JLew posted Wed, May 6th:
Madison Park
US > North Carolina > Charlotte NC metro > Charlotte NC > Madison Park > Door-to-Door sales scam
Door-to-Door sales scam
Posted in: Madison Park
- just1spirit
- Valued Neighbor
- USA
- 2 Posts
Tonight a young girl calling herself Denise came to my door after 8pm and asked if she could talk to me about making a 100% tax deductable donation for her to go to school. She said she was accepted in a summer training program at Oxford University , London and her father said she had to pay for half the trip. She says she lives on Glenham Dr. and is asking all the neighbors for help. She said if I chose 2 different children's books for a total of 10 they would be sent to Levine Children's hospital and St. Jude's. Then she said that 80% would come back to her to help with her trip. She said she wants to study to do the weather and become a storm chaser.
So I wrote a check for $110.00 thinking it was nice to help a neighbor go off to college. She had me make out the check to Prestige USA and gave me a receipt. After she left I went online to check out Prestige USA and found over a dozen reports that this is a scam. The people that wrote in from other states told the same story I just told about being accepted to a training program in London only it was different people with different names in different states all with the same company.
I immediately called my bank and cancelled the check which cost me $35.00 and called a neighbor that I know she got money from and gave her the information I had. It's a sad day that someone under 18 years old will walk into someone's house and lie to them to get their money. If she would have stopped me on the street and said I need money for food or housing I would have given it to her with no hesitation. But to look me in the eye and lie to get it is inexcusable.
Thought you may want to be on the lookout.
Tags: Crime
May 4th, 08:16 PM Report Reply
- marty5223
- Mentor
- Charlotte, NC
- 361 Posts
Thanks......
I am alerting our community officers to this incident.
Thanks for posting!
yesterday at 07:29 AM Report Reply
- marty5223
- Mentor
- Charlotte, NC
- 361 Posts
A resident of Madison Park on Valley Forge just called and said that he came out of his house and found this person standing next to his truck yesterday. She told him she lived on Londonderry Road and had two kids.
He called 911 and the police could hear the person as she became loud with this resident. The police came right out and told her to leave the area.
The officers perhaps did not know of the other incident mentioned above.
If you have this person approach you ...get a description....and direction she leaves in.... and call 911.
Don't give her any money or checks!
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FOLLOW UP By Sergeant Jacquelyn Hulsey
I've sent this info out to all of the response area officers and asked them to be on alert. I also made an inquiry with the fraud unit to see if they had any information. If you hear of more activity like this please let me know. These types of things come and go, but we certainly want to curtail them as quickly as we can if they're fraudulent. Thanks...
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Interesting Article by This warning from the Better Business Bureau about the magazine sales
BBB Warning: Magazine sales scams go door-to-door
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers that magazine sales crews will be out in force this summer going door-to-door trying to earn money. In the last 12 months alone, the BBB has received 1,100 complaints from consumers in 46 states and the District of Columbia against more than 50 companies that sell magazines door-to-door.02:31 PM EDT on Thursday, May 7, 2009
Many of these companies employ young adults who are looking to earn money over the summer. These crews are sent to communities to knock on doors and sell magazines-sometimes without appropriate licensing. These young people are taught how to close the sale by using high pressure tactics and emotional sales pitches. For example, they may explain that they are working to get their lives back on track, raising money on behalf of a charity or for a school trip, or even selling subscriptions to support troops in Iraq. These emotion-based sales pitches are effective, but not usually true.
"Complaints filed against door-to-door, magazine sales companies allege that the sales representatives used high-pressure and misleading sales tactics and that magazines orders were not fulfilled on a timely basis, if at all," said BBB president Tom Bartholomy.
In this area, the Better Business Bureau has received a total of 286 complaints filed against two magazine companies owned by James and Lourdes Davis of Charlotte - Trinity Public Relations in Charlotte, N.C. and Seedtime Publications in Rock Hill, S.C. Of the 286 complaints, 161 were filed against Trinity Public Relations and 125 were filed against Seedtime Publications.
James and Lourdes Davis originally operated Trinity Public Relations in Tampa, FL from 2003 until 2005. Then, the Davis's moved to Charlotte, N.C. and re-opened Trinity Public Relations where they racked up 161 complaints with the BBB in less than two years.
Complainants report not receiving the subscriptions they paid for and some complainants allege that the sales reps used high pressure sales tactics. A Concord woman felt intimidated by a Trinity Public Relations sales rep who became angry when she wouldn't buy a magazine. She bought a magazine to get the sales rep to leave, and then she called the police. At nine months pregnant, she went into labor from the frightening ordeal and had her baby a few hours later.
In 2007, N.C.'s Attorney General secured a Consent Order in Wake County Superior Court against Trinity Public Relations and James and Lourdes Davis that permanently prevented them from owning, managing, participating in or operating any business in N.C. that offers or sells magazines.
Shortly after being barred from doing business in N.C. in 2007, James and Lourdes Davis changed their magazine sales company name to Seedtime Publications and began using a rented mailbox in Rock Hill, S.C. as their business address, although they still lived in Charlotte. Soon, the BBB began receiving complaints about Seedtime Publications -- 125 complaints in 2007 and 2008. Most complainants had not received the magazines they ordered and could not get their money refunded.
Attempts to contact Seedtime Publications or James and Lourdes Davis have not been successful and they are believed to be out of business - for now, at least. However, there are dozens of other door-to-door magazine sales companies that will be sending out troops of sales people all over the country this summer. A few with F ratings from the BBB include:
--Omni Horizons, Inc. - Michigan City, IN - has received 122 complaints from consumers in 17 states.
--True Visions, Inc. - Chesapeake, VA - has received 82 complaints from 13 states.
--Greater Image, Inc. - Memphis, TN - has received 71 complaints from 16 states.
--Fresh Start Opportunities - Seattle, WA - has received 66 complaints from seven states.
"Customers are not the only victims of this scam," Bartholomy added. "The young salespeople are also being taken advantage of and forced to work long hours, endure substandard living conditions, and have their wages withheld from them."
The BBB offers the following advice to avoid getting scammed by door-to-door magazine sales.
--Check businesses out at www.bbb.org before making a purchase.
--Don't be pressured into buying on the spot. Take time to make thoughtful purchases.
--Remember that the Federal Trade Commission's Three-Day Cooling-Off Rule gives you three days to cancel purchases over $25 that are made in your home or at a location that is not the seller's permanent place of business.
--If you are a victim of fraudulent magazine sales or any other scam, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org or local law enforcement.
For more information, please visit www.bbb.org. You can also call the BBB at 1-877-317-7236 toll-free in N.C. and S.C.
