No I will not donate to your college fund

[golfgal]

Have you ever thought of using someone you know who could use a place to stay for 3 months? I'm a current nomad between my mom's and fiance's house but someone I know was going on an Americorps trip for 6 weeks. I was just in the process of moving out of an apartment with a roommate at that time. She just let me live in her house rent free (good for me) and I, in turn, took care of the house and it still was lived in (good for her).

Or something like that...

That is a good suggestion--another good place to look is local colleges/universities for professors coming into town on temporary teaching assignments.

 

[C.Ann]

Yep. They found the body of one of these young women near here. Apparently she was not at her pick up point so the van just left and never reported her missing. I think they finally ID'd her via genetics a year or so later. Her killer is still unknown.

Same thing happened right across the lake here - on a road I am very familiar with - just this past spring.. Originally they just found the skull - not sure if they ever found the rest of her remains.. At first they thought it might be that foster child that has been missing from the tri-city area for quite some time - whose foster father is a "person of interest" in regards to the little boys disappearance...

I believe when they finally identified this girl they learned she was 18 years old - from Colorado - and was in this area selling magazine subscriptions..

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

They came to our house a few years ago. One time it was a girl on a bike when i told her know she wanted to use the bathroom, I was alone with a baby, NO you cannot use my bathroom. Then the next year a guy came when I told him no he wanted to use my phone. WTH is wrong with you people. I do not want your magazine and you are not coming in my house or using anything I own.

Thay have not came in a few years. There are neighborhoods with nicer houses than ours, maybe that is where they are? I am glad they do not come anymore!

 

[MamaLema]

A little while ago, a man knocked on my door and asked for a donation to help save the children. When I told him I wasn't interested, he said "so you don't like or care about children?" I said "no" and shut the door.

After a while, he was circling the block and he came back to canvass the other side of our street at which he saw about 10 kids in my garage playing (all the neighbourhood kids come to our house to play). I looked at him and said "all this and I work in a daycare too"

 

[hereyago]

A little while ago, a man knocked on my door and asked for a donation to help save the children. When I told him I wasn't interested, he said "so you don't like or care about children?" I said "no" and shut the door.

After a while, he was circling the block and he came back to canvass the other side of our street at which he saw about 10 kids in my garage playing (all the neighbourhood kids come to our house to play). I looked at him and said "all this and I work in a daycare too"

This is a good one, I almost spit out my water!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Elmo9607]

Hearing stuff like this makes it hard for people who go door to door for stuff that's LEGIT. For example, when I was in high school and in FFA, we would sell cases of fruit as a fundraiser every year. We were immensly popular and it always made a ton of profit. You could either pay up front, or you could pay when your fruit was delivered. Questions were handled directly by the Ag department at school.

It was similar to the whole girl scout cookie thing around here...people would look forward to it and buy year after year. Since it's sooo popular and people love it and always assume it is legit, I can see how someone could easily manipulate the system

 

[DVC-Don]

Same thing happened right across the lake here - on a road I am very familiar with - just this past spring.. Originally they just found the skull - not sure if they ever found the rest of her remains.. At first they thought it might be that foster child that has been missing from the tri-city area for quite some time - whose foster father is a "person of interest" in regards to the little boys disappearance...

I believe when they finally identified this girl they learned she was 18 years old - from Colorado - and was in this area selling magazine subscriptions..

Yes! That's the same one. You must be close to us.

 

[C.Ann]

Yes! That's the same one. You must be close to us.

"As the crow flies..."

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I once had one of these kids come to my door. He was quite the charmer asking if my mother was home, calling me beautiful, ect. I told him he was a good little salesman however I wasn't interested but he persisted. After repeatedly stating I wasn't interested in buying anything from him Mr. Charm let his guard down and he told me he never had good luck in "rich" neighborhoods like this. Then he asked where could he find a neighborhood with "dirty white people" cuz they were much easier to sell to. I was horrified! Oh, that kid needed a good pop upside the head.

 

[powellrj]

A few years ago DS answered the door to a group of girls selling magazines. They flirted and really tried to hard sell him, but he is the last person to try the hard sell on!! Imagine his surprise to see all the girls pictures on the front page of the paper the next morning for getting arrested shoplifting at Kohls. None of them had a local address and were staying in a local motel.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Wow, you guys are making me feel lucky for living in a doorman building. Yikes. I do see these people on the subway, trying to sell candy for their "basketball team". A couple of these kids can't be older than seven or eight, and they usually team up with either a young adult or an older child, thirteen or fourteen. Obviously not selling for any team.

