are our homes being cased?

[malcolm22]

hi

hello

we live on fauntleroy way just south of lincoln park and north of the ferry. in the last couple of months, we’ve had a few ‘kids’ come by, wearing a shirt and tie, telling us to open the door and talk to them about helping them raise money, with some vague mention of some vague program. they look to be late teens, with the last saying he was 19. we never open the door, and they eventually leave. every time my neighbors and i try to get details, they speak in the vaguest terms possible (today i heard something about the paragon program), but insist on us opening the door before divulging more details. most of these visits occur around 4pm, although one today was at 7pm

any thoughts? is this in any way remotely legitimate? any similar experiences lately? hate to be the suspicious and cynical type, but…

thanks very much

t.

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[carrot4]

Lucky for us, every time we’ve told someone “no thanks” through the door they’ve gone away. I’ve never had anyone insist that I open the door. That part seems suspicious to me. I would keep saying no.

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[ellenater]

I’d even go so far as to put up a no soliciting sign!

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[SEG]

I live North of the park, and on my way home from work on Saturday, I noticed a young guy wearing a tie walking up the hill a few blocks away. Two hours later he was knocking at my door. By the time I looked out the window to see who it was he was walking up the street. It struck me as odd and I have been keeping my eyes open since.

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[squareeyes]

I love my No Solicitors sign. I’ve only had one stranger knock on my door since I put it up a couple of months ago.

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[Annie]

It’s my understanding that any valid door-to-door salesperson has to wear an identification tag and carry something that shows the company is legit. Not sure if there’s some kind of law about that, but I’d sure ask for it and never let anyone in the house without it. Or even with it, for that matter.

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[malcolm22]

thanks for the responses. my issue is not whether or not to open the door. no way am i opening the door for anyone. hate to be that way, but sign of the times, i guess. my question is whether these guys are crooks or just kids trying to make a buck with some high school-ish project. i guess i have no way to tell at this point. good idea about the no-solicting sign, but i guess i’ll pass on that bc i’d rather know who’s out there and get a feel for what they want, by talking to them through the door.

my neighbor called the police about this yesterday, and surprisingly they advised her to call 911 next time and they would come and get to the bottom of it. so she says that’s what she’ll do next time.

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[Zenguy]

If they are legitimate solicitor’s they have to have id identifing themselves as well.

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[waterworld]

I live on Fauntleroy as well, just south of the park, and I’ve seen young men come around a couple different times this year. On a couple of occasions, I’ve either answered the door or been outside in my garden. If they are the same guys, or with the same company, they are selling magazines. I spoke with a couple of them, and they were both very nice kids. (I certainly didn’t feel threatened or put upon, and my house wasn’t burglarized later on.)

Unfortunately, the work they are doing is likely a ripoff for you and for them. In several states, the marketing firms that send these young folks out have been tagged for violating labor laws and minimum wage laws. They drop these young men off at a certain time and then pick them up hours later. They are not from the local community, they’ve got no money, no connections, and few options. The whole thing is sad, because I think the guys just want to earn a living wage.

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[WSB]

I replied to the OP in e-mail but FYI, the door-to-door soliciting law is permalinked in the “resources” section at the bottom of our Crime Watch page in case you ever need to refer to it.

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[Jerald]

I had one of these salesmen arrive on Mon. eve, also near Lincoln Pk. He didn’t frighten me, but made me uncomfortable by repeatedly telling me not to be scared because he was dark-skinned and it was dark out. It was difficult to interrupt his pitch, but as soon as I was able to say I wasn’t interested, he abruptly turned and strode away.

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[malcolm22]

thanks again for the further responses. now i finally know that they actually are selling something, i researched it a little, and it is sad

http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-07-17/news/what-mainstream-publishers-don-t-want-you-to-know-about-door-to-door-magazine-sales/1

long article, but you get the picture.

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[andrea]

omg…thanks for the post malcolm…that article should be a must read for everyone! there needs to obviously be so much more oversite of these companies its ridiculous…hiring underage kids, druggies, felons, rapists, murderers, all so they will sell magazines at your door for next to nothing to them…amazing.

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[shed22]

awesome article, malcolm!! thanks for including it in your post. i think i will print a few copies off and hand them to the door-to-door solicitors that inundate our neighborhoods in spring/summer. if anyone should be aware of this, it’s them.

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[beachdrivegirl]

What a great article, Malcolm. I am passing this information along to all my family and friends and I hope others do the same. Again thank you for sharing.

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[walfredo]

I bought magazines from those folks! It was definitely this crew- same stories.

She was pretty good at sales- as I bought three subscriptions. They were extremely overpriced… Sounds like she doesn’t actually get a commission either- just some sleazeballs take all the money… Too bad, what they are doing is hard work.

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