Homeowner sounds alarm over door-to-door sales

St. Petersburg, Florida Essie Evans has an alarm on her wall that she finds alarming.

[Anonymous]

They came to my home as well. They ran my credit inquiry without my permission. The salesman was poorly trained and completely clueless that you cannot run credit without express permission.

[Marsharie]

How did they run your credit without your social security #?

[AE Cornelius]

Something needs to be done about these door-to-door predators. People should be allowed to make a living, but at what cost? These people should ask themselves if this were their elderly Mother, sister or Aunt, would they want them to have an item that they could not afford nor work. This country is in a sad state of affairs when we have to prey off our elderly to make a buck. Shame shame

[John]

You can't earn a living in this state waiting for the phone to ring and everyone wants service or products for nothing not understanding OR caring about what the cost's of business are these day's coupled with the cost of living.They think it's 1965 and gasoline is 10 cents a gallon.I've been in the service business so I know.People want it for nothing yet when I offer to let them use my equipment and give it a try themselves they cringe at the thought of heavy manual labor and those that did try apologized and thanked me for knocking with my offer and very glady payed my rate.

[Sheryl]

John wrote:

You can't earn a living in this state waiting for the phone to ring and everyone wants service or products for nothing not understanding OR caring about what the cost's of business are these day's coupled with the cost of living.They think it's 1965 and gasoline is 10 cents a gallon.I've been in the service business so I know.People want it for nothing yet when I offer to let them use my equipment and give it a try themselves they cringe at the thought of heavy manual labor and those that did try apologized and thanked me for knocking with my offer and very glady payed my rate.

I'm a bit confused. I agree with your statement, but what has that got to do with an elderly woman being "sweet talked" by a pushy door-to-door salesman?
The elderly are at risk by these types of salespeople, as they have more time to talk, are willing to listen, and are too trusting of today's "me,me,me" society.
I think that if an elderly person buys something in this manner(door-to-door or over the phone) they should have a longer period of time given to them to change their minds......once they speak to relatives or friends, they may realize the error they made in such a hasty decision, and want a refund.

[AE Cornelius]

John wrote:

You can't earn a living in this state waiting for the phone to ring and everyone wants service or products for nothing not understanding OR caring about what the cost's of business are these day's coupled with the cost of living.They think it's 1965 and gasoline is 10 cents a gallon.I've been in the service business so I know.People want it for nothing yet when I offer to let them use my equipment and give it a try themselves they cringe at the thought of heavy manual labor and those that did try apologized and thanked me for knocking with my offer and very glady payed my rate.

So what you are saying is that is ok to target these people because you need to make a living. I put up a sign on my house that says, "No Solicitors!" in English and Spanish. Just to keep these pushy people away. I will gladly do this for my parents, as I do not want them targeted.

[Hal Cornelius]

Businesses of this type sometimes takes advantage of older people. Must be just like the real estate sub-prime people. If a business cannot see that public relations in this case would do them some good, then we need to tell all of the people we know of the tactics their sales people take on older people. If this was happening to younger people not on a (probably) fixed income, I would not have any problems. So, yes, the company may be probably right, but this PR is not good. I will tell everyone I know of this story. Hopefully these other people will get a bad taste in their mouth if they ever talk to someone representing this company. Minimum they could change (or control) the training of their (or these) sales people.

Hal Cornelius

[AE Cornelius]

Hal Cornelius wrote:

Businesses of this type sometimes takes advantage of older people. Must be just like the real estate sub-prime people. If a business cannot see that public relations in this case would do them some good, then we need to tell all of the people we know of the tactics their sales people take on older people. If this was happening to younger people not on a (probably) fixed income, I would not have any problems. So, yes, the company may be probably right, but this PR is not good. I will tell everyone I know of this story. Hopefully these other people will get a bad taste in their mouth if they ever talk to someone representing this company. Minimum they could change (or control) the training of their (or these) sales people.
Hal Cornelius

I can honestly say that if this were my company and some person had the courage to stand up publicly, I would invoke the, "Customer is always right" stance and let this woman out of the contract. What is this, 1 year free mess. Ms. Evans will still be on a fixed income one year from now,one year older and still with a system she cannot work or afford. This is just cruel. Sometimes it is not the $$$, but the principal.

