What to know when door to door sales comes to your door

After the April hailstorm, many door to door salesmen are “raining down” around Eastern Idaho trying to fix any damaged property. Do you know who really is going to door-to-door in your neighborhood?

In Idaho Falls, anyone who wants to do door-to-door business sales must apply for what is called an itinerant merchant license. It isn’t the business that needs to apply for a license, its the individual themselves that are going door to door.

“To really protect our residents, to make sure they’re not subject to deceptive business practices, that the people who are coming door to door are safe and we know who they are,” said Bud Cranor, the Public Information Officer for the City of Idaho Falls.

With the application comes a background check and fingerprinting.

“If there has been any type of criminal activity in the past,” Cranor said. “Obviously we don’t want people who have been involved in criminal activity out there at our residents’ houses, going door to door.”

If you do find someone coming to door-to-door in your neighborhood, you have the right to ask to see their license.

“It can also be a common tactic for burglars to go pretend they are a door to door salesmen,” said Holly Cook, the Public Information Officer for the Idaho Falls Police Department.

With no proof of license on them, they can be guilty of a misdemeanor.

If you are someone who wants no salesmen to visit, putting up a simple sign can fix that.

“No solicitations signs means no solicitations,” Cook said. “If those door to door salesmen are coming when you have a signup, that a violation of the code as well.”

Be sure to call and report any solicitor who refuses to leave, becomes overly aggressive, or is soliciting without a permit.

Door-to-door sales are only allowed between 9 a.m. through 8 p.m, and none are allowed on Sundays or any legal holiday.