New Doorstep Selling Rules Approved in English Parliament

New “doorstep selling” regulations to protect people when they buy products and services from traders at home have been approved by Parliament. The new rules, which come into force on 1 October, give people a legal right of seven days in which they can change their mind. Previously, people only had these cancellation rights if a trader’s visit was not pre-arranged.

Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas said:

“The winners here are honest businesses as well as customers. The regulations will put an end to underhand tactics used by rogues who take advantage of current loopholes in the law to beat their rivals.”

The new regulations will make things simpler for businesses who sell at the doorstep. They now need just one contract when they visit a customer, rather than separate ones for solicited and unsolicited sales - reducing staff training costs.

The Government will be writing to companies soon to raise awareness of the new rules. Businesses will need to make changes to their sales contracts to comply with the law. Companies that fail to comply with the regulations would not be able to enforce their contracts and may well be investigated by Trading Standards, which could end in prosecution and fines.

Source: Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Net News Publisher for World News