My neighbor was scammed by driveway spraying scammers

An AR-15 loaded with penetrator ammo might persuade them to finish what they started.

Reply to
Nobody You'd Know
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BILGE SNIPPED

Racist little prick, aren't you?

Reply to
jJim McLaughlin

In these parts we call it "Gypsy Paint" and now you know why....

--.- Dave

[snip]

Reply to
Dave August

In a small town the police would probably respond. In a big city, they would refer you to whoever enforces city licensing requirements. In both places there is someone who wants to make sure the city gets money for licenses. Getting someone to respond because you lost money is harder than getting someone to respond because the city probably lost money.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

True. I have noticed, though, in small towns, the police take note of "traveling tradesmen" and others that are not familiar. And they have the time to do so. They know a lot of the local people, and those from outside the area are very noticeable.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Correct. Many years ago I lived in a rural town and had a sales job that sent me on the road. Once I was going door to door to businesses and a cop asked me who I represented. He explained that I needed to come to the station to register.He was polite and had m get in the front seat. At the station the chief explained what is called a Green River Ordinance which requires itinerant sales people to register (there was no fee). He then had the dispatcher radio the officer who drove me back to my car.

Reply to
George Grapman

I had the same thing happen with guys delivering mulch years ago. When they asked for more than the original estimate and I said I wouldn't pay more, they stared me down and said, "It's not like we don't know where you live." It was crappy mulch, too.

Viv

Reply to
New Leaf

Thank you for the calm lucid rational answer from someone who's been there, done that. I, also, have had experiences all over this land. I just get aggravated when I try to bring them here, and some want to attack even the premise.

It's like, if they've never seen the Statue of Liberty, they swear it cannot exist.

Wikipedia on Green River Ordinance:

The name Green River Ordinance is given to a common American city ordinance prohibiting door-to-door solicitation. Under such an ordinance, it is illegal for any business to sell their items door-to-door without express permission from the household beforehand. Some versions prohibit all organizations, including non-profit charitable, political, and religious groups, from soliciting or canvassing any household that makes it clear, in writing, that it does not want such solicitations (generally with a "No Trespassing" or "No Solicitations" sign posted.)

The ordinance is named for the city of Green River, Wyoming, the first city to enact it.

The ordinance has been brought before the Supreme Court for challenge in several times. While the court has upheld these ordinances when they prohibit intrastate commerce (seeing the issue as a state's rights issue), more recent decisions suggest that a total ban on door to door soliciting would be found unconstitutional and unenforceable on the grounds of religious free speech and commercial free speech when the ordinances ban religious or interstate solicitations.

So, therefore, if the person who was solicited for the driveway work lived in a town where the Green River Ordinance was in effect, all they had to do was call the police, and they would have taken care of the whole (eventual) mess. Or, the town may have had their OWN ordinance. Like a fellow said, all the town is interested in is getting their cut. For some small towns, their radar guns and enforcement of local laws on tourists, outsiders and the uninformed brings in revenues.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

"New Leaf" wrote

They also can take note of such things as: what kind of a car you drive so they know if you're home or not, bicycles, other cars, tools, mowers, if you have a dog or not, other items convertible to cash.

Doing business with people who solicit door to door is dangerous stuff.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

if you have a dog

Mindless paranoia.

You can make the same utterly mindless claim about those who do work at your house, or who deliver stuff, including the post monkeys.

Reply to
Rod Speed

Fraud. For starters. Down in the 'merican south? perhaps not. Up here in Canada it depends how slow a day they are having. They take a strong stand against that kind of scam in our locale.

Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

Home Depot? That's a big retail store that combines electrical, plumbing, gardening and nursery, paint, lumber, millwork, roofing, siding, tools, and cleaning supplies among other things... All in one place so you don't have to make 10 separate stops at specialty shops to blow your entire paycheck on home repair supplies.

But that part you probably already knew... ;-)

They sell that same basic coal-tar emulsion coating compound, but in the 5 US Gallon (4 Imperial) pails so you can do your own driveway. Of course, the steel pails and lids cost $5 dollars plus, and the shipping eats a lot more, so you're paying for the convenience.

The professional coating companies here get the same emulsion coatings in bulk in their truck from a regional supplier. They could probably get it in (55 Gal US/45 Imp) drums, but then you have to deal with the mess of someone handling (~500 pounds/ ~225 Kg) tapping and dispensing from drums, and handling & returning all the empties and dealing with drum deposit fees... A 500-gallon tank bolted down on the back of a truck is a lot easier and cleaner to deal with, just open the valve.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Coal tar emulsion - makes nasty discolouration on light vinyl floors, even months after application.

Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

. What would be a sensible thing to do in these lousy

a. wouldn't give them another dime.

b. get someone reliable to finish the job, even if I had to redo the whole mess.

c. see if my local newpaper would print an article alerting the public to the deal. ( I thought the whole WORLD was onto the paving, termite, meat-about-to-go-bad, and roofing schemes.)

With this type of job, I get the particulars in writing beforehand, see a license and insurance, and MIGHT pay enough to just buy materials. I tell them I will only pay with a cashiers check, when they say cash only. I want a record!!

Reply to
val189

Start out by asking for a business card with their contractors license number on it.

Reply to
George Grapman

Those were some stupid scammers.

Generally, we go to Chinese restaurants once a week, to get used vegetable oil to spray. We charge the restaurant $100 to haul it away.

We tell the consumer it's a mineral-colloid-stabilized, emulsified refined coal tar suitable for use as a weather-protective.

Once we get started, we always find some wide cracks. We then tell the consumer, it's going to take an extra $125 to fill the cracks permanently. I ramble on to the consumer about this special fill used for asphalt. It's nothing more than drywall compound (Durabond 30).

When we leave the job which was originally quoted @ $150 - $200, it is always at least $500 + . The stupid ass consumer has a nice shiny driveway for about a year, and little knowledge of what was really applied to it.

Between the 4 crews each doing about 4 drives a day, you can make a pretty good $ on stupid people.

Reply to
Iggy 2

You don't get out a lot, do you? Lots and lots of rapes, murders, burglaries, and other things committed by people posing as someone they're not. Facts, not mindless paranoia. If you can't read the newspapers, there's local TV news each evening at around six. Don't own a TV? Well, I guess you are going to have to splurge $10 on a cheap AM radio. They have news on the hour every hour.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Good grief! Now, even with all the obsessive perfectionists, "honest" people, the anal, the netnannies, and grumps, we got morphing trolls.

Bye.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

mowers, if you have a dog

Have you ever NOT answered your door and then observe the solicitor twist the door knob?

I always answer my door in full force: by any means I was taught to kill with, though not so noticeable to my door knocker.

-- Oren

"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"

Reply to
Oren

"Oren" wrote

A number of towns around me started implementing laws that door to door salespeople had to register. You know those magazine salespeople? They are recruited in the inner cities, bussed to the suburbs and dropped off. Many of them have criminal backgrounds. Sounds like some paranoid story I'm making up. How much money are they making off these subscriptions to make this scheme worthwhile?? At any rate, they can be trouble, and a couple of years back one of them murdered an elderly lady when she let him in for a glass of water.

I don't think it's paranoia to have sales people ... or whomever ... register so they are on notice, the police know you're in the area.

nancy

Reply to
Nancy Young

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