How do you stop the people knocking your door and telling you that they are from blablabla energy company and they can save your energy bill by up to 30% off and demanding to see your energy bills aggressively.
The most annoying thing is they came around dinner time.
Aggressive people from energy companies
[Deactivated] on 08/02/2013 - 17:28
Comments
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"Not interested" is the magic word of the modern era (even though it's two words).
Unsolicited doorknockers and telemarketers are really quite easy to get rid of.
You simply answer every question with "I'm not interested thanks". If it takes more than two of these, then you make the third one "I'm not interested and I've got to go now" and close the door (or hang up the phone).
The ABSOLUTE KEY to making this work is that you have to resist the urge to answer any question, whether it's an innocent question or a provocative one.
If they try to be wily and get a 5 minute spiel in without asking you any questions, or perhaps without even pausing for a breath, you need to butt in. If you think you can't do it because butting in is rude, do it with a smile and don't forget to tack on the "thanks" at the end. No harm, no foul.
There are many other creative methods you could try and I'm sure many of them are effective, but being a broken record with "I'm not interested thanks" is the best, and best of all it's the truth (isn't it?).
just slam the door and go back to dinner
Exactly - just close the door as soon as you see them.
It's always pretty obvious if somebody is trying to sell you something. No point sticking around to hear their lies about being from the government and needing to see your bill.
Tell them you are in a contract and they leave ASAP by themselves.
Dont answer the door?
http://fuckyeahmossandroy.tumblr.com/post/1372934061
Moss: Like my Mum always says, you should never open the door.
Jen: What do you mean?
Moss: An unopened door is a happy door. So we never open our's when someone knocks.
Jen: What, so you'll just sit there?
Moss: Yes.
Jen: So the doorbell goes, and you'll just sit there until the person goes away?
Moss: Yes.
Jen: What if it's important? What if it's good news?
Moss: This is London, Jen. It's not someone with cake. Unless that cake is made of dog poo and knives!
The IT Crowd 4x02was unable to find the clip on youtube :p
Keep a rottweiler in the front yard
They won't leave until I opened the door because my car was on the driveway.hahaha
Where's your "Do Not Knock" sticker?
They absolutely disregard those…actually, it do SFA to deter other equally annoying pests of the same nature.
Ignoring those costs significant penalties. If you answer get identification and contact the regulator
Thats the theory, but is there any evidence of this? I only say as I have the sticker and had someone ignore it a few weeks ago. Made the complaint through the website and heard nothing back from them, so starting to think its a bit of a toothless tiger.
I got two of these stickers. One on the window next to my door and one on the gate leading to my door.
I used to get at least 1-3 salesman a week. Haven't had any since.
agree with Ewanw, get their details and report them. That being said my do not knock sticker keeps everyone away - love it!
I even ordered a few more and gave them to my neighbours to put up (they all did) and they haven't had any issues either.
Take their picture with your phone or camera.
Tell them that you wish to record the conversation as well, if they do not agree , then they can leave.
If they do not agree and won't leave, phone the cops.
Apparently being rude to and/or pissing these people off can make them switch you to another provider by forging a signature, and you won't know about it until the bill comes in.
"Apparently being rude to and/or pissing these people off can make them switch you to another provider by forging a signature, and you won't know about it until the bill comes in."
What a load of crap. So you're saying these so called unscrupulous energy company reps are now forging signatures and committing bill fraud on a widespread level?
What a load of crap.
Absolutely…. why waste time door knocking if they're going to forge signatures anyway…..
To the people that think this is rubbish or a load of crap, really it is not. I've heard of dodgy energy company reps in two different cases happening to my family.
One did as others in this thread stated, and implied they were from the Government and needed to check my mum's bill. My mum questioned them about being from the Government at which point they became rude and my mum asked them to leave.