[Sarah]

I am started a role in sales on Friday and for my first few months I am going to have to do door to door sales. I am a little worried, however my company does not target over 70's or under 18's which is a positive.

[Kim Damore]

I too fell victim to APX Door to door saleswomen. The saleswomen told me I would be a demo house and I could cancell at anytime. Come to find out I was locked into a 60 month contract. The two surveys that I took was based on how the saleswomen and the man who installed the system did their job. I feel these Door to Door sales people scams,deceives and will tell you anything they feel u need to here to sign a contract. The customer service reps are no better. They are rude and unprofessional on all levels. Essie Evans you are not alone in this. I too have been deceived. Your story is much like mine.

[anom]

this report is bogus. i worked for the company a couple years ago, EVERYTHING is explained clearly, including the 3 day right to cancel. Also, it says she "purchased" the alarm system. THE EQUIPMENT IS FREE. and if she is a "victim," then why do they have an outstanding record with the bbb? Anyone shop at radioshack? Look at radioshack on the bbb.

[AE Cornelius]

anom wrote:

this report is bogus. i worked for the company a couple years ago, EVERYTHING is explained clearly, including the 3 day right to cancel. Also, it says she "purchased" the alarm system. THE EQUIPMENT IS FREE. and if she is a "victim," then why do they have an outstanding record with the bbb? Anyone shop at radioshack? Look at radioshack on the bbb.

First of all, APX has a "satisfactory" rating with the BBB...big difference. Second, if you'd bother to do an internet search for APX Alarm complaints, you would easily find 20 different links about their pushy and shady door to door sales staff. The company was even run out of a few towns because of their tactics. Third, nobody's talking about Radio Shack. As far as I know, Radio Shack has never slithered up to anyone's door asking for a drink of water to get inside. I believe Ms. Evans' story is real, and to Kim Demore, you should try filing a complaint with the Better Busniess Bureau. That usually gets the attention of executives that the customer service "gate keepers" will not let you speak with.

[anom]

you can also find many links of adt complaints, brinks complaints, lowes complaints. there will always be complaints about businesses. the radioshack comment was to show that apx does care for the customer, not dollers. it shows if their is a complaint, then they address it. lastly, she knew exactly what she was getting into. she didnt have to let him. didnt have to give him water. but she did. if you walk onto a car lot to LOOK AROUND AND NOT BUY, but end up buying a car because of a sweet talking salesmen, do you go back three months later and complain you cant afford the car now? Is the company at fault because they hired a good salesmen? Did you get a chance to look around at other dealerships for a better price? No. And ALL THAT was completely your decision. Not the salesmen fault you didnt say no, leave. Not the salesmen fault you didnt look around for prices. You're an adult, you could have said no.

[AEP]

Door-to-door salespeople are unwelcome at my house...they will never make a sale...and my sprinkler system which tends to malfunction at the most unusual times tends to dampen their sales pitch.

[AE Cornelius]

anom wrote:

you can also find many links of adt complaints, brinks complaints, lowes complaints. there will always be complaints about businesses. the radioshack comment was to show that apx does care for the customer, not dollers. it shows if their is a complaint, then they address it. lastly, she knew exactly what she was getting into. she didnt have to let him. didnt have to give him water. but she did. if you walk onto a car lot to LOOK AROUND AND NOT BUY, but end up buying a car because of a sweet talking salesmen, do you go back three months later and complain you cant afford the car now? Is the company at fault because they hired a good salesmen? Did you get a chance to look around at other dealerships for a better price? No. And ALL THAT was completely your decision. Not the salesmen fault you didnt say no, leave. Not the salesmen fault you didnt look around for prices. You're an adult, you could have said no.

Your comment albeit reasonable, and legitimate, still lacks a moral responsibilty to our elderly. Who says I have better judgement than a woman 76 years or older. The point is, that is it a good idea to target people who possibly cannot say no. In your case, I like the idea of the sprinklers.

