solicitors

anyone else have someone named Latkia? come to their door and try to sell them stuff? couldn't figure out what it was about- some kind of pyramid sales thing. just wanted to see if it was ligitament?

 

Yes, someone rang our door bell today I asked who was there with our intercom "Lynette, with ATC" was the reply we got. I then went to the door to see what it was about, by the time I got to the door no one was there so I walked down the driveway to see who had just rang our doorbell. Since I did not see anyone except a bunch of teenagers I headed back inside, once I got upstairs I looked out the window to see if maybe a delivery truck of some kind may be still be within sight. Again all I could see was the teenagers from the school bus, the two young women blended in with the crowd of teenagers from the school bus that apparently had just dropped off riders at the corner. I then saw two young women from the crowd head to one of the homes down the next corner. No one must have been home, so they walked back from the home rather quickly and that's when I was able to see a what seemed like large name tags hanging from their necks. I was willing to dismiss it as solicitors, but that's when I witnessed them head to the caravan of vehicles from the construction of Milford and Windover and actually access one of the vehicles and I guess look through its contents by then it was getting a bit hard to see if they took anything out or not at that point their intentions seemed negative to me so I called the non-emergency police number and reported it. The police said someone would be out to check it out, I suppose nothing turned up because later on today while checking my mailbox I noticed them walking away towards where the model homes used to be at in Southern Walk. I guess we will make sure to lock our car doors more often, and see about attending one the neighborhood watch meetings. So many solicitors come into our neighborhood, is anyone aware of what the policy is?

Kat, thanks for starting this post. What did they try to sell to you?

 

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050408/LOCAL/50408005/1078/news

tells of a similar problem in Gainesville, FL. FOlks who appear to be from a legitimate magazine selling group are actually casing houses.

 

We had someone come to our house a few days ago from ATC. It was a gentleman. He was dressed in a tie (albeit sloppily). I answered the door but told him I was in the middle of something so I didn't hear his pitch.

 

Someone came around our street yesterday from Omni something or other selling magazines. Luckily my neighbors were looking out for me and warned me not to answer the door. My front door can't be seen from the street (opens to wooded area) so I only open it if I know who it is.

 

Well, I am glad to hear I am not the only one that thought this was out of the ordinary- living in my suburbia bubble, I started thinking I was a little bored -
No, I thought it was my neighbor so I answered the door. I normally don't. There are too many solicitors and crazy ppl. out there. I think it always good to be cautious.
But, this lady was selling magazine subscriptions. She said she was "trying to better herself and had been a 'knuckle' head back in the day". That this was a second chance for her and if she earned enough points then she would be promoted... I don't know. It was all a little confusing. But, I thought I might find a magazine and being a "good natured" person I wanted to help. But, then she told me the fees and how additional money was added,etc. So, then I told her I didn't feel comfortable making this decision and asked if I could have some contact info. to reach them once I had thought about it. Then, this other girl popped out (she must have been going to other houses) and gave me a card. I actually just tried the number on the card, 888-822-9746 for D & T Connection, Inc. from Michigan City, and there was an voice mail saying if you are calling about your subscription press 1.,etc. So, I suppose it is a ligitamte service. Although, not necessarily.
However, it was odd and I will be on the look out for any other suspicous behavior in the neighborhood ( I ,too, am in Southern Walk). I am glad to see that we are an active community that is paying attention to what is going on.
By the way, I saw the same lady go behind the building trailer for Miller & Smith and come back out with a coat on. Then my friend down the street said she saw them kind of "nosing" around cars also.

 

I think this is legit. I bought a subscription from someone walking door-to-door last year. It could have been the same organization. I think it is just people trying to earn money for themselves/their organization by selling the subscriptions. The prices for the subscription were not very good - you can get a MUCH better deal by signing up for the magazine yourself, but I didn't mind b/c I figured it was for a good cause. They came to my door yesterday, too.

 

I talked to the young woman who answered my door. She's the same woman who was here last year as well. She allegedly works for a company that "helps good kids better themselves". She has a very glib sales pitch, and starts with an assurance that she's not trying to sell you something. She talks to you for at least 5 minutes before she shows you the list of magazines for sale. She gets different numbers of points for each magazine. When I said no, she got a little snippy, but that's it. She tried to convince me that my order was needed in order to keep her being an upstanding citizen.