The other was falsly signing over the service. A rep came to my brothers house giving their best sales pitch, however my brother said he was unsure and wanted some more information sent out, for which he provided his contact details. A month or two later he gets a bill to find out he has been changed for both his electricity AND gas, for which their is no agreement or signature from him to prove his intention to change.
This was only last week so I'm not sure how my brother has followed this up yet, although I did advise him to take it to the ACCC / EWON.
http://www.ewon.com.au/index.cfm/contact-us/
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/287883/fro…For reference should anybody else have issues.
I had this happen to me before. now i have put block account be moved.
Don't think they go that far, however I did have Red Energy rep come to my door and say she was on behalf of a government initiative to check whether I'd been billed properly. What a load of crap.
Here it was to "check if I was eligible for new subsidies".
How do you stop the people knocking your door
put a sign on your front gate and front door. put a padlock on the gate :)
Just make sure the meter readers can still access your meters (elec/gas etc) … otherwise they'll estimate it for ya
Pretend you're a Jehova's Witness. When he knocks, cheerfully answer the door with a bible in hand and ask if he would like to spend 30 minutes discussing the bible and to confess his sins.
just a week ago, the lady said she was so thirsty and asked me whether she can come inside and have a glass of water however i asked her to wait outside and gave her a brand new spring water bottle.
And one time when i said to the guy "i am sorry,i am not interested" and that what he replied to me .
Are you saying you don't want to save money on your energy bills…blablablaThey are mostly all foreigners doing this crappy job. Most of them are just an annoying nuisance or pawn that does the dirty work for these big companies.
Good thing my aggressive barking dog always co-answers the door.
Firstly they cannot possibly get a word in over his shrill pitched warning bark and they usually get scared of him.What I do, instead of an actual dog, I have this massive note translated into many languages, saying that I have a large barking dog in my house, then I have this sensor when someone tries to come near my house, it makes this sound just like a barking dog and I always see these sellers gone before I reach the front door.
I am sure by 'foreigners' you mean non-Anglo-Celtics. They most probably are Australian citizens or permanent residents!
Just use the 'do not knock' sticker!!Just use the 'do not knock' sticker!!
Bonus Points if you stick it over their mouth!
lahiruwan , I don't think that is the case at all as usually it is either backpackers or those on student visas - which could be from any background.
Ninjastar, why does your note need to be translated into many languages? Are you afraid the guy who's going to try to convince you to buy something from him won't be speaking any english?
Yes I get those "don't you want to save money?!" kind of reply. Normally I just told them that I'm doing my own research online. So thanks, but no thanks.
"No need. I'm a professional at saving money"
and then point to your tablet with Ozbargain on the web browser.
I do this to telemarketers when I'm on holidays, I ended getting abused by Indians lol.
Abuse them back.
Some days when I feel narky from work/friends/whatever, these pests usually annoys me at 7pm and I just unleash my fury at them non-stop. I feel sorry for them but thanks for the provocation.
just ask them to wait a minute, then go eat dinner
They keep knocking.. and knocking.. and knocking…
Either get a bloody long steep drive way (2 door knockers in the 23 years I've lived here) or
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1047886
You have the right to ask a salesperson to leave at any time. After you do this, they must leave straight away and not come back for 30 days.
or (What I'm thinking of installing for my mailbox) install a water jet so when (in my case junkmailers) salesmen come -> they'll get the message.
Last week, I had a bad case of stomach flu and opened the door with a bucket in hand. Never seen an energy door-knocker leave so quickly.
Answer the door naked. In my case that would scare anyone away!
haha what if it's the neighbour?
Then hilarity ensues
Seriously so much hate and anger in this world.
Yes they are annoying but those people are just trying to make ends meat. Cut them some slack!
All you have to say is "sorry im not interest"
Because most of them lie about the promos , some guy from these energy companies said some rate which was pretty cheap compared mine. Then called the company and realised it was one big scam.
Yes, just a 'No Thanks, not interested' is usually enough. If someone wants to argue with me I tell them to F*** off - one way or another. That usually settles the matter.
