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The City of Pratt has an ordinance to protect residents from door-to-door salespeople who might or might not honestly represent their products. Anyone who wants to knock on doors to sell their wares must first apply for a permit and pay a $25 non-refundable investigation fee, which is forwarded to the Pratt Police Department. If the application is approved, the seller can receive a permit for $15 per day, per person.
“We don’t want people bugging our citizens,” City Clerk Lu Kramer commented.
Her office has not issued a permit for several months, she said, but that has not always deterred transient sellers.
Last week a Pratt County resident said her mother-in-law, a resident of Pratt, had purchased a $700 vacuum sweeper that she didn’t need from a door-to-door salesperson. Family members were able to cancel the contract under provisions of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. Days later, another representative of the same brand of cleaner called the older woman for an appointment. Her son waited for the salesperson, who didn’t show up as scheduled, but when she came by later in the week, a neighbor alerted the daughter-in-law, who said, “I threw her out.”
On Tuesday, an elderly woman told the Tribune of a call she had received from “an outfit in Hutchinson,” who said they would come clean her carpet, with her permission, on the next day, at no charge. The caller left a phone number, but when the woman tried several times to call, it was always busy. Unable to cancel and worried about whom she had, in effect, invited into her home, she made plans to be gone at the suggested time.
When a seller calls for an appointment, or leaves information requesting that consumers call, they are not required to have a permit, Kramer said.
If there is no permit, there is no opportunity for investigation into the seller’s business practices. The Police Department has five days, from the time of application, to do a background check of the individual or business and either approve or deny a permit. That tends to discourage some sellers and protects citizens against dishonest merchants, Chief Steve Holmes said.
Residents should ask to see a seller’s permit and if they don’t have one, notify city hall or the police department. Holmes noted that Scouts and school children are exempt from permit requirements. He also discouraged anyone from letting a stranger into their home.
Sales made in the home by appointment, with few exceptions, are subject to the three-day cancellation provision, according to Ashley Anstaett, director of communications for the Kansas Attorney General’s office.
The Kansas Consumer Protection Division describes a door-to-door sale as a transaction where the supplier or the supplier’s agent personally solicits the sale, and the consumer’s agreement or offer to purchase is made somewhere other than the place of business of the supplier. The amount of the sale must be $25 or more.
The seller is required to provide a written “Notice of Cancellation” and inform the consumer, orally, of the right to cancel by midnight of the third business day after the sale was made.
Anstaett offered some additional tips to consumers:
• Trust your instincts — most reputable companies will depend on advertising to bring you into their stores. If you feel uncomfortable with the pressure of a salesperson you should say no.
• Most people know what they need and what they use. With the ease of using the Internet or shopping at a local store, few reputable companies will rely on a door-to-door sales promotion.
• Consumers are not obligated to open the door to someone who just stops by, whether they are bringing you a casserole or trying to sell you a vacuum cleaner.
The City of Pratt has an ordinance to protect residents from door-to-door salespeople who might or might not honestly represent their products. Anyone who wants to knock on doors to sell their wares must first apply for a permit and pay a $25 non-refundable investigation fee, which is forwarded to the Pratt Police Department. If the application is approved, the seller can receive a permit for $15 per day, per person.
“We don’t want people bugging our citizens,” City Clerk Lu Kramer commented.
Her office has not issued a permit for several months, she said, but that has not always deterred transient sellers.
Last week a Pratt County resident said her mother-in-law, a resident of Pratt, had purchased a $700 vacuum sweeper that she didn’t need from a door-to-door salesperson. Family members were able to cancel the contract under provisions of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. Days later, another representative of the same brand of cleaner called the older woman for an appointment. Her son waited for the salesperson, who didn’t show up as scheduled, but when she came by later in the week, a neighbor alerted the daughter-in-law, who said, “I threw her out.”
On Tuesday, an elderly woman told the Tribune of a call she had received from “an outfit in Hutchinson,” who said they would come clean her carpet, with her permission, on the next day, at no charge. The caller left a phone number, but when the woman tried several times to call, it was always busy. Unable to cancel and worried about whom she had, in effect, invited into her home, she made plans to be gone at the suggested time.
When a seller calls for an appointment, or leaves information requesting that consumers call, they are not required to have a permit, Kramer said.
If there is no permit, there is no opportunity for investigation into the seller’s business practices. The Police Department has five days, from the time of application, to do a background check of the individual or business and either approve or deny a permit. That tends to discourage some sellers and protects citizens against dishonest merchants, Chief Steve Holmes said.
Residents should ask to see a seller’s permit and if they don’t have one, notify city hall or the police department. Holmes noted that Scouts and school children are exempt from permit requirements. He also discouraged anyone from letting a stranger into their home.
Sales made in the home by appointment, with few exceptions, are subject to the three-day cancellation provision, according to Ashley Anstaett, director of communications for the Kansas Attorney General’s office.
The Kansas Consumer Protection Division describes a door-to-door sale as a transaction where the supplier or the supplier’s agent personally solicits the sale, and the consumer’s agreement or offer to purchase is made somewhere other than the place of business of the supplier. The amount of the sale must be $25 or more.
The seller is required to provide a written “Notice of Cancellation” and inform the consumer, orally, of the right to cancel by midnight of the third business day after the sale was made.
Anstaett offered some additional tips to consumers:
• Trust your instincts — most reputable companies will depend on advertising to bring you into their stores. If you feel uncomfortable with the pressure of a salesperson you should say no.
• Most people know what they need and what they use. With the ease of using the Internet or shopping at a local store, few reputable companies will rely on a door-to-door sales promotion.
• Consumers are not obligated to open the door to someone who just stops by, whether they are bringing you a casserole or trying to sell you a vacuum cleaner.
