 Summer brings warm weather, longer days and salespeople to your door. The Southwestern Company wants you to know your rights and how to protect yourself. While most salespeople are legitimate, there are some people who use this method to scam the vulnerable and prey on the elderly.
Education and awareness are key factors in understanding the "good guys" from the "bad guys."
What are Traveling Sales Crews?
"Traveling sales crews" are most widely known for selling magazine subscriptions on a door-to-door basis, although they may sell cleaning supplies or other goods or services. These rogue groups travel from town to town, often in large passenger vans and are dropped off in neighborhoods or apartment complexes to scam and peddle subscriptions. They are consistently absent on a regular basis from their permanent and established place of residence. They are not in one place for an extended period of time because they are often dodging local law enforcement because of their unethical tactics in attempting to obtain sales and refusal to obtain local solicitation permits.
Young people, who may even be minors or runaways, are lured by vague newspaper ads or pulled off the street to participate. They have no control of their money and are often verbally and physically abused if they attempt to leave or do not hit a sales quota. Some crews even have an "enforcer" which maintains order through intimidation practices such as violence. These crews have little to no training and some "crew members" and "crew leaders" have been involved in serious crimes and have criminal records.
The "traveling sales crews" live in dingy motels in which the top sales person for the day may be the one to sleep in the bed. They often party late into the night and drug use is rampant. Ties with friends and family members are often cut-off.
This is a horrible sector of the often misunderstood but entrepreneurial door-to-door distribution channel. See how The Southwestern Company compares to traveling sales crews by viewing our comparison chart.
Southwestern Company Is Committed to Creating
Awareness About "Traveling Sales Crews" by:
- Working with local and state law enforcement and legislators around the US to protect legitimate direct sellers, the consumers they sell to and the communities in which they work.
- Partnering with consumer-friendly organizations and advocates such as the National Consumer League (NCL), the Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) and the Better Business Bureau.
- Following and promoting the guidelines set forth in the Direct Selling Association's Code of Ethics.
- Educating families and youthful recruiting targets of "traveling sales crew" companies by distributing awareness materials.
The following links are downloadable consumer brochures in PDF form from the National Consumers League (NCL), sponsored by the Direct Selling Edcational Foundation (DSEF) and the Southwestern Company.
Southwestern Company is not a "scam" or "scheme"
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