The trouble is twofold; shonky business practise on the part of the employer and the fact these sellers are on commission only - which is disincentive to honesty. The commission only basis is how the shonky business gets away with bad practise.
Commission only pay should be outlawed. And they are usually students, foreign, trying to pay their way and study - often Indian.
I agree with this. I was a "foreign" student several years ago and I know how difficult it is to get a part-time job to make ends meet. A housemate of mine was doing door to door sales for energy companies and damn… that is a truly shit-kicker job (in every sense of the word).
He recounted stories which were quite sad. Funny thing is, he was a complete introvert soft-spoken chap who would avoid confrontation like the plague. There was this one time where some redneck scoundrel sprayed him with a hose as he entered the property. Pretty awful since it was middle of winter in Melb and he still had to do 6 more hours of this BS… soaking wet. A simply "no, thank you" would've sufficed.
Another time someone kicked him off the porch (literally) and then said "you currymunching #$%^#, go back to your own country".
Sad thing is that he made something like $100 a week (while doing this for ~20 hours /wk). Thankfully, after he graduated he moved on to bigger and better things (a loving family and a pretty hefty pay packet). :) So there is a good ending.
Why is his comment being negged. Whilst some door-to-door knockers definitely get on my bad side, there are others who are just trying to make a living and would rather avoid any confrontation.
There are two sides to this story - please don't be so blind so as to ignore it.
Thanks a lot Eivad. :)
@ the person who negged me:
Some people are just tw@ts. They end up resorting to dodgy practices and being overly aggressive. I'm not standing up for them. I am standing up for the people who are doing this just to make ends meet. This is their last resort.$100 a week for 20hrs? $5 an hour is tough. He would've earned more and probably treated better working at the check out or Maccas.
So the decent D2D sales people don't do very well either. Is it any wonder that only the dishonest a-holes are the ones that are left and knocking on our doors? Can you blame the average person having a very low opinion of door-to-door salespeople?
There may have been a time in a more innocent past when the door-to-door salespeople were welcomed because of convenience. Definitely not in modern times. It's just plain creepy now.Yea I know. It is pretty shite.
Unfortunately most fast-food joints don't hire students in their mid 20s. It is (sort of) understandable where they're coming from as they can get away with paying under minimum wage for minors.
These commission based jobs are plenty! Everyone knows they're awful, but sometimes it is the only option (well, you could hand out fliers which pays even lesser).
When I was in Uni, I worked for a 7-11 for 2 weeks. Didn't get any pay as that was supposedly my "training" period. At the end of the second week, I just went "F this sh1t" and walked out. I had the good fortune of having parents who could afford to loan me my living expenses for 2 years and support me whilst I studied. It was a soft loan, I've returned a vast majority of it; almost $30K, but I'll be forever indebted as their support meant I didn't have to deal with this crap while studying. Anyway, not many folks are as fortunate and have to somehow eke out a living while trying to cope with uni studies.
Someone who came selling power contracts the other day said…"your neighbourhood has been approved for a special discount"!!!
Reminds me of this plastic/faux lawn company…they're saying ooooh you're so special your council is approved for this grant/subsidy. It might've worked 15 years ago but 2 minutes on Google tells me no such grant existed.
True … but they are trying to "make ends meat" by annoying people. They have willingly chosen to accept money for the sole purpose of "annoying people". They get what they deserve if you ask me
Pretty much this sums it up and I'm sure I'll get negged.
Negged merely for your negative attitude :P
I would feel a little more sorry for them if I didn't have to deal with an endless stream of elderly clients coming into our office asking us to explain what it was they just signed up for. It's not part of our job but they know we have the knowledge and will be kind enough to explain it to them.
They get bullied and tricked into signing these deals. One lady signed up because she didn't want to be rude to them (ie. was scared of them - she was alone at home and doesn't like strange men knocking at her door).
