(Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
Australian Power and Gas Company Limited has been fined $1.1 million following action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
And for the first time, the charges against the energy company relate specifically to conduct involving customers from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Abby Dinham reports.
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The Federal Court in Brisbane found Australian Power and Gas (APG) made misleading representations, preying on consumers from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Rod Sims describes the conduct as appalling.
"Perhaps the most serious allegation is in relation to unconscionable conduct where we allege that they were dealing with someone who couldn't speak English and they then tutored the person about filling in the contract."
APG salespeople were also accused of wrongly telling clients they were government-affiliated, to encourage customers into signing contracts.
Rod Sims says the effect - particularly on refugees who may have a mistrust of authorities - was intimidating.
"They're in their homes, often alone and they get an unsolicited knock on the door and they find it very hard to deal with it," Mr Sims told SBS.
"They're not used to deal with it and we're concerned they're getting taking advantage of."
It's this type of sales tactic that migrant communities say they're fed up with.
Karen migrant Hay Nay Moo Noe says she knows many in her community who have been duped into signing contracts with door-to-door salespeople posing as being affiliated with the government.
"They say this is good, we're from a government company, so we think it may be good, but every time we're under pressure to sign something," Ms Noe says.
She says refugees are easily intimidated into inviting salespeople into their homes.
"We saw this as a very big issue so we thought it might be good to educate people and talk to them about their rights."
In conjunction with Women's Health West, Ms Noe contacted over 30 Australian retailers to explain the trauma that some refugees experience in dealing with aggressive salespeople.
The organisation's Shifra Blustein says dealing with salespeople can bring up feelings of oppression in refugees who have a history of living in refugee camps.
"When women are more fearful and stressed of interactions with authority figures it leads to more isolation."
Since September last year, the Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted proceedings against five energy companies.
Three have resulted in multimillion-dollar fines.
The Wyndham Legal Centre says it has a continual flow of migrants and refugees seeking help.
Public interest lawyer Shorna Moore says many migrants and refugees come seeking help with getting out of contracts.
"The people are coming to us with insurance policies and financial service agreements that they've been doorknocked and signed up to."
SBS contacted ten of the companies named by the Karen community as using pushy door-to-door sales tactics.
Of the responses, two claim to have ceased this type of direct marketing.
APG, now operating under AGL Energy, says it intends to review its sales practices following the Commission's proceedings.
Commission chair Rod Sims says the responsibility for the illegal practices should be borne by the employing company, as he says sometimes the salespeople themselves are susceptible to exploitation.
"Sometimes the salespeople are quite vulnerable themselves: this is the only job they can get and they're desperate for money. So it's the company that's putting them in that position."
