I recently received a letter from Councillor Michael Clarke, Mayor of Maribyrnong City Council, advising of the legal problems being faced by his residents, particularly recent immigrants, as a result of the door-to-door sales practices being employed by energy companies and/or their sub-contractors.

The legal problems apparently result from the usual promises made about getting a better deal by switching at the doorstep and a failure to clearly communicate important terms such as termination fees. Often, the door knockers are asking the children of non-English speaking parents to act as translators! As a native English speaker I find it is often difficult to understand what is being offered by the person standing on my doorstep; a person with limited or no knowledge of the English language would not stand a chance of understanding what they are getting themselves into.

The Mayor intends to make a formal submission to the Essential Services Commission to stop such practices. I also do not understand why the energy companies persist with door to door sales given all the problems it creates both for their customers and themselves in terms of brand damage. High pressure sales techniques such as door knocking have been quite successful in getting customers to change providers but in my opinion should be outlawed.

Have you had problems with door-knockers? We’d like to hear your story.