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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Fair Trading Act 1986

Consumer transactions and auctions - Uninvited direct sales

36N: Enforcement of uninvited direct sale agreement by supplier

You could also call this:

“Rules for sellers who come to your home or work without invitation”

If someone tries to sell you something at your home or workplace without you inviting them, this is called an uninvited direct sale. The seller can’t make you stick to the agreement you made with them unless they’ve done two things:

First, they must have given you all the information they’re supposed to give you about the sale. There’s a special rule (section 36L) that says what information they need to give you.

Second, they have to wait until the time you’re allowed to change your mind is over. There’s another rule (section 36M) that tells you how long you have to change your mind. If you tell them you want to cancel the sale during this time, the seller can’t make you go through with it.

There’s one exception to this. If the seller makes a small mistake when giving you information, like giving it to you a bit late, they might still be able to make you stick to the agreement. But this only works if the mistake doesn’t cause you any real problems.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6156642.

Topics:
Business > Fair trading
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
Previous

36M: Cancellation of uninvited direct sale agreement by consumer, or

“You can cancel a sale if someone comes to your house to sell you something”

Next

36O: Effect of cancellation of uninvited direct sale agreement, or

“What happens when you cancel a door-to-door sale agreement”

Part 4A Consumer transactions and auctions
Uninvited direct sales

36NEnforcement of uninvited direct sale agreement by supplier

  1. An uninvited direct sale agreement is not enforceable by a supplier unless—

  2. the supplier has complied with section 36L; and
    1. the time during which the consumer may cancel the agreement under section 36M has expired, and the consumer has not given notice of cancellation within that time.

      1. However, subsection (1)(a) does not apply if the failure to comply with section 36L is minor (for example, where a supplier has provided an agreement at a time later than the time specified in section 36L(1)(b)) and does not materially prejudice the consumer.

      Notes
      • Section 36N: inserted, on , by section 23 of the Fair Trading Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 143).