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Presidents Message: Opportunists Knock

A mild winter and an early and unseasonably warm spring means that door- to-door sales could be at an all time high this year. With the arrival of good weather the Better Business Bureau would like to give you a heads up when it comes to potential door-to-door scams that are making their way back into the area.

A classic scam is the door-to-door magazine sales. Typically, young men or women (ranging from late teens to early twenties) will come to your door, giving a sales pitch that may have to do with raising money for a trip overseas for their education. They may also say that they are raising money for their high school or college. Who wants to deny a young person their dream of college? These salespeople may even have laminated ID badges to show you, along with a sad story. They might also tell you that they are being judged on how well they do with their presentation. Finally, the catch will come... you have to purchase something, which is usually a magazine subscription. Sadly, most consumers that end up giving their money away for those subscribers will never receive a magazine or see their money again.

Other door-to-door scams might include salespeople claiming to be from an alarm company, cable or telephone company, roofing repair, driveway paving, tree trimming or home improvement.

Tips to avoid a door-to-door scam:

Don't let them in your house. While there are legitimate salespeople that still make door-to-door visits, consumers should be very cautious by not allowing any unexpected guests into their home. If someone comes to your door that you do not know, you should ask who it is through a closed door. If it's a solicitor and you don't want to talk to them, simply tell them to leave. If you do open the door, don't open it wide and don't invite them in. If you feel like you are in danger, you should immediately call the police.

Pay attention and listen carefully to what they say. If you think that the salesperson may be lying, ask for the name of their school, company, or association that they are representing, along with their contact information. Verify that this salesperson is actually associated with the group, and then verify that the company is legitimate by obtaining the full company name and address and by checking with the BBB. Tell them that you'd like to verify everything first, then get back to them.

Don't be pressured into anything. Salespeople will try using high pressure sales techniques in order to get you to buy their product. Hold your position, and don't allow them to win you over with words like "this offer is only valid for today", or "I won't be in this area again" as they will try to keep you talking so long that you'll finally wear down and say "yes." They hope that you will just "give-in" so that you can get rid of them. The Federal Trade Commission's Three-Day Cooling-Off Rule gives the customer three days to cancel purchases over $25 that are made in their home or at a location that is not the seller's permanent place of business. Along with a receipt, salespeople should also include a completed cancellation form that customers can send to the company to cancel the agreement. The company must give customers a refund within 10 days of receiving the cancellation notice.

As we are finalizing this newsletter we have recently conducted our Integrity Awards event in the Quad Cities. This year's new venue, the Hotel Blackhawk served as a lovely backdrop for attendees who packed the historic Gold Room. Pictured below are our Business of Integrity winners and a great group of Student of Integrity honorees. The BBB is grateful to our participants and our generous sponsors including: Modern Woodmen of America, Quad City Bank and Trust, WQAD HD TV, General Asphalt Construction Company, Iowa American Water Company, MidAmerican Energy, Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, Brus Construction LLC, Cervantes & Gordon PLC, Jersey Grille Sports Restaurant and Molyneaux Insurance. A special thank you to our master of ceremonies, news anchor RaeChelle Davis of WQAD HD TV 8. Kudos to Patt Englander our Quad Cities Community Representative for a great event.

Business winners from left to right are:
Karl Swanson, PCT Engineered Systems; Mike Horsfield, Rock Valley Physical Therapy; Molly Newell, EnviroNET; Rick John, The Sedona Group; Gary and Will Froeschle, The Froeschle Agency.

Student winners from left to right are:
Sarah Turner, Muscatine High School; Christian VanSpeybroeck, United Township High School, East Moline IL.; Erin Dorpinghaus, Central Community High School, DeWitt, IA.

A full report on the Integrity Award activities will be made in our next quarterly newsletter.

Happy Spring!

---Chris Coleman