Multiple Magazine Solicitors Arrested on East Side of Green Bay. Company Linked to Numerous Complaints With the BBB.
On 08/14/2014, Green Bay Police responded to several complaints of magazine solicitors going door-to-door in the Red Smith neighborhood. Originally, two of these solicitors were stopped by police and discovered to have been soliciting without a Green Bay solicitor's permit. Both these individuals were arrested and transported to jail.
Shortly after the original arrests were made, three more solicitors were discovered in the area of Christa McAuliffe Park. They also had no solicitor's permit and were subsequently arrested. One of the parties lied to police and was also charged with obstructing an officer. The van that the solicitors arrived in was reported stolen out of Indiana and was towed.
All of the solicitors were associated with either Freedom Sales or Ultimate Solutions. Both of these companies have received an "F" rating by the Better Business Bureau for multiple complaints from customers. The way these companies work is this:
- The companies recruit young men and women, usually from inner city urban areas, and promise them large commissions selling magazines door-to-door around the country.
- The companies pile all the young adults into a van and drive around the country, spending 2-3 days in an area before leaving and moving on to the next city.
- The van drops the solicitors off in a neighborhood and picks them up later in the evening.
- After a customer buys some magazines from the seller, they receive a receipt saying that they must wait up to 120 days to receive their magazines.
- The customer typically pays by check.
- The companies cash the check and no magazines are ever delivered.
- After 120 days, most individuals that bought magazines either forget about the transaction, have lost the receipt or just give up trying to file a claim, since the phone number for the companies on the receipt goes unanswered.
- The solicitors are long gone and any attempt to find them are next to impossible since they are from out of state and difficult to track down.
NOT ALL DOOR-TO-DOOR SELLERS ARE ILLEGITIMATE. If you conduct an internet search of either of the companies from this incident, you can see the number of complaints against the companies that have gone unanswered. The Green Bay Police Department receives numerous complaints of these seller every summer and each time the magazine companies are different, always from out of state, and impossible to get ahold of by phone.
If you paid any of these individuals money for magazines and feel that you want to cancel your transaction, please contact your bank and cancel the check. At this point, the transaction is not considered a theft since the contract on the receipt allows up to 120 days for the magazines to be delivered. If any solicitors come to your door, make sure to ask to see their Green Bay Solicitor's Permit, which must be carried by each seller at all times. The permit will have wording on it indicating that it was issued by the City of Green Bay and have an expiration date on it. If the solicitor cannot produce this permit, please contact the Green Bay Police Department to report the incident. IF THE SOLICITOR HAS A GREEN BAY SOLICITOR'S PERMIT, IT MEANS THAT THEY HAVE REGISTERED WITH THE CITY. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE CITY OF GREEN BAY HAS DETERMINED THE BUSINESS OR PRODUCT TO BE LEGITIMATE AND THE CITY DOES NOT ENDORSE THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE BEING SOLD.
Address/Location
Green Bay Police Department
307 South Adams Street
Green Bay, WI 54301
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 920-448-3200