Palmetto Marketing ripoff Coral Springs Florida

The doorbell rang tonight after dark. Upon opening the door, I was surprised to find a young man whom I did not know. He immediately went into his spiel, talking about getting points and going on a trip to Bermuda. He claimed to be selling magazines, so I looked at his list and tried to make a choice. But I couldn't concentrate on the magazines because he was asking a flurry of personal questions. Am I married? Do I have kids? What are my hobbies? How long have I lived here? Do I know everyone around here? He seemed pretty nosy. Then he asked if I was about 21 years old (I'm 36).

When I asked where he was from, he indicated that he came from one block away. When I asked again, he said he was staying in a hotel in Kansas City. And later when I asked where he was from, he said Oklahoma.

The next thing I knew, he was inside the entry way, sitting on the steps, asking more personal questions, and looking around the house. And he was talking so much, I couldn't think straight. I offered to buy one subscription - for $40 - and he talked me out of paying with a check, explaining that he would get more points for the sale if I paid with cash.

It all seemed pretty fishy, so I looked over the receipt. It gave the name of Palmetto Marketing and the city of Coral Springs, Florida, but it didn't list a phone number. He told me the phone number was printed on the back. But when I looked, there was no phone number. So he said he would write the phone number on the back. He also gave me the stub from the receipt, saying I should stick it to my front door to keep his fellow contestants away. On it, he wrote his name, "Bug Off", and some other stuff.

As soon as he left, I called the phone number and it connected me to a Verizon Wireless recording. As far as I know, a legitimate marketing company would use a land line, not a cell phone. My next move was to look up Palmetto Marketing on the web, leading me to this site. I didn't find any other results leading me to believe PMI could be legitimate.

I started off down the street, but it was very dark. I found him about two blocks away and demanded to have my money back. I told him his phone number had connected me to a cell phone message. He acted troubled and started searching for excuses. After asking about six times to have my money returned, I was about ready to MAKE him give back the money, which he finally did.

It appears that this story is nearly identical to many of the other reports on this site.

, Missouri
U.S.A.