A sales pitch that plays on fear
Security is an emotional purchase, which is why alarm and camera systems are a familiar product for doorstep sellers. Warwickshire Trading Standards, in England, lists alarm systems among the goods sold by high-pressure salespeople, who use pressure tactics to rush you into a decision and may convince you to buy something overpriced that you did not need. If you have already signed, the law gives you a cooling-off window. This article explains it for England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland’s consumer enquiries are handled separately, and it is not covered here.
The 14-day rule
Trading Standards’ Business Companion guidance, written for England, Scotland and Wales, explains that the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply to contracts made on business premises, away from them and at a distance. For a service contract, the cancellation period is 14 days starting the day after the contract was made. For a sales contract covering goods, or goods and services, it is 14 days starting the day after the goods come into your possession.
Citizens Advice, in its guidance for England, says you get a 14-day cooling-off period if the business approached you somewhere away from its premises, such as at your home, and the service costs £42 or more. The period starts the day after you enter the contract, whether it is written or oral. Business Companion also lists contracts of £42 or less as having no right to cancel.
What if the trader has already started work?
This is the point people miss. If you asked for the service to be provided during the cancellation period, the business can keep an amount for what it has done. Business Companion says that where a service has begun at the consumer’s express request but is not complete, you still have the right to cancel, but you pay in proportion to what was supplied against the full price. It gives an example of an aerial delivered and fitted on the same day: the customer must pay labour costs but can still remove and return the aerial.
Citizens Advice says something similar: if you asked for services to be provided within the cooling-off period, the business keeps what is necessary to cover the services provided up to the point you cancelled. It adds that if you had not paid anything but they did the work at your request, you will probably be expected to pay for it unless the contract says otherwise.
If you were never told about the right to cancel
Traders must give you information about your right to cancel. Business Companion says that if they do not, the cancellation period is extended to 14 days from the day they do give it, subject to a maximum of 12 months from the end of the normal period. It also says that when you cancel a contract, any ancillary contract, meaning a related contract with the trader or a third party, will also be terminated without further cost, subject to the other provisions. If your alarm comes with a separate monitoring or finance agreement, ask the seller and check the paperwork to see whether it counts as ancillary.
How to cancel and what evidence to keep
Business Companion says there is no set way to cancel, but if there is a dispute the burden falls on you to prove you cancelled within the period, so you should keep durable proof. Citizens Advice suggests using a template letter for cancelling a service bought when the trader approached you away from their premises, keeping a copy so you have proof it was sent, and if you phone, noting who you spoke to and what was agreed, then following up in writing.
Practical steps: write down the date you signed, keep every document, photograph any equipment installed, and send your cancellation in a way that gives you a dated record. Refunds are due without undue delay and within 14 days from the day after you inform the trader of your decision, according to Business Companion.
What this article cannot tell you
It does not cover every exception to the 2013 Regulations, and the classification of a particular package, such as hardware plus installation plus monitoring, can affect which rule applies. Citizens Advice publishes its advice separately for each nation, and the page cited here applies to England. If the sale was made in your home and you are unsure, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service, or ConsumerLine in Northern Ireland, before the 14 days run out.
The bottom line
If an alarm or camera system was sold to you at your door in England, Scotland or Wales, you generally have 14 days to cancel, starting the day after the contract was made or the goods arrived, and the trader must tell you so. If work started at your request, expect to pay proportionately. Cancel in writing, keep proof, and do not wait until the last day.