Strange occurrence-- food drive by.

[Taltarzac]

Something odd just happened.

We have two neighbors on one side with the same name. Say Michael for instance.

A white fan with what looked like two 35-50 women stopped by in front of our house.

One of the women-- maybe 35-- came to the door from the driver's side and asked if we wanted some free food left over from the delivery to Michael. Both Michaels have their names on the signs near their lamp posts. She asked if we not notify Michael though about the free food. Neither Michael though needs a food delivery service as far as I know.

This is seafood she said.

She then offered beef for $2 a lb.

She went packing after a "No thanks" to her two offers.

She then made the same offer to our neighbor on the other side of the house from the Michaels. This information is from a telephone call to our next door neighbor.

He wanted nothing to do with this either-- smelling something fishy. :p

The white van then continued down the street across a major road in the Villages where I could not see where it was going.

I did not take down the license plate of the white van.

I did not report it to Villages Community Watch either but it maybe something to watch out for. The white van did not look like it was refrigerated.

It was just an ordinary white soccer mom like van.

Someone will check with the Michael(s) in case the women just read the names from the lamp posts and were just soliciting meat in the Villages.

[pooh]

Thanks for the info. As it has been said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Wonder who they are?

Any reason you didn't call Neighborhood Watch? If I see them on my street, I'll give NW a call.

[Bogie Shooter]

That has happened to us twice.

[Mudder]

This happened in our neighborhood in Tampa a few times. Same story, picked a name on a sign post up the street. They are phony, sometimes they just want to get a look into your house to see if there's anything in there that they might want to help themselves to that a later time. When law enforcement was called they said they could not do anything unless you had a Do Not Solicit sign in your own window. However they would quickly leave when the law showed up.

[Taltarzac]

Thanks for the info. As it has been said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Wonder who they are?

Any reason you didn't call Neighborhood Watch? If I see them on my street, I'll give NW a call.

I did not take down the license plate so all I have to report would be a white van with two women in it. The woman who came to the door was not carrying any food.

I was hoping that the van would stop at our neighbor down the street who is a District rep of some kind. He would probably make a citizen's arrest if he thought anything was off. It did not stop on that side of the street.

[pooh]

This happened in our neighborhood in Tampa a few times. Same story, picked a name on a sign post up the street. They are phony, sometimes they just want to get a look into your house to see if there's anything in there that they might want to help themselves to that a later time. When law enforcement was called they said they could not do anything unless you had a Do Not Solicit sign in your own window. However they would quickly leave when the law showed up.

If I recall correctly, there are NO Soliciting signs at the gate houses? If so, we're covered.

[Pturner]

Tal,
Thanks for reporting it here.

Now that we are forewarned, if any of us gets a similar unexpected knock on the door, here's a suggestion:

Answer the door with camera or camera phone in hand. If solicited, snap a photo, then decline the offer. If you don't feel threatened, follow them to their vehicle and snap a photo of their license tag.

I suspect they will leave without bothering any of your neighbors. I'd still report it to Community Watch.

The other option is to hold them down 'till Gracie, Red and I can come over and beat the crap out of them. :angel:

[moongirl]

Had the same thing happen in our neighborhood (Sabal Chase). Two latinos came up the driveway, we were working in the flowers out front, said they had some beef leftover from a delivery and didn't want to go back to the warehouse to drop it off. About 25 frozen steaks, patties, etc. for $150. We don't eat that much beef. They went on down the street. . . I didn't know who to contact, since Neighborhood Watch says they aren't responsible for that kind of thing. We also have a large number of folks riding bikes, walking dogs, jogging and in general, just nosing down the cartpath on the golf course behind our house. Reported to clubhouse - nothing done about it! Guess we all just deal with things ourselves.

[GeorgeT]

A new meaning to "Meat and greet"

[Taltarzac]

A new meaning to "Meat and greet"

:a20:

Very funny!

The women who were in the white van that came to our house were both white. The one who came to the door was rather heavy, brunette and maybe 35. The one in the passenger seat was older and blonde. She looked about 45 or older.

[barb1191]

A new meaning to "Meat and greet"

:024: :wave: A good one, George....and you beat Pturner to the play on words.....b

[Mudder]

Even tho there are no soliciting signs at the gates, we were told in Tampa that basically means nothing unless you have one on your house. Could be different here, maybe it is a county thing?

[pooh]

Even tho there are no soliciting signs at the gates, we were told in Tampa that basically means nothing unless you have one on your house. Could be different here, maybe it is a county thing?

I had one on my house in CA and it only seemed to work in keeping the little Girl Scouts with the cookies away...rats! I'd see them walk up to the door, see the sign and then head away. I'd have to go after them to buy those delicious, great frozen, Thin Mints:a040:!!!

