Editorial: Writing on the door for salespeople

Everyone has had a harrowing experience with a door-to-door peddler who refused to take no for an answer.

Consumer NZ’s stickers telling unwanted knockers where to go better than moving to outlaw them.

Consumer NZ is clearly on to a winner with its "Do Not Knock" and "Salespeople Not Welcome Here" stickers. Everyone has had a harrowing experience with a door-to-door peddler who refused to take no for an answer. Now, seven out of 10 of the consumer watchdog's members say they have had enough. Perhaps that is why Consumer NZ sought to up the ante even further by calling for changes to the Fair Trading Act to make it an offence for sellers to ignore one of its "Do Not Knock" stickers.

That seems a step too far. Consumer NZ's chief executive, Sue Chetwin, was on the mark when she described her organisation's stickers as very similar to a "No Junk Mail" sign. The latter have been around for many years and, by and large, are respected by those delivering that sort of material. There is little to suggest salespeople, even the most pushy, would not show a similar degree of deference to the new stickers. Even most of them can tell when they are not wanted.

That aside, Consumer NZ is supplying a valuable service, especially to the elderly who are most susceptible to the sales spiel for that $3000 vacuum cleaner. Vulnerable people are, it says, being increasingly targeted and salespeople are becoming much more aggressive. That has certainly been the case across the Tasman, so much so that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has made the unfair treatment of consumers in door-to-door sales a priority.

Armed with the sort of ammunition Consumer NZ is seeking, it has taken two energy retailers to court for ignoring a "Do Not Knock" sign. In one case, involving Neighbourhood Energy and its marketing company, the Federal Court imposed a fine totalling A$1 million ($1.11 million). But in another instance involving vacuum equipment, there was a reality check when it found proving unlawful conduct was too difficult.

Overall, however, this legal pursuit, allied to a campaign educating consumers on their rights, has been a sobering experience for Australia's door-to-door salespeople. Many no longer pursue consumers this way. Much the same is happening in this country even though the selling has never been quite so aggressive. Genesis Energy, for example, has stopped door-knocking, saying that people do not like it.

This popular distaste has been underpinned by law changes introduced in June. Most importantly, these install a mandatory cool-down period of at least five days during which deals can be cancelled and a full refund obtained. This gives families time to thwart aggressive tactics used against their elderly relatives.

Pushy salespeople will not, of course, simply give up. Some are transferring their activities to the telephone. The unwanted knock on the door is being replaced by annoying telemarketing calls. Consumers can avoid some of these by enrolling on the Marketing Association's "Do Not Call" register. But this is a voluntary initiative with no legal standing and doesn't apply to companies that are not association members.

Working to improve awareness of that voluntary service may well be a more fruitful avenue for Consumer NZ than pursuing stronger legal sanctions against door-knockers. Its stickers will offer more encouragement for that bird to take flight. Making personal door-to-door canvassing illegal would be one step too many.