I don't know if this group is a burglary ring, but I think it is entirely possible that it's a sleazy business outfit. Several years ago one of the local TV news broadcasts featured legitimate businesses that use children or college students to sell things. The buyer gets their merchandise so they aren't cheats, but the children are not fairly compensated. Their pay, in large part, is supposed to be related to the "points" system, and it takes a lot of sales to hit the points target. If this is the same type of organization, I don't want to buy anything from them.

All in all, this group has been here before. Repeatedly. I've lived here nearly 4 years, and I've seen them at least 3 times.

 

There are companies that hire inner-city youth to sell magazine subscriptions. Sounds like a legitimate business, right ?

Yes and no ... the subscriptions are legitimate, but the kids get the short end of the stick. They're bussed around in cars and vans, get put 3 or 4 to a room, and are out knocking on doors 8 to 10 hours a day.

Not sure of what they actually make, but I'm assuming not much. The subscriptions you buy are legitimate, but the problem is you find out later that what should be 12 issues a year, was subscribed at 8 issues a year so it sounds like you're getting a deal.

Then they automatically resubscribe you at a full year rate, and all you know about it is a bill. You still get your subscription, but you don't realize about the bill until you get the second issue or something like that. Then the bill arrives and states that since you've continued to accept issues, you've accepted another year .. so please pay up.

FWIW ... the only thing Google had for the D & T Connection was a location in Atlanta, with a different phone number than you list. Couldn't find anything on ATC ...


Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Have you people never seen Office Space?

"Good evening Sir, my name is Steve. I come from a rough area. I used to be addicted to crack but now I am off it and trying to stay clean. That is why I am selling magazine subscriptions."

 

Yeah but he's really an out of work software tech Now where's that red stapler??

 

One could post a "no solicitors" sign near your door but I've noticed these signs are either ignored or I'm wondering if the individuals cannot read????

 

I've heard that "I used to be on crack" line twice from people ringing my doorbell. I'm so sick of soliciters ringing my bell and waking my napping kids. I thought of the no solicitors sign but I haven't found a place to buy one!

 

A few months back we had a young kid, (20ish) stop by the house with no ID, no clip board, nothing to write with, and no info on the magazines he said he was trying to sell. He made a very lude comment to me as I was walking out and my husband came to the door. The kid asked my husband if he was going to shoot him...my husband said that depended. A few nights later the same kid went to a neighbors house and asked her if she was married since"she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. We called the non emergency number, but nothing happened. I heard on 20/20 that there are "organizations" that work with recently released criminals to go out to the "burbs" to case neighborhoods. We have suggested through the neighborhood watch program to possibly start an email chain as an FYI to residents when these things happen so people can be aware.

 

Good idea, Donna!

 

We have a no soliciting sign on our door and it doesn't work. We had a person ring the door yesterday to sell magazines and we get tons of ads stuck in the door.

 

How rude! Do these people actually think they aren't soliciting or do they just not care?

 

These people have come to our home each of the last 4 years. I get the same story everytime as you guys do, but what concerns me is that the cost of these magazine subscriptions are over 2x what you could normally get AND you dont write a check to the magazine, you write it to their company. Who's to say the magazine ever gets the order?
Im all for helping people for a 2nd chance, but door to door sales is not the answer. And I will not buy anything from door to door salesmen - too much risk if you ask me.

DwArFlOrD

 

I believe that in Loudoun County you are required to be registered with the Sheriff's office if you want to solicit. That way the Sheriff's Office knows who is out there. They take pictures of the people and give them something to wear around their neck.

Last summer there was young adult wandering my street looking VERY out of place. He was actually resting up on a neighbors porch. I called the Sheriff non-emergency number then went up to talk to him. They "company" he worked for was putting him and his "co-workers" up at a hotel (The Ramada Inn) in PG County. This kid was from Chicago.

They would drop a van-full of them in random neighborhoods, then pick them up at a central location (in his case McDonalds) at 9pm. I told him that I had called the Sheriff's office and told him to expect MORE people to call if he was knocking on doors after about 7:30pm or so. He said that he had already been stopped earlier that day and had his picture taken.

I also told him to tell his company that our county required registration if they wanted to continue selling in this area.