Angry about lying solicitors.

[Texas42]

I was at my parent's house, just chatting, and a fellow walked up to the door. He looked to be about mid/early 30's with a HS aged boy who was round around the middle. He waved like he knew who we were blah blah.

I opened the door and he went on his speel. . . blah blah blah "we are part of some baseball team that made it to some national tournament. . blah blah blah. . . .my dad is in Irag . . he flies F16's. blah blah . . . buy this stuff from us."

Seening that this guy was in his 30's (which would have made his dad in his 50's at least [do they have 50 year old F-16 pilots? . . I'm not really familiar with the air force, but I really don't think so]). That kid was probably fairly accomplished at baseball on video games. . .but I really doubt he was much good at real athletics.

They claimed to live on a street that does not exist. My neiborhood is Hunters Creek, but there is no streat named as such.

My dad turned them down. I'd smelled a bit of a rat at the time, and my parents explained that this isn't the first time that these kinds of fellows had been around.

Just made me angry.

 

[San Antone RR]

Scammers come in all shapes and sizes. Sux.

Kid might be a baseball player; ever seen Fernando Valenzuela or John Kruk?

 

[TexasRedneck]

I'd have been forced ta sound all excited, say "Just a minute - let me go get my checkbook!!", then close the door an' go take a nap...

 

[Clockwork]

F16s are usually piloted by Captains, sometimes on up to Lieutenant Colonels...

If you meet a 50-something Light Colonel he's probably in the Guard/Reserve. It isn't impossible, though.

 

[Texas Bulldog]

I had 6 nights in a row when they came to my apartment approx 2 months ago. Each one was a lying sack of crap. I walk around my place with a ruger LCP in my pocket at the very least... when i opened the door the first time (and the only time), when i didn't buy the magazine subscription from him so he could go to Cancun i went to shut the door politely and he put his foot in my door jam. I told him "You better back off, you don't want to know what i have in my other hand"... he moved his foot and i locked the door. Gave strict orders to my fiancee to NOT open the door to anyone she doesn't know.

They all came to the door between 9-10pm and i noticed the same van coming in every night around the same time, honk the horn and like termites they all piled in the vans and left. I called the cops and apartment complex and a cop who lives in this complex gave me his cell and told me to call if they come back. He kicked em' out and that group never came back.

the last night we were waiting for pizza to be delivered and the lady was all shaken up, i asked if she was OK and said some guy ran up to her asking her for money, i asked her to come in and then that guy came to my door about the Magazine subscriptions... we waited a few minuets and i walked her out to her car.

aggressive dirtbags.

 

[Burt Gummer]

I had 6 nights in a row when they came to my apartment approx 2 months ago. Each one was a lying sack of crap. I walk around my place with a ruger LCP in my pocket at the very least... when i opened the door the first time (and the only time), when i didn't buy the magazine subscription from him so he could go to Cancun i went to shut the door politely and he put his foot in my door jam. I told him "You better back off, you don't want to know what i have in my other hand"... he moved his foot and i locked the door. Gave strict orders to my fiancee to NOT open the door to anyone she doesn't know.

They all came to the door between 9-10pm and i noticed the same van coming in every night around the same time, honk the horn and like termites they all piled in the vans and left. I called the cops and apartment complex and a cop who lives in this complex gave me his cell and told me to call if they come back. He kicked em' out and that group never came back.

the last night we were waiting for pizza to be delivered and the lady was all shaken up, i asked if she was OK and said some guy ran up to her asking her for money, i asked her to come in and then that guy came to my door about the Magazine subscriptions... we waited a few minuets and i walked her out to her car.

aggressive dirtbags.

We have lots of those kinds in Austin. I almost arrested half a van load of knuckleheads who were based in SA but were coming to Austin to sell candy etc. They had a van with California plates and they would drop guys off at gas stations and convenience stores etc. They would then pick them up later on.

We have a few bands of the church guys handing out stuff. They are predominantly aggressive and obnoxious and we ticket them frequently. Many of them are felons and the church is where they are living once they get out of prison. Every time I look one up I find out they are career criminals with lots of dope involvement, not just the innocent guy who messed up once and paid his dues to society.
Anything that is being sold door to door is probably not a good product or they would not need to do it that way!
Never open to solicitors unless you have a hand full of pistol behind the door just in case.

 

[Rabies]

We put up a no solicitor sign. Guess we have to add, "this means you". The number of door to door has declined but not stopped. It's usually home improvement salesman; roofers, windows, screens, insulation and the like. We get electric, phone, internet and TV guys too. The church folks seem to have quit. Maybe its just been too cold.

I did get two shady looking guys a few weeks ago. Dressed in jogging suits with no visible ID or clip boards. They were knocking and I was looking through the peep hole. Didn't answer. After they left, me and a Dragoon took a walk around the yard. Called PD and they asked some questions and thanked me for calling.

Now, when we lived in an apartment in Irving, we had 5 guys come knocking on our door. We had a peep hole and a window with blinds just off the balcony so I could see real good. It was in the 60's out and they were dressed like Eskimos. One was at the door, two on either side and two on the stairs. They looked like an Arctic entry team. PD came out for that one. They did a few laps around the complex.

 

[Outbreak]

I got one a while back. Freaked me out because I had just bought and moved into my house about a month before, and was due to deploy within weeks. This otherwise attractive woman knocked on my door, though she looked a little methy. Fed me a line about how she worked for a local "well known" cleaning company (later found out it doesn't exist) and was offering free cleanings of a room as a sample of their services. The more cleanings the provided, the more points toward a vacation to Vegas they earned. I had a Kel-tec in the pocket of my pajamas, but I was feeling like crap (hungover) and allowed the conversation to go on too long. I insisted I did not need anything in my home cleaned, and she claimed that simply sweeping some leaves an grass clippings off my porch would count toward her vacation. I told her if she wanted to sweep my porch, she could have at it. She said she would go get her supplies and be back in a few minutes. I locked the door.

About 15 minutes later, a pair of young men, in their early 20's, wearing khakis and button down shirts show up at my door. I quickly realized my new dream home didn't have a peephole on the front door, and there were no windows that could view the porch. (I fixed the problem that day) They had a duffle bag and some boxes full of cleaning supplies and said they were there for the cleaning. I told them to go ahead and went to close the door. They insisted they needed to clean a room, not just the porch. I refused to let them in, and told them I would not be letting them into my house. I locked the door. Then I called the cops to report the suspicious "cleaning service." They took the report but since I didn't have a vehicle description, and none of my neighbors had seen them, there wasn't much they could do.

Now I have a peep hole on my front door, and none of my stuff was stolen during my deployment. But I'm much more suspicious of door-to-door solicitors.

 

[Texas42]

F16s are usually piloted by Captains, sometimes on up to Lieutenant Colonels...

If you meet a 50-something Light Colonel he's probably in the Guard/Reserve. It isn't impossible, though.

So the kid's grandfather might have actually flown F16's, but how does that correlate with he and his dad selling magazine subscriptions for a baseball team (assuming he was telling the truth). I'm thankful for his service, but I'd never cash in on the service of my family and friends.

 

[TexasRedneck]

To me, it's much like the folks that use Christian symbols on their business adds/cards. My experience has been that every single one has turned out to be a con artist. A true Christian will show his faith by his actions rather than some symbol. Lest there be any misunderstanding, I DO consider myself Christian - it's just what I've seen in my years in business.