Door-to-door salesmen are a sure sign that spring has arrived. Services and goods are often offered by dishonest means, and elderly people are particularly subject to aggressive selling.
– Every spring, the police receive reports of people moving around, who are raising concerns and suspicion. In many cases, they are door-to-door salespeople selling services and goods, says Chief Superintendent Jyrki Aho of the National Police Board.
Aho advises discussing door-to-door swindlers in advance with family members, in the same manner as fake police. Similarly, people who work with the elderly, and associations for the elderly, could discuss the subject inmeetings.
The police advise members of the public not to let unknown people into their homes.
– If you do not need the service or goods, you should say this clearly to the salesperson. However, if you allow the salesperson to present the goods or service, you do not have to buy them, no matter how upset the salesperson seems. If you are interested, you should think carefully before signing anything, comments Aho.
Clearing up cases of fraud is often difficult
It is not easy to establish whether or not anagreed sale involves fraud, either to the buyer or, in many cases, to the police.
– In many cases, the signature commits the buyer to what is stated in the contract. You should therefore read through the contract carefully and make sure that you understand its contents before making a decision. Do not allow the salesperson to hurry you.
Not all door-to-door sales can be cancelled
In door-to-door sales, the salesperson must provide the consumer with advance information on the good or service, and his or her own contact details, prior to the sale. The key document is a cancellation form, which the consumer can use to cancel a door-to-door sale without explanation within 14 days from the signature of the contract.
Many door-to-door salespeople sell fairly expensive repairs and garden and yard renovations in the spring and summer. The 14-day cancellation period does not necessarily apply after making such agreements, because they concern individual, small-scale products and services.
It is worth seeking help in advance
Jyrki Aho points out that, when in need of renovation services, elderly people can turn to, say, the renovation advisers of the Finnish Association for the Welfare of Older People, or apply for municipal renovation grants.
Aho would also remind salespeople of the recommendation of the Consumer Ombudsman, that sales activity should be stopped if the consumer’s legal capacity is impaired due to age or illness.
