We sometimes get young lads knocking at the door with a bagful of household goods to sell.They have an ID card with them and tell me they are doing this to get a reference to get a job. A few months ago i bought a pair of gardening gloves for £5 which turned out to be less than pound shop quality. Another one called yesterday, idid not want to buy anything but gave him a couple of quid to help him out.
Are they genuine or have i been done?
I think unfortunately this is a scam (have a quick google). We also got a knock on the door a few years ago from what I have got to say was a very polite young man with the same story as you have posted, we spent about the same on some microfibres dusters and an ironing board cover the dusters turned out to be quite good but the cover was rubbish! I don't believe they are genuine, we haven't had anyone else since maybe they are moving around the country once they have been clocked by the police!
Don't buy anything from them - a polite no thank you and close the door.
Don't give them money - they target areas where they will get either a sale of tat, or get given cash.
If they call at your house, the best advice I will give is to contact the local neighbourhood policing team, as they would be interested to see who is 'knocking' in the area.
They are commonly referred to as 'Nottingham Knockers'. This is because they started off, and many still come from, the Nottinghamshire area. Sellers of 'tat' recruit unemployed youngsters to sell their wares for them door to door on a commission only basis.
This is not illegal but they need to have a 'Pedlars Certificate' issued by the police in the area where they live. Most of them will not have a certificate because having been vetted by the police it was deemed they were not trustworthy enough to be allowed one, or they simply can't afford or be bothered to apply for one. It is illegal to deceive people into believing they are working for charitable purposes.
Not all of them are ex-offenders or likely to steal but it is quite often the case that when a spate of opportunist burglaries or petty theft from gardens has occurred, Nottingham Knockers have been reported in the area.
It is always worth giving the police a ring if they call at your door...and ask to see their pedlars certificate!
Never heard the term Nottingham Knockers and since I live in Nottingham you would think I would have. It seems our local newspaper thinks the same. I'm sure door knockers exist but as to the scam originating in Nottingham I think that's just an urban myth.
My son used to do it in his late teens, it was perfectly legit and he had a pedlar's licence - and no, he wasn't a young offender, he was just earning a bit of cash while between 'proper' jobs.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
Quote: Originally posted by madz on 05/1/2015
Never heard the term Nottingham Knockers and since I live in Nottingham you would think I would have. It seems our local newspaper thinks the same. I'm sure door knockers exist but as to the scam originating in Nottingham I think that's just an urban myth.
Quote: Originally posted by Taylor56 on 06/1/2015
We had one a while ago and politely declined to buy anything and he went nuts and walked away shouting about people not giving him a chance.
Yes, I had the same thing here. I would have bought something if the goods weren't so shoddy, but I've been fleeced by these people before. It quite frightened me a bit, b/c this chap was just the same as yours, Taylor.
From what I could gather when I looked into it, they are legit.
Sadly some of the companies are rip off merchants,and charge the kids a small fortune for the goods.