Scam Mentoring Programs, Work Programs, Training Programs that bus people from town to town.
I live in a small town in California and on a quiet court where all the neighbors know each other for decades and we look out for each other too.
We all have dogs that bark and no set schedules either so it feels fairly safe. That said we still get the occasional magazine scammers that are brought in from other towns to make illegal bucks off of you!
In my case two blonde girls came up to the door and started pitching some program for “Urban Development Solutions” while they were talking, I saw the web address on this piece of paper they were holding, urbans.com and made a note of it.
They said this is a mentoring program and that “we be from a bad background”, ( they both looked perfectly fine and actually attractive, well fed and not poor old girls from a bad background) It reeked of BS to me, and they would not shut up, the older one (looked around early 20’s and the other one looked 19 or so) was aggressive and a real scammer type.
She would not let you get a word in edgewise and kept asking me my name, (I hate it when scammers do that-it is so fake and creepy)
They told me they could not take any money or donations. They needed real work they said, and showed me this big block sentence on the form that said “no donations accepted”.
I finally shut the door on them, but I had a bad feeling in my gut about these two, so I looked up the website and it looked pretty rinky dink, so I called the cops.
People are not suppose to solicit around here anyway.
In the meantime they went next door and my neighbor gave them 20.00 just to go away! He said they would not shut up and he did not know what to do.
So there went the supposed “we don’t take donations line.”
He said they were asking for 120.00 for magazine subscriptions!! ( he was so funny, he said please don’t tell my wife.)
So now I was really mad.
They had my other neighbors trapped in the doorway, so I went over and interrupted them and told them I had called the cops and they were scammers.
I asked them why they took money from my neighbor.
Of course they got really pissed. ( I moved my cars into the garage to avoid damages later)
I googled the name of the company and found a complaint website that had the supposed owners name of the business, who they had also mentioned was their boss, ,when I told them I was going to look up the website. His name is
Rodney Rankins and he can be reached at 313-320-3335. I found that number on a complaint website here.
Rodney actually answered the phone with just a hello and I told him my story and then the line went dead.
I wasn’t really surprised. I was surprised I even reached someone who admitted they ran the company.
I thought he had hung up on me because it was definitely on his end, but then he did call me back, (checking on me?)
He asked me if the girls were African American or Caucasian, I told him Caucasian and he said they have no Caucasians working for them at all. (hmmm, really, the website says people are independent contractors in each town so they could hire whomever they want, how would he know?)
Then I asked him if they had anyone in my town and he said no.
I don’t know if that is true, but he said he was glad I called the cops.
By this point the police had arrived and I gave them all this info.
Do not fall victim to these types of scams and people.
Please people beware and be careful.
Update: This is great, the cops caught up with the girls and they came back in a white van being driven by somebody and they gave my neighbor his $20.00 back!
She still claimed to be working with Rodney and said he is her boss. That is what she told my neighbor so that is a bit dicey.
My neighbor was very grateful that I pursued this. He was embarrassed that he gave them money, but they were very aggressive verbally and so pushy.
I dread to think how many people are just like my wonderful sweet neighbor and will just pay them to go away!
Please people get pro-active, don’t just let people get away with this kind of stuff.
You can make a difference in your neighborhood by being careful and busting people like this.
I did a little more research and here is the whois info on that domain.
Registrant:
Urban Development Solutions
18530 Mack Ave #530
Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48236
United States
Registered through: Tell Vision Networks
Domain Name: URBANDS.COM
Created on: 09-Sep-04
Expires on: 09-Sep-15
Last Updated on: 24-Sep-09
Administrative Contact:
McClain, Maurice jlkyles@gmail.com
Urban Development Solutions
18530 Mack Ave #530
Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48236
United States
+1.3135952360 Fax — +1.5865329207
Technical Contact:
McClain, Maurice jlkyles@gmail.com
Urban Development Solutions
18530 Mack Ave #530
Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48236
United States
+1.3135952360 Fax — +1.5865329207
Chris Miller says
These people are complete scammmers…don’t ever trust or buy anything from them. Most cities have laws against solicitation without a permit. A permit entails a picture ID and every individual solicitor needs picture id. Better yet just call the police the minute a solicitor comes to your door. My husband is a police officer and he told me they never have permits and usually have warrants.
Lynda Cole says
Jan 25th just before nightfall we had two very well-fed, well-dressed, clean african boys/men approx 25 come to our door. We bought two subscriptions for $250 to be sent to local libraries as of today August 16th they still have not been delivered. The one who signed my customer copy was Corey Terry Dealer #37. The company is Urban Development Solutions, Inc. The subscription was to be processed through Ultimate Unity, Inc, 8555 W. US Hwy 20, Michigan City, IN 46360 For customer service inquiries it says to call 219-809-5732 or 219-809-0077, Fax 219-809-5734, website: UUNITY.BIZ Mr Terry wrote http://www.urbands.com on my invoice.
