Door to door rug sale scam ??

Lara83

Hey I've a feeling I was scammed but kindof looking to confirm it here and if so to warn people in advance. Guy called to my door with catalogue of rugs for sale (I live in west cork) he was wearing a navy jacket with Sheridan logo in red. Told me he was closing shop and moving to melbourne. When I asked him where his shop was he said 'do you know caseys ' and I asked him again where his actual shop was he said 'do you know buckleys shop in cork' ....he brought in a large rug really nice and I liked it told me rugs were worth €3000 in the boom at which point I laughed and showed him to door ...he then eventually said €350 I told him €100 was all I could give (I'm very naive) and he said €150 ...so I gave it to him ...😳 when he left he said I had 'a fine house' and on closing the door I got a sick feeling in my stomach that he was a con and I was completely had so I went googling and people say this is quite a common thing and that not only are they trying to make a quick buck but they're syssing out your house for alarms , dogs to see if worth robbing. Now I'm completely sh€€ing it and feel riduxusksky stupid.

Any advice confirmation would be greatly appreciated !!

Realt Dearg Sec

Lara83 wrote: »

Hey I've a feeling I was scammed but kindof looking to confirm it here and if so to warn people in advance. Guy called to my door with catalogue of rugs for sale (I live in west cork) he was wearing a navy jacket with Sheridan logo in red. Told me he was closing shop and moving to melbourne. When I asked him where his shop was he said 'do you know caseys ' and I asked him again where his actual shop was he said 'do you know buckleys shop in cork' ....he brought in a large rug really nice and I liked it told me rugs were worth €3000 in the boom at which point I laughed and showed him to door ...he then eventually said €350 I told him €100 was all I could give (I'm very naive) and he said €150 ...so I gave it to him ...😳 when he left he said I had 'a fine house' and on closing the door I got a sick feeling in my stomach that he was a con and I was completely had so I went googling and people say this is quite a common thing and that not only are they trying to make a quick buck but they're syssing out your house for alarms , dogs to see if worth robbing. Now I'm completely sh€€ing it and feel riduxusksky stupid.

Any advice confirmation would be greatly appreciated !!

Call the guards.

Grab All Association

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Call the guards.

And they will do what exactly? Arrest someone for complimenting her house.

The rug is probably made in China and worth about €40. She probably was had but that doesn't make him a burglar.

Lara83

Chris___ wrote: »

And they will do what exactly? Arrest someone for complimenting her house.

The rug is probably made in China and worth about €40. She probably was had but that doesn't make him a burglar.

Hey thanks for replies ya I was prob had alright and I don't care from that regard il just look on it as lesson learned but just uneasy about whether the house is being lined up for another visit ...another part I remember is he closed the front door when he came inside and when he was leaving I saw he had a guy in the passenger seat and thinking maybe he closed the front door so the other fella could have a look around. Era meaning to get a house alarm so it's a good reason to now. My husband knows a guard in town so he said he might just give her a buz to let her know in case of any other reports of them. Thanks again !

cerastes

Dont let them in! were you planning to buy a rug? or did you just part with the money to be rid of him, sounds like the latter.
Im sure they werent but at least they werent a rapist, letting them in the house.
I wouldnt tell them I even had a penny, it was in fact the only way to ever get rid of them, no matter what was being sold, no matter how low they go, they wont go less than nothing.
You should have at least saved yourself a further 50 by sticking to your guns.

Id be very wary of letting anyone in my house and the other half or anyone has strict instructions to not let anyone in.

Could well be selling rugs but unfortunately them might also have scoped your house, no offence but that people take them up is the reason they can offer stuff like this, whether it be cheap stuff or scoping.
Seriously, how could a rug for 3k ever be sold for 150??

Hopefully you wont see them again, the only thing Id consider is reporting it officially to the gardai that someone is about at this kind of thing, in the event there are more vulnerable people near that might be affected.

Realt Dearg Sec

Chris___ wrote: »

And they will do what exactly? Arrest someone for complimenting her house.

The op has a good description of the person, if they are burglars there's a good chance they've robbed others and fit the description, which the guards will have heard before. In that case they'll already be looking for these guys. It's not rocket science. If you're worried for your safety, that's what the guards are actually for.

Lara83

cerastes wrote: »

Dont let them in! were you planning to buy a rug? or did you just part with the money to be rid of him, sounds like the latter.
Im sure they werent but at least they werent a rapist, letting them in the house.
I wouldnt tell them I even had a penny, it was in fact the only way to ever get rid of them, no matter what was being sold, no matter how low they go, they wont go less than nothing.
You should have at least saved yourself a further 50 by sticking to your guns.

Id be very wary of letting anyone in my house and the other half or anyone has strict instructions to not let anyone in.

Could well be selling rugs but unfortunately them might also have scoped your house, no offence but that people take them up is the reason they can offer stuff like this, whether it be cheap stuff or scoping.
Seriously, how could a rug for 3k ever be sold for 150??

Hopefully you wont see them again, the only thing Id consider is reporting it officially to the gardai that someone is about at this kind of thing, in the event there are more vulnerable people near that might be affected.