[R Davis]

anom wrote:

you can also find many links of adt complaints, brinks complaints, lowes complaints. there will always be complaints about businesses. the radioshack comment was to show that apx does care for the customer, not dollers. it shows if their is a complaint, then they address it. lastly, she knew exactly what she was getting into. she didnt have to let him. didnt have to give him water. but she did. if you walk onto a car lot to LOOK AROUND AND NOT BUY, but end up buying a car because of a sweet talking salesmen, do you go back three months later and complain you cant afford the car now? Is the company at fault because they hired a good salesmen? Did you get a chance to look around at other dealerships for a better price? No. And ALL THAT was completely your decision. Not the salesmen fault you didnt say no, leave. Not the salesmen fault you didnt look around for prices. You're an adult, you could have said no.

You can try to change the subject and compare apples to oranges all you want. APX recruits people like you to go door to door and weasel your way into peoples homes to sell them $3,000.00 contracts. Even YOU put your foot in your own mouth by say that if Ms. Evans had GONE TO A CAR DEALERSHIP, and wound up buying a car, she should have to pay. She would also have to GO INTO A RADIO SHACK to receive poor service. So it's YOUR argument that's bogus. Ms. Evans was minding her own business on her property when one of YOUR former fellow salesmen APPROACHED HER using whatever sales tactics and twisted logic I'm sure you both were taught to get inside someones home. APX only shows "concern" when the media gets involved.

[FL Resident]

i've read a lot of complaints about door to door, cold call, alarm salesman. and they all seem to fall into the same category of the customer not reading the contract, not asking questions during the customer surveys which tell you what your getting into. i believe apx does 2 customer surveys before the rep and tech leave. some salesman do have questionable ethics but why would you sign a contract and not read it? plus $40 a month is really nothing. why question the security of you your family and home. instead of buying pepsi buy the grocery store brand. you don't need rain soft water, 1,000 tv channels or xm radio. and you can cancel anytime you want, you just have to pay off your monitoring. and as far as sprinklers go.. if i was knocking on a hot summers day, you'd probably find one of them running through them... i also noticed people call things scams when they have simply misunderstood a concept and there's a direct correlation with that and uneducated people... more middle class people. as fas as no soliciting signs go... most people just don't want to be sold anything but when they feel that they are the ones buying, the no solicitors are probably good patrons. and its a very good deal getting free equipment and installation because there are so many people who will spend thousands of dollars on security equipment plus monitoring. if an old man or lady has a future medical problem you can bet that medical pendant will save her life and get out a paramedic or if your house is on fire then you bet that smoke and heat detector will call the fire department. its a great system and deal. most people are just mad that they can't cancel and cant afford it because their kids have to go to private school, have piano lessons or they have to have a new bmw with shiny rims and the expensive phone plans and shop at the expensive grocery store instead of wal-mart. adjust your budget... whats more important... the security of you, your family, home and 12 cats or keeping up with the jones's and having luxuries? its a no brainer... everyone 'needs' security and protection for their home and family and 'wants' homes and other things they simply can't afford.

p.s. they can run your credit with your birthday, the social security # just gives a more accurate score.

[AFPJ]

This sounds like exploation of the ederly.
Four simple rules 1. If I want it I will locate the service, product or techincan.
2. Get more than one estimate, compare what your getting for the money spent.
3. Learn to say no. Hang up the phone, you did not call them, Close the door with a frim no. No explainations needed as the sales people are trained to vercome objections. NO.
4. These people are not your friends, you did not invite them, they do not date your son or daughter, they are not related to you. Treat them with caution as they are strangers.
P.S. Just my thoughts. Note rude but firm, No

[Jeff]

AEP wrote:

Door-to-door salespeople are unwelcome at my house...they will never make a sale...and my sprinkler system which tends to malfunction at the most unusual times tends to dampen their sales pitch.

I did door to door sales. I was successful but was never rude or lied to people. I learned so much about selling it has to led to other things. I can't imagine you would turn on sprinklers. Why don't you just not answer the door? Isn't this sort of childish? Bragging about being a jerk to somehow who might be trying to feed their family?

[Jeff]

As far as not selling to someone who is elderly, I found that older people were much more likely to spend more time with me because of their patience and they had time. They didn't necessarily buy more than anyone else would have. Sometimes in fact it's hard for you to get away from older homeowners when you know they won't buy because they like to chat. As long as the elderly person you are selling to still has a clear head what is wrong with this? Also, they can put up a no soliciting sign, and anything you buy that has a contract has a three day cancellation policy.