Here you will find Maine laws on door-to-door sales, including unsolicited sales and transient sellers of home repair and other goods and services. If you have concerns about a sale that you are considering or have already agreed to, you can contact the Consumer Mediation Service via our online complaint service.
Door-to-Door Sales downloadables
Tips When Purchasing Goods and Services Through Unsolicited Sales
If someone is trying to sell you something through an unsolicited phone call or visit to your home, there are several things you can do to protect yourself:
- Ask the seller whether they have a permanent place of business in Maine or in the town where you live. If they do not, ask the seller if they are licensed and, if they are not licensed, whether they are aware that it is crime not to be licensed.
- Always insist on a written contract before you agree to a sale.
- Do not agree to the sale or provide payment or personal information during the first conversation.
- Ask about the right to cancel. If the seller denies that there is such a right, that is a red flag, and you should be extremely cautious about proceeding.
- Beware of “too good to be true” claims and offers, because they are usually not true.
- Don’t allow anyone to begin work immediately on your home or property.
- If the seller refuses to stop soliciting you, report them to local law enforcement.
Maine's Laws on Door-to-Door Sales
- Overview
Maine has three laws that deal specifically with door-to-door sales:
- Consumer Solicitation Sales law;[i]
- Transient Sellers of Home Repair Services law;[ii] and
- Transient Sellers of Consumer Merchandise law.[iii]
Together, these laws provide you with important protections for door-to-door sales, including written contracts with required terms, rights of cancellation, licensing requirements for sellers, and civil and criminal penalties.
[i] 32 M.R.S.A. sections 4661-4671.
[ii] 32 M.R.S.A. sections 14501-14513.
[iii] 32 M.R.S.A. sections 14701-14716.
- Consumer Solicitation Sales
What Sales It Covers
This law applies to the sale of any merchandise to you when that sale is made through direct personal contact other than at the seller’s place of business, so long as you did not solicit the initial contact.[i] That includes an unsolicited visit to your home, an unsolicited phone call, and an unsolicited piece of mail. The business location of the seller is irrelevant. Merchandise, in this context, includes “any objects, wares, goods, commodities, intangibles or services.”
What It Requires
Sellers must provide written contracts to you. Those contracts must include specific terms, including a provision that informs you of your right to cancel the contract within 3 business days. If the item sold is to be affixed to your home, then work cannot begin until after those 3 business days.
If you give notice of cancellation within 3 business days, then the seller has 20 days to demand that you return the merchandise. However, the seller cannot require you to do anything more than make the merchandise available to the seller at your home. If the seller does not take possession of the merchandise within 20 days, then it becomes your property and you have no obligation to pay for it. If you cancel and make the merchandise available to the seller, you are entitled to a full refund within 15 days.
What Relief It Provides
A violation of this law is an unfair trade practice that can be enforced under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. Additionally, if a seller fails to issue you a full refund after you have cancelled the contract, they are committing a Class E crime or, if the failure is intentional, a Class D crime.[ii]
[i] 32 M.R.S.A. § 4662(1).
[ii] 32 M.R.S.A. § 4666.
- Transient Sellers of Home Repair Services
What Sales It Covers
This law applies to door-to-door sales of home repair services by transient sellers. A transient seller is a seller who does not have a permanent place of business in the municipality where the sale occurs.[i] Home repair services are any services that alter your home, which includes not only structures but also driveways, pools, and landscaping.[ii] However, to qualify under this law, the sale must be the result of a door-to-door solicitation, which means that it must have been a visit to you that you did not initiate or invite.
What It Requires
Sellers must provide written contracts to you. Those contracts must comply with several laws, including the Consumer Solicitations Sales law discussed above, and the Home Construction Contracts law discussed in our home construction and repair guide.
The law also requires sellers to be licensed by the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation. A seller must provide their license number to you at the time of sale.
What Relief It Provides
A violation of this law is an unfair trade practice that can be enforced under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. Violations of this law are also subject to civil penalties between $2,000 and $5,000. Additionally, a seller who fails to obtain a license or disclose a license number as required is committing a Class E crime, or, if the failure is intentional, a Class D crime. Violations of this law are also subject to civil penalties.
[i] 32 M.R.S.A. section 14501(9).
[ii] This law does not apply to the original construction of a residence. 32 M.R.S.A. section 14502(1).
- Transient Sellers of Consumer Merchandise
What Sales It Covers
This law applies to sellers who do not have a permanent place of business in Maine who sell merchandise to you by means of personal contact or telephone contact.[i] It expressly applies to telemarketers regulated by the federal government.[ii] Merchandise includes “any objects, wares, goods, promises, commodities, intangibles, services or other things of value.”
What It Requires
This law is primarily a licensing statute. It requires sellers to be licensed, to disclose their license number and their permanent place of business to consumers, to register locally if required by a municipality, and to pay a security deposit to the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation for the protection of consumers.
What Relief It Provides
A violation of this law is an unfair trade practice that can be enforced under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. If you have a claim against a seller licensed under this law, you may have recourse against the security deposit that sellers are required to pay to the Department Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Additionally, a seller who fails to obtain a license or disclose a license number as required is committing a Class E crime, or, if the failure is intentional, a Class D crime.
[i] 32 M.R.S.A. section 14701(8).
[ii] 32 M.R.S.A. section 14716.