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Canberra Today 15°/17° | Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Door-to-door sales warning

DOOR-to-door sales practices in the energy retail sector are coming under the attention of the ACCC, its chairman Rod Sims
said today.

Rod Sims
In a speech to the Energy at Home conference at Parliament House, Mr Sims said: “The ACCC is concerned that misleading or deceptive conduct by door-to-door marketers targets vulnerable consumers, such as the elderly and those with a limited understanding of English.”

“The ACCC is now warning industry that misleading consumers about retail energy products will attract severe penalties.”

Under the Australian Consumer Law the ACCC can seek criminal sanctions and civil penalties of up to $220,000 for individuals and $1.1 million for companies per contravention.

He said retailers needed to ensure that the agents they employed for door-to-door marketing were complying with the law. If a retailer’s agent broke the law, not only was the agent liable, but the retailer as well.

“Door-to-door marketing is very common in this sector and is seen by energy retailers as an effective way of gaining market share and building customer volume. In doing so, some engage in aggressive tactics and confuse consumers,” Mr Sims said.

“The ACCC is currently investigating a number of complaints in the door-to-door marketing sector, as well as the conduct of energy comparator websites, particularly in regard to the savings consumers can make in switching retailers.

“Should those investigations reveal serious misconduct, the ACCC will not hesitate to take swift enforcement action to enforce compliance with the law.”

Mr Sims’ speech can be found at www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1007266/fromItemId/ACCC

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