A year since the Do Not Knock campaign website went live the campaign has made significant progress
- 41,627 unique visitors to the website – a figure achieved without spending any money on advertising or promotion.
- an estimated 200, 000 free Do Not Knock stickers distributed directly and via campaign partners
- 150 complaints made to the ACCC
- a court ruling in favour of the effectiveness of the sticker
- an ATSI themed version of the sticker, now widely used in some rural and regional areas
One of the highlights of 2012 was the outcome of a case brought to the Federal Court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against an energy retailer and its marketing sub-contractor in March 2012. In September, the court found that a salesperson that ignores a visible Do Not Knock sticker is breaching the provision of the Australian Consumer Law that requires salespeople to leave when requested to do so. It was a ringing endorsement of the sticker, and an example of strong enforcement action by the ACCC.
Many people have contacted Consumer Action with their stories about poor door to door sales experiences. Using information collected via the Do Not Knock web site’s Make a Complaint form, they’ve sent 150 detailed complaints to the ACCC.
The Campaign has launched a Facebook page, to encourage consumers to share their stories and report problems via social media. Please “like” us and share our page with your friends and colleagues.
Australia-wide media has helped spread the word about Do Not Knock stickers. But we owe particular thanks to our partners for our success to date, namely:
- Victoria Legal Aid, who run community education and outreach programs to teach people about their rights at the door. When you order a sticker from the website, it’s Victoria Legal Aid who send it out free of charge.
- Financial Counselling Australia, who have championed the rights at the door of ATSI consumers, and developed an ATSI themed sticker in partnership with Centacare Forbes Wilcannia; and
- All our campaign partners– including the 106 who are making stickers available to the public, and many others who are behind the scenes distributing stickers directly to people who want to stop unsolicited salespeople coming to their homes.
The campaign has many goals to achieve in the next year. If you have any feedback, ideas, or want to help distribute stickers, you can contact us via campaigns@consumeraction.org.
I work for a company selling the energy saving “gadgets”. Why would anyone knock back a free “gadget” that will reduce carbon emissions and save you money on your power bill?
Can you please inform ALL door-to-door salespeople that a “DO NOT KNOCK” sticker on the letterbox means just that! AND, I know most people put it on the front door (and still get salespeople knocking), but I’ve put it on the letterbox so that they don’t waste their time walking to the front door (tossing their cigarette butts in my garden and forgetting to close the gate) and also so that the sticker (which looks “cheap”) does not spoil the look of my house! If I get one more salesperson knocking (esp. those with energy saving gadgets who have knocked three times already… or any energy company who’s salesperson SPAT on my door and then abused me after I confronted him to get his ID) I’ll be using the Nulla-Nulla, I leave by the front door, to scare them away!