling is one type of home-based shopping. The main disadvantage of this kind of shopping is that we may end up buying goods or services we never intended to buy.
A door-to-door seller may turn up on our doorstep unexpected and uninvited, and we may be unprepared to face their sales tactics.
Should we find ourselves in such a situation, it is in our interest to take certain precautions.
Before letting salespeople into our home, we should first ask them to identify themselves and the company they are representing.
Doorstep sellers should present their licence as door-to-door sellers and particulars of the competent authority that issued the licence.
Once we ensure we are dealing with a bona fide seller, we should ask ourselves whether we are interested in listening to what the seller has to offer. If we not, we should politely ask the seller to leave.
The Doorstep Contracts Act states that doorstep sellers are to leave the consumers’ house or workplace when requested. If they fail to do so, they will be committing an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine up to €1,165.
If we decide to hear what the seller has to say, and decide to buy, it is mandatory that before the sale is concluded, we should be provided with the name and address of the door-to-door seller, details of he existence of the after-sales guarantee, if any, apart from that imposed by law, and the price and main features of the product or service.
The Doorstep Contracts Act also stipulates that everything agreed on during the sale should be written on the sales contract.
The details should include the date and place where the contract was signed, the consumer’s name and address, the door-to-door seller’s name and licence number, the permanent address of the place of trade of the seller or his/her employer, a description of the goods or service, the total price and terms of payment, and the time stipulated for delivery, which should not exceed 60 days from the contract date.
When we buy from a door-to-door seller, we also have the right to change our mind. We should be clearly informed by the seller about this. The law obliges the seller to attach a cancellation form with details of how to cancel the contract.
Cancellation may be made by signing the cancellation form and returning it to the door-to-door seller, but it may also be made verbally, by telephone or by fax.
However, consumers should preferably cancel such contracts in a way that they have proof of cancellation, such as sending the cancellation form by registered post.
Once the cooling-off period expires, the sale can no longer be cancelled unless the sales agreement has been breached, such as when goods ordered are not delivered when agreed, or are not in conformity with the description and specification in the contract of sale.
The Doorstep Contracts Act also stipulates that on placing an order, consumers should not be requested to pay a deposit. A 10 per cent deposit may only be requested after the cancellation period has expired.
The rest of the payment may only be asked for on delivery of the goods or when the service commences.
What is not covered by the Doorstep Contracts Act are sales not exceeding €46.59 and sales contracts that have been negotiated exclusively on the consumer’s initiative.
A consumer’s initiative is when the consumer specifically asks for the visit of the door-to-door seller.
Ordering catalogues, patterns, samples and similar items, or asking for a visit or demonstration, or participating in an event organised by the trader are not consumers’ initiatives.
odette.vella@mccaa.org.mt
Ms Vella is senior information officer, Office for Consumer Affairs, Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.