Vacuum cleaner sales fraud
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Vacuum salesmen (or women) have seldom been regarded with the esteem afforded, say a doctor or business consultant, but few people would consider them scammers. A bit annoying perhaps, but not fraudulent.
However a number of companies have attracted their fair share of negative publicity recently for strong-arm sales techniques, deceptive claims, misrepresentation, and in some cases outright fraud.
Here's a typical story.
Dawn Pickrett received a scratch off lottery ticket in the mail saying that if she had a "winning hand" to call the listed phone number and she would receive one of five prizes. Lo and behold, when she scratched the ticket, it turned out she'd "won". So she called and was told that a representative would come over with her prize. The only thing she was required to do was to listen to a half-hour presentation. She was assured that after doing so she would receive the free gift worth at least $250.
When the time came, a young woman arrived with a large, plain box and asked if she could use Dawn's phone to call her supervisor. Dawn agreed. When the woman was finished with the call, she began unpacking the box and assembling the TriStar vacuum cleaner.
The "presentation" - which seemed suspiciously like an old-fashioned sales pitch - went well beyond the promised 30 minutes. In fact it took more than an hour. During the disquisition Dawn was informed that her existing vacuum cleaner was "horrible", that using such a poor vacuum was a health risk, and even that it was endangering her child.
Despite the stark scenario presented to her, Dawn was "not moved by the speech" and admits that she was rude to the young woman, "especially when she told us the price of the vacuum. $1800." She told the saleswoman that there was "no way" she would ever pay that much for a vacuum.
The saleswoman then got back on the phone with her boss to tell him Dawn wasn't interested. In response he offered to reduce the price. Eventually Dawn got on the phone with the boss, who she describes as "very rude", and wound up hanging up on him.
If you are interested in a professional Vermont house cleaning service please go to our contact page and let us know. Nancy will be happy to discuss with you the details of your cleaning project.
At that point Dawn was exasperated. She told the saleswoman that she wasn't going to waste any more of her time. Dawn demanded the free gift she'd been promised.
Conveniently the sales woman had forgotten it. Somehow she knew what the winning gift was, though: A trip for two to a destination of their choice. Of course they would have to pay airfare and various other expenses. Tellingly, the saleswoman never asked to look at her scratch-off ticket.
As she learned later, her next-door neighbor had gone through the same process just the night before. She had received a "winning" scratch off ticket, gotten an in-house vacuum demo, and refused. The salesperson also "forgot" the prize but was told that it was a 3 day hotel stay, just as was Dawn, though it could presumably been any of five possible gifts.
To read more about Dawn's story follow this link: TriStar sales fraud
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However a number of companies have attracted their fair share of negative publicity recently for strong-arm sales techniques, deceptive claims, misrepresentation, and in some cases outright fraud.
TriStar
Here's a typical story.
Dawn Pickrett received a scratch off lottery ticket in the mail saying that if she had a "winning hand" to call the listed phone number and she would receive one of five prizes. Lo and behold, when she scratched the ticket, it turned out she'd "won". So she called and was told that a representative would come over with her prize. The only thing she was required to do was to listen to a half-hour presentation. She was assured that after doing so she would receive the free gift worth at least $250.
When the time came, a young woman arrived with a large, plain box and asked if she could use Dawn's phone to call her supervisor. Dawn agreed. When the woman was finished with the call, she began unpacking the box and assembling the TriStar vacuum cleaner.
The "presentation" - which seemed suspiciously like an old-fashioned sales pitch - went well beyond the promised 30 minutes. In fact it took more than an hour. During the disquisition Dawn was informed that her existing vacuum cleaner was "horrible", that using such a poor vacuum was a health risk, and even that it was endangering her child.
Despite the stark scenario presented to her, Dawn was "not moved by the speech" and admits that she was rude to the young woman, "especially when she told us the price of the vacuum. $1800." She told the saleswoman that there was "no way" she would ever pay that much for a vacuum.
The saleswoman then got back on the phone with her boss to tell him Dawn wasn't interested. In response he offered to reduce the price. Eventually Dawn got on the phone with the boss, who she describes as "very rude", and wound up hanging up on him.
If you are interested in a professional Vermont house cleaning service please go to our contact page and let us know. Nancy will be happy to discuss with you the details of your cleaning project.
At that point Dawn was exasperated. She told the saleswoman that she wasn't going to waste any more of her time. Dawn demanded the free gift she'd been promised.
Conveniently the sales woman had forgotten it. Somehow she knew what the winning gift was, though: A trip for two to a destination of their choice. Of course they would have to pay airfare and various other expenses. Tellingly, the saleswoman never asked to look at her scratch-off ticket.
As she learned later, her next-door neighbor had gone through the same process just the night before. She had received a "winning" scratch off ticket, gotten an in-house vacuum demo, and refused. The salesperson also "forgot" the prize but was told that it was a 3 day hotel stay, just as was Dawn, though it could presumably been any of five possible gifts.
To read more about Dawn's story follow this link: TriStar sales fraud
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