Explorer Communications
Complaint 316232 Details

A young lady rang my doorbell, I opened it thinking she was my new neighbor who had just moved in downstairs and she was coming to introduce herself. After a handshake and exchanging names, she started to tell me about being in a communications contest for a trip to Italy, and as I once lived in Italy, we started discussing cities she hoped to go to, etc. By the time I realized she was not my new neighbor, it was too late, she had come inside and was on my couch, and was pulling out lists of magazines to buy. I felt stuck as she was in my home, and also bad for her having now gotten to know her (under false pretenses of course), so I bought two different subscriptions as gifts for my siblings (by check). She said someone would call me to verify the amount, because some of the other kids are 'dishonest' and 'change the amounts to more money'. They never called to confirm of course, though it took the company 3 weeks to cash the check - I should have canceled it immediately. She asked to use my bathroom - by this point, I knew I'd been had, and truly hoped she was not casing my house. The magazines for which I subscribed never arrived - in their place, letters came saying that those magazines are not available and to choose from three others, all presented in a poorly xeroxed letter - they offered no other way to contact them. I finally looked it up online and realized it was, as my intuition had told me all along, a scam. I fear the company was scamming the girl too. She mentioned she had to call in for 'safety checks' once a night, but they should have a buddy system - anyone who sends young teens into other people's homes is taking a huge risk that no one will kidnap or do something worse to them. I wonder if I should change my bank account number now, since they have the account and routing numbers. Sigh. Be ready to turn these kids away, despite their enthusiasm and charming smiles.