First ‘designated complaint’ targets the nationwide scourge of door-knock unsolicited selling
Consumer Action Law Centre is calling for a nationwide ban on unsolicited selling in the first ever designated ‘super’ complaint presented to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
A designated complaint is a new power that allows complainants to raise an issue with the ACCC, which the ACCC is required to consider and come back with actions within 90 days.
Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin said she was thrilled to be presenting a designated complaint about an issue the consumer sector has been fighting for decades and that is still trending on the organisation’s frontline services.
“Unsolicited sales are tricky as they happen out of sight, most often in regional areas, where people are pressured to sign up in their homes for very expensive products, they can neither afford, nor want,” she said.
“Today, we are hearing about the unsolicited door-to-door selling and telemarketing of many items, most notably, solar panels -in the past it was encyclopedias and educational software- it’s an ongoing systemic issue that impacts thousands of Australians and causes real harm especially to those living in vulnerable circumstances.
“That’s why we are recommending that the next Government legislate a complete ban on unsolicited selling under Australian Consumer Law (ACL), along with the regulatory reform of lead generation practices.”
Ms Tonkin said that lead generation needs further investigation and regulation and called on the ACCC to take a much closer look at the harms created by this channel.
“A person types in their contact details on a website that looks legitimate and offers something enticing, then they quickly find themselves spammed with cold calls, or subject to an in-home sales pitch. We think companies are using lead generation to get around the (very limited) protections that do exist, whereby clicking on the website those consumer protections may not apply.”
In July 2024, Consumer Action Law Centre along with CHOICE and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA)- were chosen by the Federal Government as the first designated complainants.
“We were really excited to be chosen, as we have a long history of identifying systemic issues that present on our front-line services and cause harm in the community,” Ms Tonkin said.
“This first complaint has allowed us to retrain focus on an issue that has been harming Australian consumers for decades and will hopefully lead to action that sees harmful unsolicited selling banned,” Ms Tonkin concluded.
Read the full complaint.
Watch a video of Stephanie discussing the designated complaint.
ENDS
Media contact: Mark Pearce, Media and Communications Adviser, 0413 299 567, media@consumeraction.org.au
