Ex young offender door to door salespeople

[Jagmanv12]

I've just had one of those people trying to sell houshold cleaning materials, etc at the door. They usually produce a laminated card supposedly from the police to show they are on a bonafide scheme.

The items are fairly high priced so I guess it's scam/ripoff?

I can't see the police issuing these laminated cards.

[singlecoil]

That would be my guess too.

Living where I do I rarely get these guys any more, but when I do I just say "sorry mate, I'm skint". Gets rid of them quicker than anything else would.

[vonhosen]

Nottingham knockers

[Speed 3]

http://www.safelocaltrades.com/consumers/advice/no...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[battered]

New take on an old scheme. 25 years ago it was "nerding". The lads used to pretend to be dimmer than they are, you'd take pity on them traipsing round in the freezing cold, in the pre-Poundland days they'd get you to buy whatever they had got cheap wholesale. I don't regard it as a scam or a rip-off, nobody's being intimidated, you buy if you want. Go back another 20 years, it was Indian immigrants knocking on doors. I don't think they had to invent a story, they were genuinely down on their luck when my mum took pity on them, gave them a glass of water on a hot day and bought a couple of cheap T shirts.

[Minemapper]

Twice a week minimum here. My soft-hearted wife bought something once, so now we're on a list, I suppose. I try to turn them down gently, but have had a couple get pretty mouthy with me. Patience is wearing thin.

[andy118run]

Minemapper said:

Twice a week minimum here. My soft-hearted wife bought something once, so now we're on a list, I suppose. I try to turn them down gently, but have had a couple get pretty mouthy with me. Patience is wearing thin.

My strategy is fairly simple - don't answer the door. We also have a door bell which doesn't work so half the time I don't hear them anyway.

Back in the day, I had a German Shepherd who when ballistic whenever there was a knock at the door. He used to kindly accompany me to the door, with me clinging for dear life to his collar. These people never hung around for more than a few seconds to chat.

[CAPP0]

vonhosen said:

Nottingham knockers

What Von should have posted was, google the above term - you will find lots of information and you'll know what to do next time they turn up.

[Speed 3]

We've also had a couple of variations:

• ex-serviceman fallen on hard times (playing on the HFH mood)
• trainee salesman who has to book £x sales in y days to get a permanent job

Whilst these are all scams, what does amaze me is the ever increasing size and weight of the tote bags they carry. If you knew there wasn't a gangmaster in the background taking a big slice you'd be more tempted to help them.

[TooLateForAName]

I've noticed that they are increasingly aggressive.

Local police say don't deal with them and ring 101 to report them.

[Andyblue]

Organised crime groups.

Burglars eyeing up your car and house.

( not all though fo the benifit of the trustworthy type )

[Brads67]

I usually buy a couple of cloths and wish them luck.

Seems better than not working at all.

[rxe]

I can second the "big dog approach". Answer the door hanging onto a large German Shepherd, and say "yes, I'd love one of those towels, but if I let go of the dog, he'll rip your throat out".

Thankfully the dog can't speak English because what he is actually trying to say is "NICE MAN THROW STICK".

[Jaroon]

Answered the door at my parents house to one of these in the summer. Very aggressive, scared my lad who was with me, showed me a chewed up clearly bogus i.d.

Politely told him I wasn't interested and was having lunch and he got shirty so I told my boy to go inside and for matey to do one but it left me feeling a bit uncomfortable as my folks are getting a bit frail. No sign of him since, thankfully and I do think buying anything will only encourage repeat visits. Proper toe rag.

[Devil2575]

I got one the other day. Treated him the same as every other sales person that comes to my door "Sorry, not interested".

[pheasant]

I have a notice on door, reads

No Cold Callers
No God Botherers
No 3.142keys

It seems to work but will now make a new one with No Nottingham Knockers

[bad company]

We have had a few who are always sent on their way. I find the God Squad more of a pain to be honest.

[Gareth79]

The "ex-offender" story is interesting.

For the "powerfully built" types would be taken as "good on them, trying to turn their lives around!". For the frail/vulnerable or people alone it could be intimidating. I imagine they adjust their pitch based on how the person looks.

[Jag_NE]

Dominate your porch

[CAPP0]

andy118run said:

Back in the day, I had a German Shepherd who when ballistic whenever there was a knock at the door. He used to kindly accompany me to the door, with me clinging for dear life to his collar. These people never hung around for more than a few seconds to chat.

rxe said:

I can second the "big dog approach". Answer the door hanging onto a large German Shepherd, and say "yes, I'd love one of those towels, but if I let go of the dog, he'll rip your throat out".

Thankfully the dog can't speak English because what he is actually trying to say is "NICE MAN THROW STICK".

This is what I always do if there is an unexpected knock at the door. My GSD goes absolutely ballistic if anyone gets past the top of our drive. If I hold his collar, while he's kicking off, then in his eagerness to ask the nice man to throw a stick, he's up on his back legs barking like mad. Notwithstanding what he might actually do if released, it's pretty much guaranteed to have any unknown callers backing away from the door rather hastily.