Almost scammed
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| Sun, 08-03-2008 - 2:51pm |
A new store is being built up the street from us and the asphalt drive was laid on Friday. Just before supper, there's a knock on the door, DH answers and there is a guy with 2 helpers who claims to have leftover asphalt and will pour it on for $300. DH comes in to ask me whether we should let them do it. My immediate reaction was that, no, this is a scam that happens every summer, so he turns them away. DH was irritated that I had jumped to the conclusion and thought we might have missed a good deal - demanded I show him this scam on the internet. I did admit I had a knee jerk reaction, but for some reason his attitude had me nearly to tears. I reluctantly reminded DH of the aluminum siding that was put on when we first bought the house in 73. The sales pitch in our living room was "the sales ends at midnight". I thought that was suspicious, but being a good young wife, I never questioned DHs wisdom and he signed up. In less than 10 years the siding was peeling - our house looked like a soup can. By then I had begun to realize I had more of a head for business & finance than DH does, so I started the process of getting the guarantee to pay up. Sure 'nuf, the installer pointed the finger at the supplier, who had gone out of business. I finally contacted the State Attorney's office and found there were other houses in the city with problems that they were working with to solve. Turns out the dealer had bought reject siding and KNEW it. Eventually we received about 1/2 of the purchase price and then had it removed and replaced with vinyl.
Of course, the Internet came up with multiple warnings. Now, I admit that there really was work up the street and these guys had the truck, but I was very suspicious. How did we know they hadn't just borrowed the truck for a cut of the $300? The warnings mentioned that these people usually use a cold patch instead of the hot patch that is required for a coat that really sticks. Plus, we have a gravel drive which would need to be dug out, leveled, etc. - not the kind of thing done without planning. I felt justified, but really wonder about DHs judgment these days - especially after last month's fiasco with wanting to hire some guy at the door to do work for us. Moral of the story is - if you are ever in doubt about an offer, check the Internet. It's amazing what you'll find. Same way I found out I was making myself sick with my backyard sun tea.
Jacquie

& as much as I warned my parents against it "the deal was too good to pass up". Of course, you know what happened. Cal
Those kind of guys come around this neighborhood quite often; I've gotten to the point where the first thing I say to them is: "Don't waste your time and mine; I'm not interested."
My poor Daddy was scammed on a roofing deal; which surprised me.
lottie77~~~
Glad you were able to see through the scam.
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re: suntea
Both water and tea leaves harbor bacteria. At high heat, they are killed, cold water keeps them from growing. Leaving cold water and tea bags in a jar in the sun may not get temp high enough to kill them. I did this a while back and got a case of the potty runs. Now I make my tea the old-fashioned way - boiling water.
This isn't to be confused with bottled Suntea. They heat it as part of the processing.
Humm, Ive drank suntea for years and no trouble.
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What's the woman shooter's name? I'd like to watch their events, if TV sees fit to show it.
Oops thats what I get for doing that while my coffee was brewing this morning.
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Couldn't help but read this, as the same thing happened to us this spring.