I know !! What's wrong with me ??? I completely agree if I heard of anyone I know with this story id be like wtf u let them into your house?? The weird thing was I was actually looking for a rug this morning so when it came to my door I was like this is great !! Normally I politely say thanks but no thanks to door sales to be honest. He saw me coming can't believe how stupid I was now in hindsight - I'd hope it'll make me very wary in future and that with an alarm in it'll deter any possible burglars further.

Lara83

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

The op has a good description of the person, if they are burglars there's a good chance they've robbed others and fit the description, which the guards will have heard before. In that case they'll already be looking for these guys. It's not rocket science. If you're worried for your safety, that's what the guards are actually for.

Good point ...thanks for your advice!

cerastes

Lara83 wrote: »

I know !! What's wrong with me ??? I completely agree if I heard of anyone I know with this story id be like wtf u let them into your house?? The weird thing was I was actually looking for a rug this morning so when it came to my door I was like this is great !! Normally I politely say thanks but no thanks to door sales to be honest. He saw me coming can't believe how stupid I was now in hindsight - I'd hope it'll make me very wary in future and that with an alarm in it'll deter any possible burglars further.

I wouldnt worry about it, they kinda play on peoples niceness I think, all you have to do is politely decline.
In the end, if you dont want it, just say you've no money, that usually works.

That said, they may just selling rugs, I prefer not to take the chance.
Informing the gardai of your concerns may be of use to them, or give them an insight to whos about.

Lara83

cerastes wrote: »

I wouldnt worry about it, they kinda play on peoples niceness I think, all you have to do is politely decline.
In the end, if you dont want it, just say you've no money, that usually works.

That said, they may just selling rugs, I prefer not to take the chance.
Informing the gardai of your concerns may be of use to them, or give them an insight to whos about.

Agreed - as you say may have been semi genuine with no alter

Lara83

Lara83 wrote: »

Agreed - as you say may have been semi genuine with no alter

Sent too quickly meant to say with no ulterior motives but no harm for local guards to know who's around just in case. Thanks a mill for advice!

yellowlabrador

They also called at a friends house. He's on his own and has altzheimers. He invited them in and then showed them his collectibles. We have reported it to the guards in town and they've promised to keep an eye on his house. It's the elderly who are most vulnerable.

Father Ted Crilly

I had a man come to my door asking me do I want to buy a pack of towels/cloths. He was driving a large Transit (or something like it) van. There was a woman in the passenger seat. He didn't want to come in, he just wanted to sell me the most ridiculous thing you could imagine.

JuliusCaesar

If you like the rug, and think it's a fair price, grand.

As for the rug seller, he might be genuine, trying to make a few bob on left-over stock that would otherwise go into a skip or be sold as a lot by receivers, for even less than he's getting for them now. Or they could be robbed, or they could be nylon and he's claiming they're wool.... who knows. It's no harm to ask the Gardai.

It's a shame we have to end up paranoid though.

Oryx

They most likely make the best money from the most naive buyers, not by going back to burgle, just by taking quite a few quid from them for the sale. Though they will also find out who keeps a few quid at home. Unless you showed a wallet full of cash or had some nickables on view hopefully youll be fine.

darkdubh

As I rule I just don't give people like this the time of day.Had one guy calling claiming to be selling matresses.Sounded like a traveller trying to put on a posh accent and driving a Limerick registered van,said no thanks and closed the door on him.Ditto another dodgy type trying to sell what he said was a Jamie Oliver cookery set(or something like that,not exactly sure).I just don't trust people who go door to door like that,if you want to sell stuff stick it up on Donedeal or whatever.Also I'd be concerned that these characters are staking out likely soft spots for burglary etc.

whisky_galore

Never ever buy anything sold door-to-door that you can get just as well in a shop.

celica00

I havent seen all of the replies, so sorry in advance if I write something double:

As suggested: Call the guards.

I would also get a security camer just in case (for the drive way etc), something small in case they are coming back when you are not around.
Make sure when you leave your house, that noone is watching (for figuring out your patterns, when you are out of the house (work etc)

Lando Griffin

If only a door to door alarm.installer called and sold you an alarm then you could feel safe.
On a serious note its just as well you didnt him up on the first price he gave.

laurmich

This happened to my parents in the last few days. The guy said he was closing his business in Charleville and moving to Melbourne. The man went inside the house to show them the rug. Have you had any problems since OP? I'm worried they were casing their house.
Thanks

Aglomerado

laurmich wrote: »

This happened to my parents in the last few days. The guy said he was closing his business in Charleville and moving to Melbourne. The man went inside the house to show them the rug. Have you had any problems since OP? I'm worried they were casing their house.
Thanks

I've known some of these "businessmen" to push past homeowners into their entrance hallways with the merchandise. And I do believe they "case" the place, cheeky f3ckers will open doors and look into rooms. Where(abouts) did this happen recently? Just so I can keep an eye out for them. I'm based quite close to Charleville.

Dbu

Wow , how do people still fall for these scammers. OP you should have never left him inside your door.

thank you, im not interested has never failed me yet.