Letters to the Editor: Scam Discourages Donations

© 2006 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Winter 2006
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 42

Letters to the Editor

Scam Discourages Donations

To the editor:

Your “Scam Hits Door Dealers” article amazed me because it outlined exactly what I just experienced!

I had two such phone calls this week. The first call said they were from Alaska, and the second call said New York. The first call wanted us to ship to Ghana (the second call never got that far).

When I started to ask too many questions, they disconnected. On the second call, I tried to tell the Sprint operator that I thought this was a scam. But she wasn’t the least bit interested. She told me that, since they disconnected, she was also done.

We all want to be helpful, but I am surprised that people are not more suspicious of calls like this. In this day and age, so many scams are going on. I won’t even donate money to a call from the police department if I can’t verify who they are.

I wanted to report this so that you can add Massachusetts to the list! Thanks for listening and for the article.

Eileen Loring
Allstate Door Company
Carver, Mass.

Forced to Refer to Lowe’s

Tom:

I just about fell over reading your article about the “scam.” I just had a guy call me yesterday asking to buy and ship doors to Ghana!

The sounds of many other voices, like a call center, made me suspicious. For the first time, I referred someone to Lowe’s for doors. Credit cards are a good thing, but can also cause a lot of problems for either side of the transaction.

Brian Lucas
F&L Doors
Hazleton, Pa.

A World Gone Bad

Tom:

Your scam article was very helpful. This last year, I have received many such calls, some via the relay service. When I accepted the relay calls, they tied me up for such a long time that I missed other possible genuine calls. Not only are they scammers, but they contribute to losses by tying up your phone lines.

It got so bad that I just refuse to accept relay calls now. These scammers have definitely ruined the relay service for the handicapped.

Besides these scam calls, I’ve been getting calls from a company claiming they can get a grant for my company. I cannot get my number deleted from their system.

I’ve also received rude harassing calls. Along with calls about medical insurance, liability insurance, credit cards, and others, I wonder sometimes how my customers get through.

All this fakeness saddens me. It seems that the world and the general public are turning into such jerks.

Sue Richie
Doors Done Right
Littleton, Colo.

No More Calls From Charities

To the editor:

Thank you for the excellent scam article. We had several calls since the spring, and I believe they were scam artists. Just yesterday, I received another call from a communications assistant (CA). The operator was a little disturbed that I did not accept the call.

These calls are getting more frequent; this is a scam in full swing. I do not think this will go away soon.

We have learned to accept no collect calls, calls from charities, or calls from a CA. We tell all charities to send their request in writing, and to date, we have never received any in writing. Yet they keep calling back.

At a seminar many years ago, the speaker said that you will not even remember the sale if you have a bad feeling from the start. Just let it go, and you have saved money. I believe this is excellent advice.

I hope many dealers will read your article and proceed with caution.

Virginia Lizzie
Lizzie’s Garage Doors
Nashua, N.H.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to the many other dealers who responded to this story with similar comments. Among them: Ken and Joan Beaudoin, Active Overhead Door, Waterdown, Ontario; Monica David, American Overhead Door Wholesale, St. Louis, Mo.; Alex Gans, Rowe Door Sales, Scranton, Pa.; Scott O’Neill, Madden Door, Martinez, Calif.; Jeff Renne, Rock River Raynor, Dixon, Ill.; Terri Seaman, Seaman’s Door Service, Lexington, N.C.; Bill Smith, Besdoors, Pittsburgh, Pa.