[brostholder]

This is an old trick that they often pull in New York. Some meat "accidentally" falls off the back of a truck. Of course I'm being sarcastic. Someone has either stolen it or for some reason it was rejected (perhaps e coli or not kept under proper refrigeration). Then these lovely folks sell it a very cheap prices and those that buy it take their chances.

[Tweety Bird]

This is an old trick that they often pull in New York. Some meat "accidentally" falls off the back of a truck. Of course I'm being sarcastic. Someone has either stolen it or for some reason it was rejected (perhaps e coli or not kept under proper refrigeration). Then these lovely folks sell it a very cheap prices and those that buy it take their chances.

Just tell them you're a vegetarian....hehehehehe

[GeorgeT]

:024: :wave: A good one, George....and you beat Pturner to the play on words.....b

Thanks Barb and Taltarzac. Although I made a joke (that's just me) I think this is a very serious subject and I appreciate that Taltarzac brought it to our attention and that we have a site like this to get the news out. I've been lurking for awhile and feel like I already know some of you!

[Pturner]

PT, you must be working hard on your diet cause you didn't mention anything about wanting to take a picture of the food:a20:
S2

:icon_hungry:

[islandgal]

So much for our gated community!

[paulandjean]

times are tuff for a lot of people. Maybe just trying to make a buck.Do not think they are trying anything fishy. people that break into houses use other means. Very few canvas the area.

[missypie]

A new meaning to "Meat and greet"

Love it!:a20:

[Taltarzac]

Maybe, this :yuck: is what happened to the elk? :jester:

[graciegirl]

Something odd just happened.

We have two neighbors on one side with the same name. Say Michael for instance.

A white fan with what looked like two 35-50 women stopped by in front of our house.

One of the women-- maybe 35-- came to the door from the driver's side and asked if we wanted some free food left over from the delivery to Michael. Both Michaels have their names on the signs near their lamp posts. She asked if we not notify Michael though about the free food. Neither Michael though needs a food delivery service as far as I know.

This is seafood she said.

She then offered beef for $2 a lb.

She went packing after a "No thanks" to her two offers.

She then made the same offer to our neighbor on the other side of the house from the Michaels. This information is from a telephone call to our next door neighbor.

He wanted nothing to do with this either-- smelling something fishy. :p

The white van then continued down the street across a major road in the Villages where I could not see where it was going.

I did not take down the license plate of the white van.

I did not report it to Villages Community Watch either but it maybe something to watch out for. The white van did not look like it was refrigerated.

It was just an ordinary white soccer mom like van.

Someone will check with the Michael(s) in case the women just read the names from the lamp posts and were just soliciting meat in the Villages.I have heard that happens at Katie Belles sometimes......

Seriously, it sounds like it should be reported for soliciting. You are not allowed to do that.

We had that happen in our neighborhood in West Chester, and they used a neighbors name as someone they had sold too. It was frozen meat and fish too.

I hope it wasn't anyone trying to steal something but I would guess they were trying to sell food, but who knows what quality? Yuck!

[2BNTV]

A new meaning to "Meat and greet"

Thanks for the laugh.

This reminds me of the tv show, In Living Color with the "home boy shopping network" that sold goods out of the back of a truck.

One would have to be concerned if the meat were safe to eat.

[Pturner]

Posters who stated that this has happened to them in other states peaked my curiosity. I googled the issue and got quite a few hits about this "scam".

The gist is that the back story about an unfulfilled order is a lie. It's intent is to get people to make a snap decision, thinking they are getting a good price. Actually, any takers would be overpaying for very poor quality meat or fish.

Here is one such link. It's from the Iowa Attorney General's office:

http://www.iowa.gov/government/ag/consumer/advisories/04_08_adv_Door_Meat_Scams.html

[Taltarzac]

Posters who stated that this has happened to them in other states peaked my curiosity. I googled the issue and got quite a few hits about this "scam".

The gist is that the back story about an unfulfilled order is a lie. It's intent is to get people to make a snap decision, thinking they are getting a good price. Actually, any takers would be overpaying for very poor quality meat or fish.

Here is one such link. It's from the Iowa Attorney General's office:

http://www.iowa.gov/government/ag/consumer/advisories/04_08_adv_Door_Meat_Scams.html

Thanks. PTurner. Have not talked to the neighbors on the other side-- the two Michaels side-by-side-- but will eventually.

The woman who came to our door claimed that she had a delivery for the Michael next door but had some left over. I doubt seriously if there was any such delivery.

She also made it sound like the neighbor was getting some kind of meals on wheels delivery.

She was very rattled at the door and kept changing terms and the like. First the seafood was free then the beef was $2 a lb.

Sounds like what the Iowa AG warned about in your linked web-site. I read about a similar scam in towns in Texas except that in TX it sounded like they were pumping the meat with some kind of fluid to make it weigh more.

[Taltarzac]

Some bridge partners in the Lynnhaven area mentioned that they had bought these steaks from a man with the same "delivery" pitch but they were happy they only bought a few because they were not very good.