9 December 2016 Assured response to Australian Consumer Law Review Interim Report Sales Assured again acknowledges the overall effectiveness of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and welcomes the opportunity to address certain items raised in the Interim Report. In our original submission, we proposed an amendment to the permitted hours of door knocking so that sales could continue until 7pm Monday to Friday (from the current 6pm) with no change proposed to permitted hours on weekends. We continue to hold the view that this minor amendment will help promote competition and provide consumers who are not home before 6pm the opportunity for easier access to products and services. Such a change would further promote competition, without limiting consumer protections. An extension of weekday hours can also provide greater opportunity for part-time employment. Assured contends that consumers today are aware of their rights when it comes to face to face selling. They continue to have significant protections and simple means at their disposal to determine and exercise their preference whether to engage with a direct selling agent or not. So, increasing contact hours to 7pm on weekdays will enhance competition without creating any detriment to consumers. We would also like to address items raised in questions 48-50 of the Interim Report. Firstly, we believe that the current unsolicited selling provisions should be maintained. As outlined in our original submission, the number of complaints in the energy sector has declined significantly in recent years and the telco industry has seen a similar decline. We believe this can be attributable to a greater focus by companies and their marketers on compliance, the introduction of the ACL and penalties that have ensued from enforcement action. While Sales Assured does not represent all parties undertaking face to face sales, our members undertake a significant proportion of the overall activity. We recognise the need to provide customer protections while being able to provide choice for customers. There are wide ranging protections for consumers that include:
9 December 2016 Assured response to Australian Consumer Law Review Interim Report Sales Assured again acknowledges the overall effectiveness of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and welcomes the opportunity to address certain items raised in the Interim Report. In our original submission, we proposed an amendment to the permitted hours of door knocking so that sales could continue until 7pm Monday to Friday (from the current 6pm) with no change proposed to permitted hours on weekends. We continue to hold the view that this minor amendment will help promote competition and provide consumers who are not home before 6pm the opportunity for easier access to products and services. Such a change would further promote competition, without limiting consumer protections. An extension of weekday hours can also provide greater opportunity for part-time employment. Assured contends that consumers today are aware of their rights when it comes to face to face selling. They continue to have significant protections and simple means at their disposal to determine and exercise their preference whether to engage with a direct selling agent or not. So, increasing contact hours to 7pm on weekdays will enhance competition without creating any detriment to consumers. We would also like to address items raised in questions 48-50 of the Interim Report. Firstly, we believe that the current unsolicited selling provisions should be maintained. As outlined in our original submission, the number of complaints in the energy sector has declined significantly in recent years and the telco industry has seen a similar decline. We believe this can be attributable to a greater focus by companies and their marketers on compliance, the introduction of the ACL and penalties that have ensued from enforcement action. While Sales Assured does not represent all parties undertaking face to face sales, our members undertake a significant proportion of the overall activity. We recognise the need to provide customer protections while being able to provide choice for customers. There are wide ranging protections for consumers that include:
Sales-Assured-Ltd.docx