Colportage

Also called: door sales, door-to-door sales, street sales or peddling

Canvassing is a form of itinerant trade in which buyers are actively approached. It usually refers to home sales. In this form of canvassing, sellers go door-to-door and ring doorbells hoping to sell residents something.

The selling method is used to sell products, services and contracts/subscriptions. In a slightly broader definition, canvassing refers to all sales where the seller takes the initiative and which take place outside a fixed sales location. Besides at home, this can also be on the street, at someone's home during a sales party or during a sales trip.

With sales at the front door, on the street or other door-to-door selling, consumers are more or less caught off guard by the seller with an unexpected and unsolicited offer. There is little time to think which makes people more likely to proceed to a purchase.

Colporteurs

A salesperson who sells at home, on the street or at another outdoor location is a colporteur. Sometimes home colporteurs are also called door salesmen. If the street is the venue then the colporteur is a street vendor.

Many people experience pushy salesmen as annoying. In order to prevent door-to-door salesmen from ringing the doorbell, special stickers are in circulation with the text that door-to-door selling is not wanted or that no purchases are made at the door.

Protection of buyers: canvassing law

Just as there is legislation in place to protect consumers when buying at a distance, the rights of buyers in case of door-to-door selling are also defined. The Colportage Act sets out the rules that apply to canvassing.

For example, with home sales, like online purchases, you are entitled to a statutory cooling-off period during which the purchase may be reversed. Certain sales are exempt from this, such as food, insurance and purchases with a total value less than 50 euros. If you have a right to a cooling-off period, the seller should point this out to you. The legal cooling-off period has been fourteen days since 2014. If no mention is made of the period during which you can cancel then it is automatically extended to one year.

In addition, the colporteur is obliged to provide you with accurate and complete information. Not only about the product but also about his identity and the company he represents. When a contract is concluded, you should receive a copy of it. In addition to the terms and conditions of the contract, it should also state that you can still get out of the contract during the cooling-off period and how this works. The Colportage Act further states that colporteurs need a permit from the municipality.

The canvassing law applies only to unsolicited offers. If you invite a seller to your home to purchase a particular product, this is not door-to-door selling. If this salesman then offers you a different product or service of his own accord, this does constitute door-to-door selling.

In Flanders, canvassing is called peddling. Colporteurs there must have a so-called door-to-door card.