Watch out for the home improvment trolls!

[Mus408]

Yep Spring is coming and had a run in with one yesterday while walking the dog....no business truck in sight and he's walking around the street with clipboard. He wanted to know if I needed a new roof,gutters and windows. I replied no I was good.

Then again this morning I'm about to walk up my driveway and a couple guys,from 2 doors down yell
"Hey...do you need gutter guards?" Guess they figure I have a big Income Tax Refund coming but no not this year.

Watch out for them this year!

 

[Conservative]

Irish Travelers and Gypsies should have a bounty placed on their heads.

They practice crime (and sigh, they're are others) who think crime is a sort of honorable trade of sorts. They're a societal cancer.

I would like to see a group form to counter their efforts....The police are handcuffed....

 

[Pat-inCO]

He wanted to know if I needed a new roof,gutters and windows.

SEE! You missed another opportunity!

You should have said YES! I DO!
And then given them directions to some place a mile away.
You'll even sign the contract, with a signature that no one can read,
for a name of Illbet Ura Dummy.

 

[pisgah]

Had one knock on my door last year to sell me windows. I immediately said no and asked him to leave. He kept talking. I asked to see his peddler's license, required for door-to-door in this town. He said his partner had it.
I then noticed a clone of this guy 2 doors down. I again asked him to leave. He kept talking. I raised my cell phone, dialed 911, told the 911 operator I had a man refusing to leave my property -- and he took off running down the street, shouting to his buddy. Within 2 minutes, 3 patrol cars hit the block, and within 5 minutes they were hooking up three of the window guys and hauling them off.

I bet that guy listens to a polite request to leave in the future...

How did the cops get here so quick? They were just coming out of a burger joint two blocks away after having lunch when the call came -- and one of them lives 2 doors down on the same street as me.

 

[Jeepnik]

Can't say I've ever had that kind of scammer. Plenty of other types but not this one.

 

[gasbag]

We have a wrap around front porch.
I got so tired of the yearly influx of scam artists, salesmen and local church folk
I enclosed the entire porch with railing. Now no one gets to the front door. Life is good.
If I didn't invite you or you didn't call first do not bother coming.
We get into the house via the garage door in case you were wondering, although I doubt it.

 

[wwb]

A few years back, before we got caller ID, we got a call from some siding outfit, wanted to come and give us an estimate (and a sales pitch) for vinyl or aluminum siding (I forget which). These days, with caller ID, it wouldn't get answered. Anyhow, it's important at this time to note that I live in a log home - wanna try putting siding on it?

Just for the heck of it, I went ahead and made an appointment.... at the designated time, a car pulled up in the street, paused briefly, and left...... never even pulled into the driveway. They want to waste my time, I'll waste theirs.

 

[Conservative]

Given I live in the country and my house is fenced/gated no door to door pia's bother me.
It just doesn't happen any more.

However, before all that was installed, a complete stranger looking rather unsavory to boot, 20 something year old, knocked on my storm door (which I keep locked) and actually reached for the door handle to discover it locked when we eyeballed each other. This strange goofball thought I'd just let him waltz into the house to tell me his story of his lost dog. He then eyed my other arm which was behind my back with a firm grip on the Ruger...

He decided I wasn't buying his bogus sounding story and moseyed on down the line. Quickly.

Upon reflection, I should've called the Sheriff's Dept to verify his highly questionable story...

Behind me back, after hearing the knocking I grabbed my Ruger SP101

 

[Ugly Hombre]

I had some scammers call me with the fix roof scam.. I told them not no but hell no-
told them I logged their number and to take me off their call list.

Next day-

Irish Travelers again- they were knocking on doors in my area to see who was home.

"Got to meet the neighbors" one was singing out. Knocking on doors to see it people were home not using the door bell. Knocking on the doors trying them to see if they are locked.

Went outside and told them to take off.

I called the cops told them about it.

Irish travelers are a strange bunch, very dark life style- google "Irish Traveler Crime"
You will see what is going on in our country and across the world.

