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xz2366 Asked March 2014

My elderly Dad's being ripped off by door-to-door scams for home repair. What can I do to stop this?

anonymous179890 Mar 2014
Never have the problem as I'm so rural even I got lost on the back roads in the beginning. The Jehovah Witnesses came once, never to be seen again. I guess they couldn't find their way back lol

Chicago1954 Mar 2014
We just put up a sign that said "Can you make it to the gate, in 2 seconds? Our boxer can."

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HelperMom Mar 2014
I forgot to mention -- there was a time limit to get the deal cancelled, it was either 2 or 3 days after he'd signed on the contract. That will vary by state law but should be something similar. Hope this has been helpful.

pamzimmrrt Mar 2014
It is not always door to door salesmen.. my parents toilet needed replaced, and the plumber they called was an artist of con men. He said " I have one on the truck"...$800.oo later... They would never have fallen for this before dad got AL. My hubby about had a stroke, we could have done this for way less. now it is the family joke....But really not funny

HelperMom Mar 2014
You are all very amusing! I thought I'd provide a little info from experience ... my father was talked into signing on the dotted line for an accessible walk-in tub, by a salesman that called on the phone, made an appointment, and then showed up at the door to "measure" the bathroom. While he was there he provided my dad with a "quote" for him to sign off on, which turned out to actually be a contract to purchase the tub and have it installed - for $10,000, which as I found out by calling around, was about $4,000 higher than the value of the tub and installation services. He really hadn't intended to buy anything! The salesman had been "nice" and persuaded him to sign. If he hadn't called me to tell me about it I would never have known. I contacted the state attorney general's office. They told me the specific state regulations that protect people against this sort of thing and I wrote a letter to the vendor that my dad could sign, explaining that he didn't want the tub after all and quoting the regulations that would support him in stopping the deal from going through. They really try to take advantage, so you have to be vigilant.

anonymous179890 Mar 2014
A Beware of the Dog sign might be helpful. Mind you anyone coming down the dirt road a quarter mile away can hear the barking & screaming from my two. There are variations like "Can you make it to the gate in 10 seconds - the dog can do it in 9".

pamstegma Mar 2014
It wasn't really intentional, but after my husband put his NRA decal on the sidelight window, things quieted down a bit.

Eyerishlass Mar 2014
A "No Solicitation" sign at the front door.

assandache7 Mar 2014
A "no trespassing" sign and pstegman advice "monitored by surveillance"...

pamstegma Mar 2014
A camera pointing at visitors is almost as good as a 12 ga. shotgun.

anonymous158299 Mar 2014
call sheriff joe, he'll beat em with hickory clubs.
most people dont know this but sheriff joe was brought to fla years ago during i believe hurricane robert. wasnt an electric light burning within 200 miles of the fla coast. he was called to remedy looting. his remedy was 2-1/2 inch thick hickory clubs for law enforcemment. many heads got lumped but there was never a whisper of a law suit..

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