Every year millions of sales take place in homes across the UK. And up until now, your customer�s right to a cooling-off period depended on whether you had made an appointment with them.

Unscrupulous traders took advantage of the distinction between solicited and unsolicited calls: duping or pressuring customers into buying products they didn�t want, without the chance to change their minds. Honest businesses have suffered.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is planning to introduce new �doorstep selling� regulations to protect all consumers buying products from sales people at home, and to clamp down on rogue traders.

The Cancellation of Contracts Made in the Consumer�s Home or Place of Work Etc. Regulations 2008 are due to come into force on 1 October this year.

They extend the cooling-off period and cancellation rights, which traders currently have in contracts made during unsolicited visits, to contracts made during solicited ones. This means you�ll need just one contract when you visit a customer, reducing paperwork and staff training costs.

The regulations also set the cooling-off period to a minimum of seven days � simplifying the law for consumers and business alike. They will apply to businesses selling to consumers in their homes and places of work � in fact almost any location other than the business� premises.

Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas said: �The winners here are honest businesses as well as customers. The regulations will help to tackle underhand tactics used by rogues who take advantage of current loopholes in the law to beat their rivals.�

Although the new regulations make things simpler, it is essential that businesses are aware of them and make the necessary changes to their sales contracts. 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. You could lose customers.

The �doorstep selling� regulations are part of a package of measures from the Government to crack down on rogue traders. Consumers deserve a fair deal and honest, well-run businesses should not be beaten by competitors who flout the law.

For more information about the regulations visit:

www.bgateway.com/doorstepselling 
 

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