Door-to-door canvassing: rules to follow

The door-to-door selling involves soliciting a customer in a place not normally intended for trade to sell products or services. The customer can be solicited at his domicile, on its workplace or during a excursion organized by the seller (e.g. tour travel).

Door-to-door selling involves simultaneous physical presence the seller and the customer (unlike distance selling).

The home seller acts asmiddleman between the customer-consumer and the company of direct sale whose products he distributes (e.g. ready-to-wear, jewelry, cosmetics, household appliances, windows, insulation, solar panels, electricity, gas, etc.).

Doorstep selling is a business practice strictly controlled by law. Thus, door-to-door selling excludes the following cases:

• Sale by telephone or internet (specific distance selling scheme)
• Sale at markets, trade fairs, fairs or any place usually intended for trade
• Sale of certain products: health services, food, gambling or financial products (banks, savings, insurance).

Before placing an order, the home seller must provide the customer with a pre-contractual information document.

The document must contain following information :

• Seller's identity (mailing address, email and phone)
• Identity of the company whose products it distributes (address of registered office, number of SIRET, registered capital, corporate form)

• Characteristics of the good or service sold
• Unit price of products and overall price payable including all taxes
• Price and payment terms (and interest rate in the case of credit sales)
• The date or time by which the seller commits to deliver the good or service
• Cost of shipping or commissioning
• Conditions for withdrawal (return procedures, time limit, any costs and standard form)
• Legal or commercial guarantees
• Availability of spare parts
• Consumer Ombudsman competent in case of dispute

The information must be provided in a legible and comprehensible manner, on a durable support. The document must be time-stamped and signed by the customer.

Upon completion of the purchase order, the home seller must provide his customer with a dated copy of contract on a durable support. The contract must be signed by the two parties.

The contract must contain mandatory particulars following:

• Seller's identity (mailing address, email and phone)
• Identity of the company whose products it distributes (address of registered office, number of SIRET, registered capital, corporate form)

• Characteristics of the good or service sold
• Unit price of products and overall price payable including all taxes
• Price and payment terms (and interest rate in the case of credit sales)
• The date or time by which the seller commits to deliver the good or service
• Cost of shipping or commissioning
• Conditions for withdrawal (return procedure, time limit, possible costs and standard form)
• Legal or commercial guarantees
• Availability of spare parts
• Consumer Ombudsman competent in case of dispute

The contract is not valid if it does not mention all this information. In addition, the contract must also be accompanied by a standard form of withdrawal.

The home seller cannot receive any payments or no consideration from the customer before the expiration of a 7-day period, as from the conclusion of the contract.

Thus, the home seller cannot receive prepayments, checks or bank debit authorizations. It shall also be prohibited to provide a service before the expiry of that period.

In either case, the contract is not valid if the home seller receives payment without respecting this deadline.

However, the home seller may collect the payment, without respecting the 7-day deadline, in the following cases:

• Subscription to a newspaper devoted to political information (daily, monthly or bimonthly)
• Contract for the provision of services to the person (concluded with a recognized organization)
• Contract concluded during a meeting organized by the seller at his home or at the home of a customer
• Contract for emergency repair work to be carried out at the customer's home at his request.

The right of withdrawal allows the customer to cancel the contract in a14-day period, without having to justify its decision and without incurring any other costs (apart from any return costs). The deadline is short from the following day the receipt of the goods or the conclusion of the contract for the provision of services.

If the home seller does not provide the information on the right of withdrawal, the withdrawal period is extended by 12 months from the expiry of the initial 14-day period. Where the information is communicated during this extension, the right of withdrawal shall expire after 14 days from the day on which the customer received the information.

The home seller has the obligation to mention the existence of this right to the customer, specifying the conditions, the period and the modalities of exercise (whether or not he bears the costs of return). It must also provide a standard form of withdrawal.

When informed of the customer's decision to withdraw, the seller has a period of 14 days to redeem of all sums paid.

The customer may request that the service be provided before the end of the withdrawal period. The seller must collect his express request on a durable support.

However, certain products or services shall not be subject to the right of withdrawal and therefore cannot be refunded. This includes the following products:

• Customized product: it has been made especially for the customer (custom made for example)
• Product likely to deteriorate rapidly
• CD, DVD or computer software if unsealed by the customer
• Product which has been unsealed by the customer after delivery and which cannot be returned for reasons of hygiene or health protection
• Newspapers, periodicals or magazines (except for subscription contracts for such publications)
• Provision of accommodation, transport of goods, car rental, catering or leisure activity provided on a specified date
• Emergency maintenance or repair work to be carried out at the customer's home and expressly requested by him
• Service provision fully performed before the end of the withdrawal period, provided that the consumer has given his prior consent and has waived the exercise of his right of withdrawal. The seller must also respect the 7-day period, specific to home selling, during which he can not perform any services and receive no payment.