 

[Mobuck]

That type doesn't come around here much. Guess they figure I don't have any $$ to spend by the look of the place.
OR
They've heard stories and don't want to end up at the bottom of an old well hugging a cinder block. Really, I have no idea how such a story might got started-really I don't.

 

[chowser51]

I have a second floor deck to the side where I can see the main door. Whenever they come a knocking, I'm on the deck with my silenced SBR hanging around my neck asking who is it and if they can read the sign or not.

 

[SR1911SHOOTER]

Several years ago, some dirt bag Travelers scammed my Mom out of $1500.00.
Told her they would fix the roof on her car port, and of course, they did not.
Guy's name was "Robby House", fitting huh? Anyway, I was visiting and put
up a ladder to check their work. The original shingles were still there, matched
the leftover stuff in the tool shed. Cops said they could not find the guys and
even then not a whole lot they could do unless there were witnesses that they
did no work.
Blackie

 

[Jeepnik]

It's not just the groups we've talked about you have to watch. Some years ago a guy from Sears talked his way into my mom's place and had her sign papers to have her cabinets refaced. There wasn't a darned thing wrong with them. I arrive just after it happened and the woman who was my mom's care giver told me what was going on.

I immediately called the number on the paperwork to cancel. You have 72 hours in this state to cancel with no cost. They gave me the run around for a couple of minutes and when I told them I was going to notify the state attorney's office they suddenly became very compliant.

I also told them that if they ever sent anyone to my mom's place again I'd come down and explain thing in person. Never heard from them, or anyone else again. I wonder if they trade a list of "don't go there".

 

[Ugly Hombre]

People who target the elderly and kids are the worst kind of humans on the planet.

There is a lot of information on the Travelers on the web- don't forget- google search "Irish Traveler Crime"

A hell of a lot of information will come up. Information you should know about.

 

[Mobuck]

Mother-in-law is approaching 85 and probably looks like an easy target for this sort of thing. She doesn't sign or agree to repairs or whatever w/o asking advice first. Any service work done is subject to approval by Tom or myself. When she mentions this to local(ish) workers, it puts a different spin on whatever play they may be working.
She had new shingles and roof vent installed 5-6 years ago. I showed up while the guys were loading their tools, pulled my ladder out of the pickup, and climbed on the roof with a notebook. I'm pretty sure that action got passed around amongst the other contractors at the coffee shop the next morning.

 

[bearman49709]

Anyhow, it's important at this time to note that I live in a log home - wanna try putting siding on it?

I don't think it would be any harder than when they put siding on my log house.
Can't tell you when that was because it was like that when I bought it over twenty years ago, never had any problems with it.

 

[Pat-inCO]

Anyhow, it's important at this time to note that I live in a log home
- wanna try putting siding on it?

Almost like the one a few years back that wanted to paint my house.
Mine is all brick exterior.

Or the one that was going to save me hundreds of dollars every month.
I asked how and she asked how much my monthly payment is. I told her
the truth, ZERO, it's paid for . . . . pause then "click".

Cured all that with the answering machine for phone, and carry a side
arm when I answer the door. The gun also seems to work on those
selling their religion door to door. :roll:

 

[Kevin]

Pat, here in Dallas, it is quite common to paint all brick houses. I can't explain why, our house is part brick and I wouldn't paint the brick part at all.

 

[Conservative]

Plus, on the extraordinarily rare (I'm gated and fenced and for the most part not terribly social as I can't speak much any longer - my larynx is almost destroyed) time folks who aren't neighbors, knock on my door, I don't carry my pistol...it's in my hand behind my back.

Fortunately, my neighbors are gun people and if they see my rather odd posture once I come to the door, (one hand behind my back) they know what I'm doing and it's something they do too...when unexpected knocks are done to their doors.

Are we just all paranoid, red neck freaks?

No, most minimally have four year college degrees or graduate or terminal.

None, are willing victims...