Door-to-door advertising after a request to leave: persistent sales approaches

Item 25 covers failure to comply with a consumer's request that an entrepreneur making a personal visit to the home should leave or should not return. The rule therefore focuses on a specific situation: a provider is personally present and receives a clear response from the consumer.

The prohibition addresses two closely connected forms of conduct. The visitor may refuse to leave. The visitor may also disregard a request not to return and appear again later. In both variants, the actual sequence matters. General dissatisfaction with advertising cannot replace a concrete account of the facts.

The rule appears in the Annex to the UWG among commercial practices considered unfair in all circumstances. The details still matter because the personal visit, the request and the later conduct must be established in a reliable way.

Start by recording who announced or began the visit. Note the name, business, identification details, product, offer and beginning of the conversation where known. The exact wording of the response then matters. “Please leave now” or “Do not come back” provides a different factual basis from a general end to the conversation.

Time, duration, people present and a prompt conversation note help establish the sequence. Witnesses should describe what they personally observed. Messages, brochures, order documents and business cards belong with the note in the evidence file.

Keep originals unchanged. A later recollection note can organise the sequence, but it does not replace messages or documents that already exist. The advertising claims and evidence tool helps separate sales statements from supporting records. For item 25, the file must also show the conduct at the door and in the home.

Item 25 requires a personal visit to the consumer's home. The factual record should therefore explain where the contact took place and who was approached. A conversation outside a shop, a telephone call or an advertising letter does not fall under this specific item merely because it has a sales purpose.

The location should be described together with the actual sequence. A visitor may begin at the door and continue after being admitted to the home. An arranged appointment may also turn into a sales conversation. Describe the events instead of replacing them with a broad label after the fact.

Item 24 must be distinguished from item 25. Item 24 concerns creating the impression that the person approached cannot leave the premises without concluding a contract. Both issues may arise in one incident, but they answer different legal questions.

Item 25 contains an exception for cases and limits in which the conduct is justified to enforce a contractual obligation. This exception does not turn a personal sales conversation into necessary contract communication. First identify the contract concerned and the specific obligation being performed or enforced.

Information about an agreed delivery may serve a different purpose from an offer for a new product or additional service. Where both contents appear in one visit, the reason, wording, presentation and conduct should be examined separately. Calling the appointment a service visit does not decide the issue.

Bring the contract, appointment details, invoices and communications about the visit together. This shows whether the provider addressed an existing obligation or used the visit to open a new sale. It also helps distinguish the incident from a mere contract-administration or data-protection question.

Item 25 is directed at a personal visit to the home and a disregarded request. Persistent contacts by telephone, email or other distance-selling media are addressed separately in item 26. The article on persistent advertising after a refusal examines that different communication route.

General pressure or undue influence may also be relevant under the rules on aggressive commercial practices. The article on pressure and influence explains the general criteria. In a door-to-door case, the place, request and visitor's conduct remain the central facts.

If the provider sends later messages, the timeline should show both levels. The personal incident may be examined under item 25, while later distance communication may raise a separate issue. One complete account prevents individual contacts from being taken out of context.

Depending on the facts, injunction, removal or other claims may be relevant. The appropriate claim depends on the provider, risk of repetition, evidence and the conduct in question. An uncomfortable conversation alone does not settle the legal assessment.

For an initial review, identify the provider, record the request and the response, and preserve later contacts. If a return was announced or completed, place both events on one timeline. An UWG cease and desist letter may be a separate step in the response.

The topic on injunctions and interim relief explains the role of evidence, repetition risk and the protective objective. Whether urgent relief is appropriate can only be assessed after reviewing the complete sequence and available documents.