One very elderly gentlemen (90's) who is deaf (I am the only female in the office who can speak/shout loudly and deeply enough for him to hear over the phone, he rings up and just asks for me over and over until he hears my voice - and he can never catch more than a few words) came in with the paperwork for a 2 year electricity contract that apparently he'd agreed to on the phone. He kept saying "oh, it's ok, I didn't sign anything" and said he didn't really know what they were saying. He'd grasped it was something about electricity. We had to explain to him that you don't actually need to sign anything and they had already signed him up based on his 'approval' over the phone. I doubt that recording would have stood up to any proper challenge - but he, like every other person, didn't want to rock the boat and just accepted the change.
I always cut them off and tell them politely that I'm not interested. Then when I get the sneered "don't you want to save money" response I say "no thanks". The immediate "no" to that question seems to throw them a bit, giving me a chance to say "byeeee" and walk away.
I must say, I haven't had anyone knock since I put up the free sticker (thanks OzBargain!)…and now that I'm heavily pregnant will just go back to what I used to do last pregnancy and yell "what?" when I hear the door. Any friend or family will know to yell back that it's them, everyone else just gets told to go away as I'm not getting up.
+1! Great post!
The elderly and other vulnerable people often don't have the knowledge or wherewithal (is that still a word?) to not be taken for a ride on door to door selling. I'd personally like to see a government crackdown or three on this method of marketing.
I went for a job once with AAPT, when through most of the stages of interviews etc, then changed my mind before I was booked into training sessions, couple of weeks later the std phone service with telstra mysteriously changed to AAPT with no authorisation. I dont fully believe that people dont pull petty shit, if people are rude to them, of course I have no proof either.
I tell them that my employer pays for my electricity so I do not care how much it cost me, so piss off! Usually they have this blank look when I told them.
tell them u r renting the place with bills inclusive and owner pays for the bills.
beleive me they wont ask another thing, it always works.
Or say you are running your own diesel generator in the backyard, as you are getting prepared for the zombie apocalypse.
I stop them mid sentence and tell them I really need a shit, they go quiet and leave.
It depends on the mood I'm in and how bored I am. I confess I do enjoy having a little fun with them now and then.
But if you want to stop them, tell them that if they can give you a no ifs, no buts, written promise to reduce your current whatever bill without you having to change your habits, you're ready to sign. Most sales pitches will stop there.
Haha I wish I had one of those people! Signed up with Origin recently only to find out that AGL signed me up without authorization, says sorry but now wants me to transfer my AGL bill to Origin.
Around 1 million homes in Australia will switch energy companies via D2D this year.
99% of those homes will get a decent saving (5-20% off current) or in the vicinity of $150 - $400 per year (depending on usage).
It's the suckers who have never bothered to review their energy bill that are getting screwed - by and large. Those who turn their noses up at someone knocking on their door.
That said, like any industry there are bad eggs - and due to the nature of the work they come across vulnerable people. So yes, there are some horror stories… but they are extremely low percentage (on average, less than 3 out of every 10 000 homes visited have even a minor complaint).
A lot if being done to clean up the industry, if caught knocking on a Do Not Knock sticker - or ignoring a warning to leave your home - a rep will be deregistered for 5 years. That means they can't work for anyone in the industry for 5 years. Is there any other industry that does this? (Maybe aside from financial servcices, no)
So, of course - be wary - but taking 10 mins to compare your bill next time you get knocked could save you a shitload this year… and generally you will find the best offers D2D.
"and generally you will find the best offers D2D".
…
I seriously doubt that. Commision needs to be paid out of something.Best deals are from companies that do not throw money out the window.
I never buy from companies that bother me.
+1, and also I call spam on Pablopops!
Getting into a contract from a door-to-door sale is risky. Door-to-door selling happens because people feel pressured that they'll miss an opportunity, but they don't have the time to weigh up whether it's a worthwhile opportunity, or a mediocre one, or a poor one, or unsuitable for their needs, or even a scam.
