New rules for door-to-door salespeople

The Office of Fair Trading is launching an awareness campaign to highlight new rules that come into force this week governing door-to-door salespeople.

It comes after concerns were raised by Citizens Advice about debt that could arise from people being pressured into buying goods and services from home canvassers.

These items can be quite expensive, such as double glazing, furniture, utility contracts and conservatories.

Now the law says that for transactions of over £35, consumers have seven days to cancel any agreement made with salespeople that visit them in their homes.

It also states that these doorstep sellers must inform people about their right to cancel.

Consumer policy director Colin Brown remarked: “These new regulations will mean that the law is a lot clearer … people buying goods in their own home now have a safety net.”

Earlier this month the Association of Financial Advisers published a paper highlighting the difference between sales and advice in the financial services industry.

By Jamie Price