By Shannon Phillips

The importance of protecting consumer rights

Jan 10, 2017 | 3:16 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  A few months ago, a friend of mine was alone at home with her two young kids when a stranger knocked at her door. He was from a company she had never heard of, swore he was not selling anything, claimed to be a government contractor, and told her he needed to do a mandatory inspection of her furnace and hot water tank.

He was lying.

She let him in and led him to the furnace and tank, where he took a quick look and proceeded to tell her that they needed to be replaced. Now he wasn’t selling anything, he claimed, he wanted to give her a free furnace if she would only sign up for to a contract.

Luckily my friend had heard of these predatory practices, and after a few red flags she recognized this as one of them. She asked him to leave her house.

This story has a happy ending, but many similar ones do not. The government has received over 1,000 complaints about door-to-door sales of energy products. Families and seniors have been tricked into buying appliances they do not need, or signing up for long-term contracts they did not want. This is unacceptable.

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Effective January 1, 2017, the Alberta Government has banned these types of door-to-door sales.  We are protecting consumers’ rights to make informed decisions without undue pressure.

In the weeks before the law comes into effect, you may still see these salespeople at your door. Feel free to listen to them, or to ask them to leave. You have no obligation to let them into your home.

If you have already signed up to one of these programs and regret it, there may be options. Under the Fair Trading Act you have an automatic 10 days to cancel a sale over $25 made at your home. If the contract did not have all the information or the seller did not have a license, you could have one year to cancel. Call Service Alberta at 1-877-427-4088 for more information.

In the New Year, there may be other visitors to your door: representatives from the government with information about new energy efficiency programs. These folks will always have ID, and will never try to sell you anything. Programs will include: free installation of residential efficiency products like lights and showerheads, and rebates for efficient appliances and insulation. More details will be announced in spring 2017 and I look forward to sharing them with you.