South Ayrshire Council News

South Ayrshire Council's Trading Standards service has welcomed the introduction of the new Consumer Protection Regulations that came into force this week. The new law offers further protection for consumers from sales in their home or at their work. Until now the law protected consumers by allowing them a 7 day cancellation period when they entered into contracts signed in their home or place of work as a result of an unsolicited ('cold calling') visit. Now, the new law extends to both solicited (i.e. where you have asked for a salesperson to call) and unsolicited visits.

A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Trading Standards explained: "The previous legislation was primarily aimed at tackling high pressure sales techniques where consumers were unprepared to make an informed decision, for example on double glazing. South Ayrshire Trading Standards dealt with many cases where elderly or vulnerable people signed up for expensive contracts, usually for things they did not need, simply to get the salesperson out of their home. For example we dealt with a case of a 74 year old man in Ayr who was sold a vacuum cleaner for £3000 as a result of an unsolicited call. Sadly, in other cases the call was solicited and the consumer couldn't cancel the contract. Under the new law that wouldn't matter as both solicited and unsolicited contracts are caught."

Councillor Peter Convery, who is responsible for Trading Standards issues said: "The law now covers solicited as well as unsolicited calls, which is good news as the regulations have been expanded to further protect consumers from high-pressure selling in the home."

"However, the regulations now make provision for a trader to ask the consumer to sign and give permission to start work straight away. The worry is that consumers will be pressured into doing this on the basis that they will receive an additional discount from an already inflated price. The consumer can still cancel the work within seven days if they agree to the work starting straight away but, crucially, they will be liable for any reasonable costs incurred by the trader during that time. Therefore, if a consumer asks a double-glazing firm to start work on new windows straight away and they then cancel their contract within seven days, they still might have to pay out for any work the double-glazing firm has done for them within that period."

A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Trading Standards added, "This is a helpful change and comes on the heels of new additional legislative powers for Trading Standards officers to deal with high pressure techniques such as refusing to leave a person's home. We encourage consumers to resist being pressurised by salespeople into allowing them to get the work started right away. Take time to shop around for the best quote as a reputable trader will allow them time to consider what's on offer before concluding a deal. Consumers should ensure that the paperwork they receive for contracts concluded at home or their work place, contain information on how to cancel the contract."

If consumers or businesses have any doubt as to their rights or need information on this matter, they should contact South Ayrshire Trading Standards on 01292 616060.