This information is for reference only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed lawyer before any transaction.
Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act B.E. 2545 (2002)
Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act B.E. 2545 (2002)
The information is reviewed and updated monthly against official sources.
In short
Governs door-to-door, phone and online selling: mandatory Thai-language contract, pyramid-scheme ban and a 7-day right to cancel after delivery.
Scope and definitions (Section 3): What counts as direct sales and direct marketing
Direct sales means offering goods or services to consumers directly at their home, workplace, or any place that is not a regular place of business, through a sales agent or independent (single-level or multi-level) distributor. Direct marketing means offering goods or services at a distance through data communication (for example telephone, mail, or online) and expecting the consumer to respond and buy. Ordinary purchases made in a shop or at the seller's regular place of business fall outside this Act. The protections below apply when you buy in either of these ways.
Registration (Sections 20, 27 and 38): Mandatory registration before operating
No one may run a direct sales or direct marketing business unless first registered under this Act with the Registrar (the Secretary-General of the Consumer Protection Board, through the Office of the Consumer Protection Board, OCPB). A direct sales operator must also file its benefit (compensation) payment scheme with the application, and any later change to that scheme must be notified before it is used. Operating without registration is an offence (Section 47): up to one year in prison or a fine up to 100,000 baht, or both, plus a daily fine for each day of violation. A later amendment (Act No. 3, B.E. 2560 / 2017) added financial requirements such as a security deposit lodged with the OCPB to back consumer compensation.
Cooling-off period (Section 33): Right to cancel within 7 days
A consumer who buys through direct sales or direct marketing may terminate the contract by giving written notice within seven days from the date of receiving the goods or service. For a direct sales purchase, the notice may be given to the relevant independent distributor or sales agent. The right does not apply to types, prices, or kinds of goods or services that a Royal Decree specifically excludes. This is the core cooling-off protection: keep proof of the date you received the item and send your cancellation in writing.
Refunds and returns (Sections 34 and 36): Return of goods and refund within 15 days
After cancelling, the consumer either returns the goods or keeps them safely for at least twenty-one days so the seller can collect them; consumable goods need only be returned in the unused remaining part. The operator must refund the full amount paid within fifteen days from receiving the cancellation notice. If the operator misses that deadline, it owes the consumer a penalty at the rate set by the Board. The consumer may hold on to the goods until the refund is received.
Contract and disclosure (Sections 23, 30 and 31): Required written contract and Thai-language disclosures
The operator must give the consumer a purchase document written in clear Thai showing the names of buyer and seller, the dates of purchase and delivery, and the right to terminate the contract, with the cancellation right printed more conspicuously than the rest of the text. The document must also state payment terms, place and method of delivery, how to cancel, how to return goods, the warranty, and replacement of defective goods. A purchase for which no compliant document is provided is not binding on the consumer. For multi-level direct sales, the contract with a distributor must also be in writing and set out compensation, fees, and buy-back conditions.
Pyramid schemes (Sections 19 and 46): Prohibited recruitment-based (pyramid) networks
No operator may run a business that solicits people to join a direct sales or direct marketing network by promising benefits calculated from the number of further recruits they bring in. In other words, income must come from genuine sales of goods or services to consumers, not from recruitment alone. This is the anti-pyramid rule, and it carries the heaviest penalty in the Act: imprisonment up to five years and a fine up to 500,000 baht. Distributors also cannot be forced to buy goods or pushed to buy unreasonably large quantities (Section 21).
Enforcement and complaints (Sections 13, 42 and 43): Regulator, registration revocation and appeals
The Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Board, supported by the OCPB, handles consumer complaints, supervises operators, and may publicly name goods, services, or operators that harm consumers. The Registrar can revoke an operator's registration if it stops complying with the Act. An operator denied registration or whose registration is revoked may appeal in writing to the Board within thirty days, and the Board's decision is final. If you have a problem with a direct seller or distance seller, the OCPB is the body to complain to.