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The first thing you need to know is that the door-to-door salespeople canvassing your neighborhood have a constitutional right to be there. The door-to-door salesperson on your front porch is protected by the First Amendment, though there are some legal restrictions that can be placed on his or her activities. (check your local ordinances)
BUT:
The best way to (legally) keep solicitors from knocking on your door is to display “No Soliciting” signs.
The Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly ruled that while many local laws that restrict solicitation are unconstitutional, privately posted signs are a legitimate way to tell salespeople to leave you alone.
In the words of one Supreme Court opinion, “The Court has traditionally respected the right of a householder to bar, by order or notice, solicitors, hawkers, and peddlers from his property.”
In almost any part of the United States, those who remain on your property against your express instructions are breaking the law.
Pick one and order, or print a copy and post on your door. Case solved! (I have it and it works for me) https://goo.gl/6J7co2
We have had this going on in Ontario Canada ever since the deregulation of gas, electric and communications utilities about 25 years ago. I alway listen to the spiel and then tell them, "If I am interested after I research you and this offer, I will call you. If they reply they can only make a deal at the door then the door is closed on them. I signed up with one gas discounter that saved my a couple of hundred dollars per year for 5 years. Their deal was pretty impressive. 15% off whatever I was paying my present gas utility at any given time. Gas prices do fluctuate a lot.
Most of the deals these companies sell are very bad deals indeed. Many people have locked themselves into a gas supply deal for a five year term at a level price only to see the price of gas go way down. They could end up paying 30 to 40% more for their gas than on the spot market that regular gas companies usually use for their pricing structure. Even with the big energy companies you can choose level pricing for differing terms. Being the kind of guy that usually opts for a floating mortgage rate I usually go that way also with my energy rates.
In my area electricity deals are always BAD. Tele deals can be either good or bad. I still have unlimited North American hard wired phone service with all the bells and whistles for $14 a month. That was worth saying OK to. However the same company had a deal for unlimited highspeed internet for $50 a month that was not a good deal. Price wise it was a good deal but the service sucked big time. I had a two year contract on that and when it was up I used the $50 a month as a bargaining chip to obtain unlimited high speed fiber optic wifi from Bell for $50 a month. Never forget that alway cut a better deal for electronic communications services. I just put it out there, "the lowest man wins".... while all the time I know full well who I will choose.
Happened to me today and I live in NJ. A man came to my door (there is no peep hole on my door so I had to open it) and says something along the lines about how PSEG is going to increase the price and he can give me a flat rate. He said all he needed is to see a copy of my bill to see if I qualify. I could not hear because my dogs were barking like mad. He was wearing a name tag and on it, it says "major energy." I refused and was confused and now I happen to see this thread.
They are called suppliers they buy the energy off of the big boys but don't actually own any infrastructure or power plants or anything. Then they try and reprice it and resell it at a competitive price. They will try and lock you into a fixed price when they know the price is going to be lower down the road. The industry is well known for really sleazy salespeople but it's all legal and some people might save some money with them depending on what they offer. I can't really say for sure.
The best way to (legally) keep solicitors from knocking on your door is to display “No Soliciting” signs.
The Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly ruled that while many local laws that restrict solicitation are unconstitutional, privately posted signs are a legitimate way to tell salespeople to leave you alone.
In the words of one Supreme Court opinion, “The Court has traditionally respected the right of a householder to bar, by order or notice, solicitors, hawkers, and peddlers from his property.”
In almost any part of the United States, those who remain on your property against your express instructions are breaking the law.
Pick one and order, or print a copy and post on your door. Case solved! (I have it and it works for me) https://goo.gl/6J7co2
When I worked as the church secretary, I very much wanted to put one of those signs up outside our office door....we would sometimes get salespeople from office equipment/supply companies, and it was a waste of time for me to listen to their spiel because I had no authority to make purchases. (I could take information, but that was about it)
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