A few weeks ago I received a phone call from a North Minneapolis resident who was concerned about a strange encounter she had with someone who came to her door. One afternoon, her doorbell rang. She answered the door and saw three people standing on her front porch wearing hard hats and orange safety vests. The man in front advised her that they were from the gas company and were there to shut off her gas service unless she paid them a certain amount of money, then and there. She noticed that there was a large panel truck parked in front of her house, but there were no markings or gas company logos on it of any kind. She asked the man at her door for some identification showing that he was indeed from the gas company, and he claimed that he didn’t have any. He then said that he realized that he had the wrong address, and went next door to ring the neighbor’s doorbell. After they left her door, she called the gas company but was unable to get a clear answer from them as to whether or not the people were legitimate.
When she told me this story, my “scam alarm” went off. This encounter had all the earmarks of a swindle: an unscheduled visit from someone claiming to be with a utility company, a demand for money, threats of losing service, no identification and an unmarked vehicle.
I called the utility company myself to follow up. If there is someone out there trying to defraud people in this way, naturally, I want to know about it. After several calls back and forth, I finally spoke to a field supervisor who could give me the facts. As it happened, they did indeed have a crew in the area at the time of the encounter. These people are subcontractors, and this particular crew was brand new. They did not yet have their utility company IDs, and the vehicle they drove was theirs, not the utility company’s. The supervisor also told me that when they go out to discontinue service, they generally give the customer one final chance to settle their bill. So, what appeared to be an attempted scam turned out instead to be an honest misunderstanding.
The supervisor I spoke to assured me that this particular crew now had the proper identification, and that they were now supplied with a magnetic gas company logo for their vehicle. The supervisor spoke to the crew about the incident and called the woman to apologize for the misunderstanding.
There are several things to be learned from this. First, even though the callers turned out to be legitimate, the woman was absolutely right to be skeptical. They were certainly not prepared to represent themselves as workers for the gas company. The fact that they went to the wrong address only compounded the appearance of fraud. If anyone comes unsolicited to your door offering to sell you something, claiming to be from a utility company, or in any way asking for money, be skeptical. If they’re from a utility company, check their ID. If you still have suspicions, call the utility company yourself and verify that the person is indeed who he claims to be. If you do call, look up the number yourself. Don’t rely on a phone number that they give you. Never let anyone in to your home until you have verified who they are.
If they claim to be selling something, ask them for their solicitor’s license. Everyone soliciting door to door in Minneapolis must have a current license issued by the city. If a solicitor does not have a license, refuse to do business with him, close the door and call 911. Tell the 911 operator that someone is selling door to door without a license, give a description of the individual and if possible, what direction they headed from your door. Minneapolis Licensing Inspectors are cracking down on unlicensed solicitors and really need your help.
The spring and summer months bring a profusion of people going door to door, selling goods or services, asking for donations, and sometimes out right asking for help. While many of them are legitimate, there are also many who aren’t. If you’re not sure of them, don’t do business with them. A healthy dose of skepticism can save you from a big loss down the road.