 

[MrsPete]

I don't understand the thought process:

I want you to buy my product.
You say no.
I insult you.
Are you suddenly going to say, "Well, since you put it that way, sure, I'll take two! What was I thinking? I wouldn't buy when I thought you were just an average kid, but now that I know you're a rude little trash-talking snit, I'll buy."

That'd never happen.

 

[bicker]

Well, to be fair, they're not selling a product; they're just raising money. They're probably not interested in later "business" - figuring that they had better not be selling magazines for their whole lives! If they were better than that, they probably wouldn't be selling magazines now.

 

[The Princess]

WOW how rude of those kids!!! They must be related to the people around my area that sell hoagies to help pay for Christmas!!!

 

[chager]

We get the kids every year. This year a boy of about 13 came by with the subscription thing. Told him no and then he asked me to donate to his college fund. I said I have my own son to put through college and he will be going a lot sooner then you. I am busy packing for a move so I forgot about it until just now. I was going to call the local newspaper since that is what he was offering and I got side tracked and forgot. Maybe I will call today.
A couple years ago some young boys came through. They stopped and played ball for a while. Apparently they were selling candy and had stashed it somewhere nearby. Long story short, another kid found it and took it. The young boys (about 12) were picked up without the goods. The adult was mad but gave me his contact number. I found out where the candy was, called the police, and gave them both the candy and the contact. I also told them I felt the boys were in danger. Not sure the outcome but I know there was an article about scam solitations and the use of children in the paper a short time later.

 

[krcit]

As I've gotten older I have less trouble saying no to people. On Memorial Day at around 6pm a nice looking young kid(early 20's) came by and told me he was selling research books. Dropped a few neighbors names and started to walk into my house. I said "No thanks I'm not interested." And he said "well is there someplace we can sit and talk." Ummmm, no. So I said "No, I'm not interested." And closed the door. My kids were horrified and said I was rude.

 

[texasthumper]

Those crews come through our town as well. They will tell people that they are marketing students from the local university where I work. Angry townspersons will call my phone to report that they were scammed by our (NON) students. Makes my blood boil!

One time years ago I was accosted by them in a University parking lot and they begged and begged me to buy something. When I got in my car they banged on it and hollered and I had to peel out of there. When I got home, I called and I reported it to the Kampus (Keystone) Kops but the guys were long gone by that time.

My former boss's grandson joined one of those crews a few years ago and said it was horrible.

To the OP, I wouldn't worry about them "casing" your house. I'm confident that they are LONG gone.

 

[ccgirl]

I had the same thing last year. Two young gentlemen. They were really snide and extremely persistent. I ended up being pressured into purchasing magazines but immediately had buyers remorse after they left. Their "humor" was quite in appropriate by the way. Anway, I read on the back of the receipt that you could cancel within 48 hours of emailing them. I did just that and never did get charged.

 

[MulanUSAF]

A few days ago, I had a teenage boy come to the door selling knives! We're talking about big huge kitchen knives. Even though he wasn't brandishing them at the door (the knives were in a briefcase), that was still unsettling.

Luckily I recognized the boy as one of my little brother's classmates from school, so I didn't call the cops immediately. But I gave him a talking to about how people in my neighborhood will most definitely be calling the cops on him. He said he couldn't find a regular summer job doing life guarding or busing tables, and this was the only gig he could find. Sad, but still...

 

[Toad_Passenger]

A few days ago, I had a teenage boy come to the door selling knives! We're talking about big huge kitchen knives. Even though he wasn't brandishing them at the door (the knives were in a briefcase), that was still unsettling.

Luckily I recognized the boy as one of my little brother's classmates from school, so I didn't call the cops immediately. But I gave him a talking to about how people in my neighborhood will most definitely be calling the cops on him. He said he couldn't find a regular summer job doing life guarding or busing tables, and this was the only gig he could find. Sad, but still...

Wow! Kids out there still do work for "Cutco?" Cutco was the name of the knife company that always advertised for "Summer Work" in our area. It was legitimate, but most kids gave up after 2 or 3 days of having doors slammed in their face.

I can't stand solicitors. We get the Clean Water activists, cable companies, and of course the worst one...the guy who says, "I had some extra steaks in my van after my deliveries today, and I'll get in trouble if I go back with them. You can have all of them for $150."