11 Replies to "Door-to-door alert: The 'fundraiser' that apparently isn't"

• Fauntlee Phil July 18, 2010 (4:32 pm)

  Got a similar visit to my door on Thursday. “Brandon” (I think) said he was raising money to go on a class trip to Bath England. I don’t read magazines and he thought that was strange and said I could donate the subscription to a shelter, which I declined. He told me he lived 2 streets over on 41st.

  I had a like experience at my old place in the North end, and didn’t bite on that either. Something in either case just didn’t seem right to me.

  Thanks for posting this!!

• S July 18, 2010 (5:17 pm)

  Thank you for the heads up on this. I don’t usually answer my door unless I am expecting someone, but I will pass on the word of this “Fund Raiser” on to my neighbors that may not read the WSB.

• Jtk July 18, 2010 (10:08 pm)

  This is all well and good but it does no good unless you tell us where you actually live! And who gives a check to a solicitor? Let alone open the door. Isnt that why we post these so people dont even open the door. Common sense everyone. Common sense. ……

  • WSB July 19, 2010 (5:42 am)

    I followed up – 36th/Othello in Gatewood.

• HolyKow July 19, 2010 (9:07 am)

  As I posted in a recent “Rant” on the forums, Door to Doors suck, there oughta be law. This process’ usefulness has come and gone. It is a catch 22. If you do answer the door, rarely does any good come from it. If you do not answer the door, the gang bangers that just got the no answer will be back soon to try to take your stuff.

  If you ignore the NO SOLICITORS, THAT MEANS YOU! sign on my door and knock on my door anyway and I do not know you, I will take your picture and call the cops and give it to them for a trespassing violation.

  I just wanna spend the very few peaceful hours that I get with my family in peace.

  hk

• rulefollower July 19, 2010 (9:31 am)

  I had a similar solicitor stop by early last week or last weekend. He said he was raising money for study abroad from UW communications department. I was very suspicious because I would not expect UW to raise money this way. So I gave my typical line that I don’t give money through the door or over the phone. Then I went to look up any info on this but couldn’t find anything. He had a placard that he showed but it did not have anything about UW on it and looked like a magazine salesman placard. I live near 47th and Admiral.

• Jon July 19, 2010 (2:46 pm)

  My wife reports we had a door-to-door salesman on Othello this morning, near 40th. Nor sure if it was the same guy, as she said he seemed totally vague and not slick at all. She told him we had a “no solictiors” sign and he apologized for not seeing, then continued his spiel about exchange program between UCLA and UW. He apparently just would not leave. He kept asking about neighbors and if they had school-age kids. She finally got him to leave after several minutes, but he continued on down the street.

• Jon July 19, 2010 (3:06 pm)

  And, I just checked the UW national exchange programs list, and they list nothing with UCLA. My wife said he was roughly in his 20s, possibly 5-foot-10, around 160 pounds, black hair styled swept up on his head.

• Marie July 24, 2010 (7:10 pm)

  I’ve had two young men at my door in the past four or five days selling books to supposedly fund 1) a sports team and 2) a project for UW engineering students. The first time, I listened to the whole spiel and was shown checks and cash supposedly from sales made to neighbors next door and down the street. One check was for $165, which seemed really suspicious to me. I can see someone donating $10, but over $150? Didn’t seem likely to me. The second time I cut the solicitor short as soon as I saw him pull the same order form out of his pocket. Both young men seemed very polite and sincere and both claimed that their moms live just one block over from my house and that they know a lot of people in my neighborhood, but my sense was that they were not selling anything I wanted a part of. I live in the Alki area.

• Wendy August 10, 2010 (10:01 pm)

  Hello, just thought I’d share another door to door solicitor experience that just happened in my Bothell area home tonight… a college aged young man, dark hair, Asian, around 5′6 to
  5′10?, with an identification card on a lanyard around his neck, in a UCLA sweatshirt
  approached me in my yard, He asked if I was “the mother of the house”. I was a little confused about the question, then he introduced himself
  as a college student from UCLA who was looking to talk to parents of children high school to toddler age. I ask if he was selling learning material and he said yes. I said I wasn’t interested… he made some kind of note in a basic spiral notebook, I glanced and it looked like he had made a basic map of the houses on the street, maybe? He said was talking to some parents in my neighborhood and didn’t want to miss me. Then he got in his car and left. Honda civic with CA plates.
  Kinda Freaky if you ask me.

• Dawn September 1, 2010 (7:24 pm)

  OMG, Wendy! I live in AL and a very strange Dutch looking young woman did the same thing to me! I had seen her van drive by once or twice, but she didn’t come to my house until she saw my kids outside playing. She had a hand drawn map on her clipboard and it really freaked me out. She tried to play herself off as someone sent by the local school and said she worked with teachers and students. When I looked I didn’t believe her, she said, “Oh, you haven’t heard of me?” I told her I had not and that she needed to go before someone called the police on her (which I did). She had a permit, it turns out, but I felt creeped out. It was like she was stalking kids in my neighborhood. The police station dispatcher knew EXACTLY who I was talking about when I called and I told them there was something weird about her. I didn’t catch the company she was with, but she used the same phrases you mention and had the name badge…

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