Doorstep selling

Doorstep selling is when someone sells you goods or services in your home or on your doorstep. There are legitimate doorstep traders, but there is a risk that the homeowner may feel pressured into buying something they do not want or that is not good value for money from rogue salespeople. Bogus traders use a range of persuasive tactics to sell to unsuspecting and vulnerable homeowners.

Oxfordshire Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading are working together to raise everyone’s awareness of how rogue traders operate and of how to protect yourself from them. Here are some quick and some detailed guides on what to watch out for when dealing with a doorstep trader.

• Top ten tips (pdf format, 940 Kb)
• Quick guide to your rights when buying on the doorstep (pdf format, 365 Kb)
• Your guide to buying on the doorstep (pdf format, 3 Mb)
• Protecting people you care about from rogue doorstep traders (pdf format, 4 Mb)

If you are concerned for yourself or for a friend, relative, neighbour  or someone else that you know please contact the national Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0845 0510845.

If you think you or someone else is at risk right now please call Trading Standards direct on 0845 51 0845 and choose option 2 to report a doorstep crime that is happening right now.

If you are looking for a reliable trader to carry out work for you and don’t know where to turn, don’t take up a cold call on your doorstep. Instead look at Trading Standards approved “Buy With Confidence” traders.