Door to Door Salesman Charged

Wednesday, 31 July 2013 11:10

Police are once again telling homeowners to stand their ground when it comes to door to door salespeople. On Tuesday, police were called to a home on North St. in Tillsonburg by a concerned homeowner. A salesman was making a pitch, and refused to leave the home despite being asked several times. Instead, the salesman tried to engage the homeowner in a debate about the environment. Police arrived and charged 21-year-old Ben Parkhurst of Kitchener with failing to leave a premises when directed. Here are some tips from police in dealing with high pressure sales tactics: IT?S YOUR HOME! : You do not have to let a salesperson inside your home and you have every right to ask anyone to leave your property anytime! If they don?t leave, call the police. An unwanted person in your home can be removed, arrested if necessary and charged under the Trespass to Property Act. WHO ARE YOU DEALING WITH? : If you do not know them you need to ask questions. Who are these salespeople, companies and brands involved? Have you done any reference checks which could include calling the Better Business Bureau or checking on-line. Within Tillsonburg and other municipalities, door to door salespeople are required to have a municipal sales permit and if requested, to show a potential customer a copy of it. If you have doubts simply do not deal with them and tell them to leave! DEMONSTRATIONS or INSPECTIONS SHOULD BE ON YOUR TERMS: Find out how long it will take and set a time frame that works for you. Ask a relative, neighbour or friend to be there. Being alone with a stranger or multiple strangers can make you very vulnerable and you may be buying something or switching to a new company that you really do not want. KEEP CONTROL: End the session when you want! Take time to think about it and if the salesperson insists otherwise, it may be a sign that things are not right. If it?s a good sale today, it will be a good sale tomorrow, so what is the harm in a grace period to think it over. You must ACT NOW!!!, should be a signal this deal may not be what you want. DON?T BE TOO FREE WITH INFORMATION: There is a chance that in some cases the stranger you are dealing with is ?fishing? for information that could be used for illegitimate purposes. Remember, you are there to get information about a product, not to give up information about you and your belongings. It is important to educate family members and friends, especially if they are seniors who can sometimes be vulnerable to high pressure sales tactics. It is your home, you do not have to let strangers inside. If you do not feel comfortable with someone in it, tell them to leave and if they do not leave immediately call the police!