Deceptive door-to-door sales should be prohibited. Too often CARP hears stories of misleading statements made to our members at their door by unscrupulous salespersons. For example, one person paid $17,000 in installments and finance charges for a $2000 water heater.Intimidation and high pressure tactics can combine to push vulnerable seniors and others into spuriously priced contracts.

We polled our members to determine support for a prohibition on door-to-door sales and you were clear: almost 90% of respondents who answered yes or no were in favour of crack downs on door to door sales.With your backing we are generally supportive of legislation to protect homeowner from scams and we’re encouraged by recent initiatives like Ontario’s Bill 193, which prohibits sales of certain products in homes, and New Brunswick’s Direct Sellers Act, which requires the licensing of companies and their sales representatives in order to conduct door-to-door sales activities.

In our most recent poll, CARP asked our members whether they support legislation of this nature in their own province. An overwhelming majority (80%) were supportive. Over 95% of CARP members believe that predatory door-to-door sales is an issue for seniors and over 90% of our members do not believe that governments across our country have done enough to address the issue. CARP will continue to support MPP Baker and Bill 193. Click here to see the full results of our most recent poll.