Give Cold callers the COLD shoulder

Every year trading Standards deal with consumers who have been conned on their own doorstep by cold callers. 

 What exactly is a cold caller and why should we be concerned about them?   

Well it is important to remember that not every cold caller is a rogue, in fact there are numerous professional companies who operate legitimate businesses by offering goods or services to consumers on their doorsteps.  However, there are also a large number of cold callers who knock on your door for various reasons such as artifice burglary, sometimes they pretend to be from a utility company and say they need to check inside the house for water leaks or gas leaks.  These people should never be let in.  Always ask to see identification of people asking to enter your premises and if necessary make a telephone call to establish their identity, a genuine representative of a utility or any other genuine company will understand if you refuse to let them in until their identity can be confirmed.

Other cold callers knock unannounced on your door to offer to do work for you maybe garden work, new driveway, security equipment or they may suggest for example that there are tiles missing from your roof and persuade you to allow them to do this urgent work by offering a small estimate of the cost.  If you agree to this they will go onto the roof and possibly do unnecessary work and present you with a bill running into thousands of pounds and can use intimidating tactics if the bill is not paid.  Other variations on this practice currently include damp proofing surveys and security equipment companies, but remember somebody knocking on you door could be trying to sell you anything so always be on your guard.

Currently in the UK the main piece of legislation protecting consumers from the illegal behaviour of cold callers is The Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded away from Business Premises) Regulations 1987 these regulations were amended in 1998 and are more commonly known as the “Doorstep Selling Regulations”.  In brief the Regulations give consumers the right to a seven day cooling off period, during which they may cancel any agreement worth more than £35 from a trader whose visit is unsolicited (i.e. not requested by the consumer) this also applies where a visit by a trader follows an unsolicited doorstep or telephone approach.  Traders who fail to inform consumers in writing of their rights to a cooling off period commit a criminal offence. If a trader does not supply a written notice outlining cancellation rights when the agreement is made the agreement is unenforceable, whether or not a deposit is paid.

This is the law as it currently stands however it may be that in December 2007 when the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is implemented we may see further protection for consumers on cold calling issues.

Remember an unsolicited call may come from a telephone call or by mail you can prevent such actions by registering with the Telephone Preference Service on 0845 070 0707 and the Mailing Preference Service on 0845 7034599.  To register a complaint about a cold caller, seek advice or to obtain more information please call Trading Standards on 0845 404 0506