I have a problem with something I bought from a door-to-door salesperson. What can I do?
If you have a problem with a product or service you bought, leased, rented, or financed from a door-to-door salesperson, you should first tell the seller exactly what the problem is and how you want them to fix it. Write a complaint letter to help them to understand why you are not satisfied.
If you can’t solve the problem directly with the seller, you can complain to the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery.
If the Ministry can’t solve your problem, you might want to think about suing in court. If the amount you are asking for is $35,000 or less, you can file a claim in Small Claims Court. You must do this within 2 years of when you knew about the problem.
What can a door-to-door person sell
A door-to-door salesperson is someone who comes to your home and tries to sell you something. Some examples are:
- services for your home, like snow removal, roofing services, or security services
- products for your home, like kitchen knives
Starting March 1, 2018, sellers are not allowed to sell the following things at your home unless you invited them into your home for that purpose:
- furnaces
- air conditioners
- air cleaners
- air purifiers
- water heaters
- water treatment devices
- water purifiers
- water filters
- water softeners
- duct cleaning services
- any product or service that does the job of any of the above, like an HVAC system
The law calls these prescribed products and services.
If you have questions or concerns about a door-to-door salesperson that you have talked to or bought something from, call Consumer Protection Ontario at:
- 416-326-8800 (Toronto area) or toll-free at 1-800-889-9768
- TTY: 416-229-6086 (Toronto area) or 1-877-666-6545
Energy contracts
Energy retailers are companies that offer contracts for electricity or natural gas. Door-to-door energy retailers must follow different rules.
For information about these rules and what you can do if you have problems with energy retailers, visit the Ontario Energy Board website or call 1-877-632-2727.