I’ve repeatedly called the libraries thinking it just takes time to get everything rolling. Today I stopped in and they said to make an effort to get my money back. They said it’s way over priced and they’ve never received any copies.
I’ll call the phone number again, Michigan timezone different so I’ve missed them today.
Jay says
Door-to-door sales ARE NOT protected by the 1st Amendment…..as someone posted earlier. In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that religious groups are protected by the 1st Amendment for “spreading the word/gospel’ and are not required to register/obtain a solicitor permit by the local government. They ARE NOT allowed to solicit money for contribution or sales unless they have a permit. Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton, 536 U.S. 150 (2002).
Leigh says
I just got one of these people at my door. I told him that my husband has the checkbook with him, so he asks for a cash donation. He even pointed at his form that clearly states “no cash donations accepted” but stated that my other neighbors had given him cash. I googled UDS and saw this article, then called the police. We have alot of elderly neighbors & I would not want them to get scammed. The guy was nice enough & I certainly have no problem supporting inner-city causes, but when he’s asking for cash when he’s not supposed to, and the list of charities that could benefit from the magazines are all hand-written, a few red flags went up. Thanks for posting this article.
Rosie says
This just happened to my family. African American guy comes to the door, telling us he got shot 15 times, has 2 daughters, one with cancer, comes from a bad childhood, was abused, etc etc. And now he works for Urban Development Solutions for a “second chance.” Why in the world we believed this crap is beyond me [still mad at myself], but we wrote a check for an obscene amount of money to buy magazines for a retirement home. Lo and behold, the guy comes back today, the next day, saying there’s something wrong with the check. First he says that we shouldn’t have scratched out the date and corrected it, because the date wasn’t important [um… what?]. Then he says that we shouldn’t have written “magazines for retirement home” in the memo section. Which I try to explain to him should not matter, but he kept going on and on about how his boss won’t accept the check this way and we need to write a new one that has the invoice number from the donation receipts on the memo line instead. So call his “boss” in front of him and she tells me to cross out what we wrote in the memo and write in the invoice numbers. I’m way suspicious but I want this guy gone, so I do it. Come inside, google this company, and I find this article.
I’m calling the police tonight to sort this out. I want to just cancel the check outright but I’m afraid these idiots will come back and key my car or something… they know where I live! I’m just gonna let it go through and hopefully the police will be able to help catch them and get our money back. Screw these jerks. That was gonna be my charitable donation money for the month and they just took it from people who are actually in need.
lt2 says
Oh my goodness! We live in a small townhouse community and about two weeks ago a young man was on my doorstep selling overpriced magazines so he could go to Cancun..said he was in high school but he looked about 23. It was raining that day and even though he had an umbrella he said he needed to write down the contact details of ‘neighbours’ he spoke with and asked if I he could come inside and use a table to write on…adding ‘I hope your not a serial killer’ which I thought was strange and alarming. I told him no! He was quite pushy and even though he said he was raising funds for one charity said he also accepted donations for the troops and St Judes as well (?). And tried to guilt-trip me into giving money. Overall the information, his appearance and behaviour all didn’t match. He did leave…
About a week later their is a different knock on the door and another man selling magazines for the same school charity…He looked to be in his thirties and reeked of cigarettes…He showed me the exact same ‘credentials’ and fold-out of magazines with strange ordering codes on them…I told him someone from his charity had already come to the door. He then proceeded to ask me who it was and ran off several names? He told me that if this was true then I would have a ‘sticker’ on my door….He insisted I ‘back him up’ and purchase a subscription. I told him I didn’t have to do anything and he left. Today another knock at the door but it was a girl trying to sell subscriptions…she needed so many points to go to Greece….etc….I asked her which school she was raising funds for and she said that she wasn’t associated with a particular school, just trying to raise funds thru this charity that helps teenagers build confidence/self-esteem. I asked if this charity were BBB registered and she said they had a B rating (false because later I checked and it was an F rating) I told her she could talk to my husband and come back later when he was home, she said she went on a ‘first impressions’ basis and could not return???…I am really starting to loathe these people who prey on peoples kindness and good nature…
Their techniques all have a pattern to them…there is an urgency to the purchase, they need to sell the subscription now because for some reason they cannot return (to their neighbours home?), they always act over-friendly-all of them ask about my dog who always barks and strangely enough they all have the same unusual breed at home too??….the men asked if anyone else in the home would be interested in magazines and to me it comes across as ‘phishing’…they ask about my husbands interests…and they say electronics,guns etc? which is worrying. Its like they are trying to find out your homes possible contents….No decent salesperson gives or needs so much information,….they try to sway you thru a ‘common interest’ so you let your guard down…I do worry that the men may have been dangerous because thats the vibe I get and I’m a mature, grounded, educated nurse.
At least I’m familliar with their ‘sales techniques’ now but next time I’m answering the door with my camera on me….I’m usually so nice and friendly but now these experiences have added caution and I should feel safe in my home….Please beware…
Linda Lee says
I just had another set of “girls” come to my door. When I asked through the door who they were they said we are your neighbors up the street.
