Australia - Court imposes penalties for ignoring ‘do not knock’ sign

The Australian Federal Court has ordered that AGL South Australia Pty Ltd (AGL SA) and its marketing company, CPM Australia Pty Ltd (CPM), pay a total of $60,000 in penalties for failing to leave a consumer’s premises despite the presence of a ‘Do Not Knock’ sign on the consumer’s front door. The proceedings related to conduct which occurred in South Australia in November 2011. In this case, the sign was affixed to the consumer’s front door and contained an image of a fist knocking with a line through it and the words “DO NOT KNOCK Unsolicited door-to-door selling not welcome here”. The salesperson nonetheless knocked on the consumer’s door and attempted to negotiate an agreement to supply energy. As part of the same proceedings, the Judge ordered by consent that AGL Sales Pty Ltd and AGL SA pay combined penalties of $1.555 million for other unlawful selling practices, including making false representations to consumers. CPM was also ordered to pay $200,000 for its role in the conduct. In Australia, salespeople who make unsolicited contact with consumers in order to sell them goods or services must comply with requirements including: limited hours for contact, and certain disclosure requirements.