Oh-me-oh-my...
We live in an apartment complex and have people come and knock on our door to sell stuff frequently. I hate it. AJ is such a huge softy that he can't say no. I on the other hand have no problem saying no. This has been a topic of conversation many times in our household. I have asked him to please not buy anything from a door salesman because a) whatever they have, we do not need and b) I don't want to get scammed by a creepy salesman.
Well last night we had a knock on our door. AJ answered it and went outside to talk with whoever it was. I assumed it was a friend of his. A few minutes later, he walked in followed by a young charismatic man. I wasn't quite sure what was going on.
To make a long story short, AJ purchased a magazine subscription from this kid (for $60.00!!) . As soon as he was back out the door, I immediately googled the "business" he said he worked for:
Midwest Circulation LLC
In the first few things that come up on google:
Midwest Circulation LLC Magazines BEWARE - Topix
When I clicked on the topics and read the conversations regarding the company it made me feel even worse...
"These idiots prey on the military. They cane to my town and scammed my husband and several of his friends out of several hundred dollars. We found Out it was a sam and went looking for them te next day. Even though we live in a city we had many guys on the case cannot several different areas. We ended up catching one of their associates (used a "sting operation") and got him arrested. These are low life criminals and they all gave us the same line of bullshit... How they were home less before and didn't have food or anything and the company saved them. They could win A trip to...(insert carribean location, they all used different ones). Said proceeds would be donated to a children's hospital. Also played up the military card..."
Although our guy didn't tell AJ he was homeless, he said that he was a college student saving money and looking to win a bonus or trip to Europe. He also said that we could donate the magazines to a children's hospital and that would get him more "points" for his trip/bonus.
If you go to the website... www.midwestcirculationllc.com - you get nothing. It's bogus.
I continued my research and read this:
"The field agents are encouraged to lie to the potential customer about if they get commission, they are told to say they are in a contest they are trying to win a educational vacation abroad, trying to win a scholarship, trying to win points, or selling magazines for charity."
And also this:
"If you gave a check, cancel the check and then try to call to cancel the subscription. I know calling will be fruitless but at least make the attempt and keep a record of it. It would be best to close your checking account because the company and sales person now has your routing number and account number. It can be used to transfer money out of your account even if you cancel the check."
Last night AJ & I spent a long time on the phone. We called our bank to not only put a stop on the check, but to change our checking account number and bank information so that it could not be used. We then called the police and crime stoppers to report the individual. This morning I have also spent a lot of time on the phone because just yesterday I wrote a check to Idaho DMV for AJ's new Idaho vehicle registration that I had to make sure would still be allowed to clear. We are still working on changing our account information for our direct deposits and our online bills. Also we called and informed out apartment complex and they let us know (I had no idea!) that the complex actually has a huge no solicitation policy!! It's just been a huge mess.
A few things from this:
#1) AJ learned that I am always right. ;)
#2) We are putting a no solicitation sign on our door.
#3) As sad as it is, you have to be so careful. AJ would never do anything to harm anyone and so it's hard for him to think that anyone else would.
#4) AJ learned again that I am always right. (Need to put that in twice.. lol =) )
Although it's a little embarrassing, I felt the need to blog about it today. It's important that everyone learn from our mistake. Fortunately for us, the only thing it cost us was some time and a 15$ check stop fee by our bank.. But it could have been so much worse, as there are reports of fraudulent door to door salesman using the "sale" as a chance to check out your home, learn info about you, and break into your home/apt later to rob you blind. (Which is why we informed not only the police but our complex. Luckily our apartment is in a central location and we have two huge dogs the kid last night didn't seem to be fond of.)
Here are some great pages for information regarding scams, what to look for, and how to handle the situations:
Also, check out the Better Business Bureau website for any sales company trying to pry money out of you. I checked Midwest Circulation and they have an F. (Not surprisingly the address they gave for subscription cancellation doesn't even exist..)
So yes. We were scammed last night. I really should have put a stop to it the second the kid walked in the door with AJ. It was a good learning experience for the both of us. It's definitely embarrassing for us both, which is AJ's biggest frustration. He feels completely stupid about the whole situation. He shouldn't because I have to say, the young man was good. If I didn't know about these scams and how they worked already, I probably would have just been annoyed that we paid that much for a children's magazine subscription and gone to bed. Charismatic, young, handsome, clean clothes and up-kept attire, nothing about him said scam.
So this is for all of you, to learn from our mistakes and experiences.