Doing your research in your own time is a good, reliable way to save money. Get in the habit of doing that instead, and close the door on door-to-door salesmen.
.
I photograph every single marketing caller, then I give them 5 minutes of my time in return.
The best way to get rid of nuisance marketing phone calls is to start the conversation with…
"But firstly, what are you wearing?"
Click…
"But firstly, what are you wearing?"
Oh man thats gold. Will try it and report back.
the 'do not knock' sticker dont work when they are giving you free power saving powerboards. last week the guy aid "but its free???" how many power saving boards can one simply have?? some houses would have so many not used.
Just grab them and hoard them. You don't know when you will need them and they're kinda handy at times…
Is this a government incentive? I'd rather not cheat the system. I already have excess supply of these because my elderly in-laws keep saying yes when I'm not here.
Do Not Knock stickers have so far worked for us.
Scandanavian guy knocks on door-
"Hi I am from your energy company, you might be eligible for a discount, I need to check your bill to see if
the 4-digit code is on there to assess your eligibility for a massive discount"Indian guy knocks on door-
"Hello, I am from your local exchange" That is major lulz for some reasonFunny joke. Because everyone who the Indian guy approaching the door works for, before he opens his mouth.
No joke. Dead serious with some lulz thrown in.
McBain and Kent Brockman discussing McBain's new movie: -
McBain: "When my sons returns from college I am horrified to find out he is a nerd"
Kent Brockman: "Ahahaaha.. I'm laughing already!"
McBain: "IT'S NOT A COMEDY"
Had something like this happen recently asking to donate money. I asked them for an online address so I could have a read into where the money was going and more information, they pointed to my wallet and said "Just a little $10 will do" "come on mate, just a little measily $10." They honestly wouldn't leave my house even after I stressed to them how busy I was with work for a Client…
that was probably a scam…people pretend to doorknock to get cash
Politely say we are not interested, then followed by a series of no no no
damian bryant?
Haven't had any since fixing my "do not knock" sticker (which I got via ozbargain, thanks :)
I'm surprised a little cute sticker would repel them.
From 1 January 2011, you have extra protections and rights:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/doortodoor/
When was the last time a D2D salesperson told you that you could ask them to leave at any time? Apparently the law says they must.
That link's broken, try this instead:
http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/sales-methods/telemarketing…
EDIT: Thanks for the tip on the info renton, it's a bloody good read. I recommend it to anyone who thinks that sometimes a door-to-door offer can be a good bargain.
a gun.
'I dont have a job man' - always sends them running the other way.
Tell them you don't speak English, in your proud Australian voice. They surely would be confused.
Proud "Australian" voice? Now what might that be? ;)
That would be funny though. Please share the vid. :)
"Orr daint spoik inglish, ay"
I always tell them I'm on contract with my current provider and they walk.
The more creative ones will ask how long you've got to go on it, or can they see your bill, or some other question they might think will give them an in.
Don't bother giving an excuse, whether it's true or made up. It's your decision whether you want to hear their offer or not, not theirs. Your situation is none of their damn business unless you want it to be.
Not interested, not interested, not interested, bye.
Hi, About those door to door sales people, ask where their office/s are located as YOU NEVER BUY or VIEW SERVICES and GIVE OUT INFO at the door, unless you can walk into an office. NO UMS OR AH HUMS….Hope this can help and be polite at the same time.
after the D2D sales person finishes their opening spiel just state that you have no interest what so ever in their product but you'll listen impatiently for a couple of minutes and then you'll close in their face and would they like to cut their loses now.
LOL, i like this one
I normally tell these guys I am only the sub-tenant of this property. I am not the landlord, I cannot change the power supplier.
Don't give them info. You don't need a reason to not listen to them.
Sorry didnt realise that you had already posted!
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Ask for promised saved amount in advance in cash)))