CARBONDALE – The City of Carbondale frequently receives inquiries regarding persons going door to solicit orders and sales. Please review the following information about our solicitation guidelines and some suggestions for interacting with solicitors.
Solicitors within the city must apply for and be approved for a permit to solicit in Carbondale.
When a solicitor’s permit is issued, the individual has met the criminal background check criteria. A valid permit does not mean that the city has approved of the company on whose behalf the sales are being sought.
Per the Carbondale Revised City Code, solicitors must adhere to the following guidelines and rules regulating door-to-door solicitation:
No Soliciting prior to 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday or before noon and 6 p.m. on Sundays and national or state holidays.
No one is allowed to solicit on any premises that posts a notice stating words of similar meaning to “NO SOLICITORS, NO PEDDLERS, or NO TRESPASSING.”
Each individual solicitor must carry a valid city-issued solicitor’s permit and must display their permit when requested by residents or city officials.
Solicitors may not misrepresent or make false, deceptive, or misleading statements concerning the quality, quantity, or character of any merchandise offered for sale
Complaints about door-to-door solicitors may be filed with the City Clerk’s office.
Pushy, rude, or aggressive solicitors
Beyond the restrictions listed above, the city does not directly regulate demeanor of individual solicitors. Remember however, that as a homeowner or occupant, you may at any time ask a solicitor to leave your property. Every resident has the right to feel secure in their home, should you feel threatened or unsafe based upon a solicitor’s behavior, contact the Police immediately at 618-457-3200. The City encourages residents that have complaints about aggressive or deceptive practices of a business to file a consumer complaint with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office at 800-243-0618 or online .
Alternative Energy Suppliers (Aggregation Solicitors)
Residents should be aware that the City of Carbondale, Ameren Illinois, and Homefield Energy do not send people door-to-door to register residents for the supply of alternate energy.
The city encourages residents who wish to sign up with their own energy provider to initiate first contact with the provider after comparing all rates and options. When evaluating energy suppliers, residents are encouraged to visit the Illinois Commerce Commission’s complaint scorecard which tracks and compares the rate of complaints against retail electric suppliers energy providers.
Residents who encounter a pushy, rude, or aggressive aggregation solicitors are urged to contact the Illinois Commerce Commission Consumer Services Division which regulates energy retailers by phone at 800-524-0795 or online .
Guarding Your Personal Information
Residents should never compromise their security by providing a solicitor with utility account information unless they intend to enroll in an alternate energy program of their own choosing. The city recommends that residents carefully protect their account information and energy billing information from solicitors and all other non-account holders.
How to Prevent Solicitors At Your Home
If you do not wish to be disturbed by door-to-door solicitors, prominently display a no soliciting notice or sign on or near the main entrance of your home or building.
It is illegal to solicit at a location where proper No Soliciting signage has been posted. With or without a sign, residents should not ever be afraid to exercise boundaries with solicitors by refusing to answer their door or by politely stating ‘no thank you’ or ‘not interested’ and shutting and locking their door.
Constitutional Rights of Solicitors
The First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution protect the rights of door-to-door solicitors and preclude the ability of a community to ban door-to-door sales. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld free speech for commercial purposes and the city’s ability to restrict commercial door-to-door solicitation is limited to local regulations restricting the time, place and manner of door-to-door solicitations. Homeowners and occupants, however, do have the ultimate right to determine whether solicitors shall or shall not be invited to their residences or property.
For more information contact the City Clerk’s office at 618-457-3281.
