When does a deal at home count as unsolicited?
The Australian Consumer Law is one law that applies in every state and territory. The law treats an agreement as an unsolicited consumer agreement when a dealer negotiates it with you in person away from their business premises, such as at your home, or over the phone, when you didn't invite them to come or call to negotiate, and the total price is more than $100 or can't be worked out when you agree.
The line that matters most for heating and cooling is section 69(2): an invitation merely to quote a price isn't taken to be an invitation to negotiate. So filling in a quote form, or asking an installer to come and measure up, doesn't on its own make whatever you sign at that visit an invited deal.
NSW Government guidance gives the practical version. If you ask for a quote and the supplier tries to negotiate a deal there and then, or contacts you later to negotiate one, the agreement can be unsolicited. If they leave a quote with you and you go back to them to accept it, it isn't.
WA Consumer Protection takes the same view, and adds that it's the business, not you, that has to prove an agreement wasn't unsolicited.
What the 10 business days give you
You can cancel an unsolicited consumer agreement by telling the supplier, out loud or in writing, in any form. That holds even if the work has been fully carried out.
The cooling-off period runs to the end of the 10th business day after the agreement was made. For a deal done over the phone, it runs from when you were given the agreement document.
If you cancel, the supplier must immediately return or refund anything you gave them under the agreement.
During those 10 business days, the supplier must not supply the goods or services and must not accept any payment or other consideration for them. That's section 86(1). WA Consumer Protection puts it plainly for the cooling-off period: no payment, no goods worth more than $500, and no services other than electricity and gas.
Signed at the visit, or accepted later?
| You signed during the quote visit | You took the quote away and accepted later | |
|---|---|---|
| Can it be an unsolicited agreement? | Yes, it can be | NSW guidance says no, if you went back to them to accept |
| Cooling-off period | 10 business days, if it's unsolicited | Not under the unsolicited agreement rules |
| Payment and work in the meantime | Not allowed during the 10 business days | Whatever your contract says |
| Consumer guarantees | Apply | Apply |
When the period stretches to months
The cooling-off period extends to 3 months if the dealer broke the rules on visiting hours, identification or leaving when asked, and to 6 months if certain other rules were broken.
Those rules are specific. Before negotiating, a door-to-door dealer must tell you clearly that they're there to seek your agreement to a supply, tell you they must leave immediately if you ask, and give you identifying information. Once you ask them to go, they must leave straight away and not contact you again to negotiate for at least 30 days.
NSW Government guidance says salespeople may door-knock on weekdays from 9am to 6pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 5pm, and not at all on Sundays or public holidays.
How to cancel inside the cooling-off period
Count the business days
Start from the day after you signed and count business days, not calendar days, to the end of the 10th.
Tell the business you're cancelling
Any form counts, spoken or written. An email or letter gives you a dated record, which is worth having if there's an argument later.
Keep a note
Write down who you spoke to and when, and keep a copy of anything you sent.
Ask for your money back
If you paid anything, the supplier must return or refund it immediately.
Check whether you have longer
If the dealer didn't identify themselves, stayed after you asked them to leave, or visited outside the allowed hours, the period can run to 3 months.
Get help if they won't cooperate
If a refund doesn't arrive, your state or territory's consumer protection agency is the place to go next.
Rebate offers at the door, and sales calls
Heating and cooling discounts carry their own doorstep rules. Victorian Energy Upgrades bans marketing a VEU upgrade while calling at your home unless you gave express prior consent to be visited, and the NSW Energy Savings Scheme excludes any activity connected with unsolicited doorknocking.
Phone sales have limits too. Unless you've agreed to a call at another time, telemarketing calls are allowed on weekdays from 9am to 8pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 5pm, with no calls on Sundays or national public holidays.
After the cooling-off period, you're still covered
Cooling-off isn't your only protection. The consumer guarantees apply to a heating or cooling job sold to you as a consumer: the unit must be of acceptable quality, and the installation must be done with due care and skill, and within a reasonable time if no date was set.
If you told the installer what you needed the system to do, say heat an open living area, the work must be reasonably fit for that purpose. That doesn't apply if you didn't rely on their skill or judgment, or it was unreasonable to.
A contract term that tries to exclude or limit those guarantees is void to that extent.
If the work fails a guarantee and it's a minor problem that can be fixed, you can require the installer to fix it within a reasonable time. If they refuse or drag it out, you can have someone else fix it and recover reasonable costs, or end the contract. Our guide to air conditioner warranties covers the manufacturer's side.
What's on you, and what's on them
You can
- Taking the written quote away and thinking it over before you sign.
- Counting the 10 business days from the day you signed.
- Cancelling in writing if you change your mind, and keeping a copy.
- Paying nothing during the cooling-off period.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Leaving a written quote you can accept later.
- Saying who they are and why they're there before any pitch at your door.
- Leaving as soon as you ask.
- Waiting out the cooling-off period before taking payment or starting work.
What we'd do
If it were our home
We wouldn't sign at the kitchen table, however good the offer sounded. We'd ask for the quote in writing, let the installer leave, and ring back to accept once we'd slept on it and checked it against what the home actually needs. If we'd already signed and felt rushed, we'd cancel in writing well inside the 10 business days, and nobody worth hiring would hold that against us.