I opened the door and said where do you live? They said, we just talked to your neighbors. That is dishonest, then I said I do not do solicitors, and the chick said, “thanks for helping bitch”. That is why I call the police and that is why I HATE these little dishonest crooks. They are lying scammers and I worry they will come back and key my cars or do something to my animals or home.
Give me one reason I should trust these people. Just one.
Dominique says
I really see no reason to be warned of this company. Or to call the police. That’s quite drastic. This is a legal company that does their best to deliver magazines to the customers as subscribed. I have dealt with them before and I feel this is an honest company. Sometimes the agents may take it upon themselves to lie or whatever, as all businesses have bad eggs, but this is not of the company’s doing.
Linda Lee says
I have no doubt there are real and legitimate magazine sales people going door to door.
I was only warning of this company. The best way to “opt” out of any door to door solicitation is to
just buy a sign for the door that says no solicitors.
(which I still have not done!)
lBall says
It is a scam! They have been selling all over the US collecting peoples $ and not delivering the magazines. Check these complaints out. Sonia Byrd is the Office Manager 832-496-7400 & Lucius Pierce the president.
http://www.hopkintonpd.org/strictlybusiness.htm
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/sb-magazines-inc-c228334.html
leslie says
Just answered to a doorbell ring…real nice sincere guy…been in jail 5 years??? and working heard to feed his daughter…etc. Urban develop solutions was his company…so yeah, same thing as mentioned..he is scammin’ whether he knows it or not! so many druggies set up these scams and make them look real, and get nice guys like this one to fish for money…so sad he is wasting his time and health…it’s about 100 degrees out there and I saw no water bottle. My dogs were fine with him so I trust he thinks he will get paid, but YIKEs Look up the disreputable scammers out there on the web and research their backgrounds You won’t trust another door knocker lookin for money! I told him I only support the kids I know from the neighborhood that are doing door to door.
mark says
SOME MAGAZINE DOOR TO DOOR COMPS ARE SCAMS, AND SOME ARE NOT — AND WITHIN THE HONEST MAGAZINE COMPS, THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT RUN SCAMS,THUS MAKEING THE HONEST COMP LOOK LIKE A SCAM — SO HOW CAN WE TELL IF WE ARE DEALING WITH A SCAM OR NOT….HEAR IS HOW — TELL THE PERSON AT YOUR DOOR YOU DONT WANT ANYTHING,BUT U ARE WILLING TO GIVE HIM/HER 50 $ — IF THAT PERSON SAYS YES — DO NOT GIVE THEM THE MONEY (THEY CAN NOT TAKE ANY DONATIONS) BUT IF THAT PERSON SAYS NO AND STARTS TO WALK AWAY,THAT PERSON IS HONEST — A PERSON DOING A SCAM IS IN IT ONLY FOR THE MONEY,THUS THE SCAMER WOULD SAY YES,THE HONEST PERSON WOULD SAY NO AND WALK AWAY — THATS THE PERSON TO GET SOME MAGAZINE(S) FROM — HOW TO SEE IF THE MAGAZINE COMP THAT PERSON IS WORKING FOR IS HONEST??? — GO TO http://WWW.NFSA.COM..THATS THE NATIONAL FEILD SELLING ASSCOIATION…THEY ARE LIKE THE ‘BBB’ FOR DOOR TO DOOR SALES THROUGHT OUT THE NATION—– (MAKE THIS OFFER (TEST) TO EVERY DOOR TO DOOR SALES PRESON NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE SELLING)
Benjamin says
Door-to-door sales is protected by the Constitution under Freedom of speech. Its already gone to the Supreme Court. Cities that charge a price for a license, or say no altogether are asking to be sued. Door-to-Door folks are for the most part just trying to make a living. I know, Ive done it myself for Home Improvments. Only a small minority are scamming. Do these hard working folks a solid and listen to what they have, you may really want it. If not, you can always close the door. Thank you.
joe says
I bought magazine subscribtions from them a few times and got more magazines than i paid for. i would like for someone to tell me what the scam is. i’m interested to know. i paid for a product – a magazine subscription. and i received the product. that seems like an honest business transaction. now if they were soliciting door to door where it was illegal to do so, they were breaking the law. but that doesn’t suppose a scam was taking place.
Dver1278 says
Just answered a door ring and there was Mr. Freddie Williams. African-American 35 years old and was claiming that he is came from poor background and was trying to make something in life and in order to get better life he needs to sell magazines for Urban Development Solutions,18530 Mack Avenue,Suite #530, Grosse Point, MI 48236.313-878-6100. Scam Website http://www.urbands.com. He showed some ID and the whole story was exactly the same as Linda Lee described. PLEASE BEWARE! THIS IS A SCAM! ILLEGAL ACTIVITY. PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR LOCAL POLICE!!!