There is a cooling off period of 10 business days starting on the first business day after the day that your grandmother signed the contract (so today if she signed it yesterday).
So during this time, your grandmother can cancel the contract without any penalty (for any reason, even though she signed the contract).
The salesman should have told your grandmother about the cooling off period before getting her to sign the contract. The cooling off period can be extended to 6 months if the salesman either did not tell your grandmother about the cooling off period, or did not give her a copy of the contract.
Also, the cooling off period can be extended to 3 months if the salesman:
- approached your grandmother outside the permitted hours,
- did not disclose the purpose of his visit or his identity, or
- did not leave when asked.
Your grandmother can cancel the contract verbally or in writing. If cancelling by written notice, she can email, fax, post or personally deliver the notice to the electricity seller. The contract’s cancellation is effective from the date that the notice is provided. The notice does not have to be set out in any particular way. If you use the post, notice is taken to have been given at the time you posted it so keep records of the date and any proof of postage.
If you are worried about your grandmother being hassled by other door-to-door salespeople in the future, you can put a ‘do not knock’, ‘no canvassing’ or ‘no advertising’ sign or sticker on her door.