Face To Face Technologies
Young magazine seller overstayed in my home; charged $325
- 07-21-2008
- 7
My experience with this company is similar to, but different from, the others that have posted here. On July 11th a young, well-dressed man knocked at my door at about 6:30 p.m. Since I live on my own, I usually don't answer my door unless I'm expecting someone, but this time I just happened to be standing right near the door, so I felt like I had to answer it. I said "hello" and stepped out to see what the guy wanted. He told me he was in a contest to earn points to win a trip to the Bahamas and that to do this he was selling magazines that went to help kids with diabetes. "Who wouldn't want to help kids?" he said. I found out his name was Josh and he said he was from Trenton, NJ.
Next thing I knew, he was asking me what I did for a living, what my interests were, and even if I had a boyfriend. I told him my occupation (which he thought was the best he had heard all day) and that my interest was music. He mentioned he had last seen Def Leppard in concert, which just so happened to be the last group I saw as well. As for the boyfriend question, I told him I didn't have one, which he found hard to believe because he said I seemed so nice and not "snobby" like the rest.
He asked me if he could come inside and use a table to show me the magazines he was selling, so I let him. Again, I'm thinking this is for charity. He said hello to my pet bird and noticed I was a Steelers fan. He said he would love to watch one of their games with me sometime. When we went to sit at my kitchen table, he decided he wanted to sit in the chair right next to me rather than across from me. He complimented my kitchen walls and my antique kitchen chairs and even said that he and I had the same microwave. He started sweating really badly and told me he was sorry for taking one of my napkins to wipe off his face. I turned on my AC for him. Then he began asking me more questions about myself, like my nationality, where I grew up, what my dad was like, and what I was doing that weekend. When I told him I was going to a festival with my family for the weekend, he said he should come with me. I told him he could, but he just put his head down and nodded no. I noticed his foot was rubbing mine and jumped back. He told me he was sorry, that he liked to play footsies and thought I had soft feet. It was sometime during these questions that he made a comment that he wished he could give me a hug. I asked him, "Why don't you then?" I stood up, opened my arms and gave him a nice long hug. He told me that no one had hugged him in a long time, which made me sad. All along, he kept saying he thought I was beautiful.
Finally, he decided to get down to the magazines. He told me I had to pick at least 5 in order for him to get points, so I did. Next thing I knew, I was being slipped a receipt for $325.00! Again, I'm thinking it's for charity, so it's worth it. He even told me I would get some of this money back at tax time. I gave him $20 cash and the other $305 in a check. He drew a heart on my receipt and told me he drew it because he thought I was so sweet. Then he asked if he could kiss me on the cheek, which I let him do.
After that, he asked if he could have something to drink and if we could go outside for a little bit because he wanted to smoke, which I don't allow in my home. As I was getting him a drink, he told me that guys must be stupid for passing me up because I seemed like I really knew how to take care of a man. We went outside on my back porch and continued to talk. He said he drove the same kind of car as me, and when I asked him what color his car was, he said purple. I shot him a funny look, and he said he really had no choice on the color he got.
Once he was done smoking, we came back inside and he asked to use my bathroom. I showed him where it was. He noticed the colors of my upstairs bedrooms, thought they were cool and asked if I ever wanted to have kids. I answered his question and directed him to the bathroom. Afterwards, he came back to my kitchen and we sat and continued to talk. At one point he looked at me and said, "Let's get married." I shot him a confused look, and he said that he didn't mean tomorrow. Still, it was weird. He told me he felt there was a reason he met me and that he could tell I was "real" and not putting on a fake first impression like a lot of people do. Again, I thanked him. He once again asked if he could kiss me on the cheek, so I let him.
By this time it was nearing 8 p.m. and he started to get sad. He said he had to sell 2 more magazines to meet quota by 8 and felt rude asking me if I would buy 2 more or give him more cash. I said no. I told him everything would be okay as he had his head down on my table, and he muttered, "No, you don't understand, but I'm sorry for asking." He could have walked out my door long before that and tried to sell more, but he kept saying he wanted to stay with me. It was now 7:58 and he said his ride would be looking for him soon. I walked him to the front door. He hugged me and kissed me on the neck, lips and hand before some sort of van pulled up along my road to get him. He told me he would definitely be calling me sometime.
The next day I got suspicious of things and came online to research the company, and I found all the reports about it. My heart just broke and I began to cry reading about all the abuse this company puts its employees through. I never knew these magazine crews existed, and if I had, I would have helped Josh get in touch with his family or called the cops to help get him home. I could now see why he spent an hour and a half in my house not wanting to leave and why no one had hugged him in a long time. It seemed like it was the first time he had ever been in an actual home. I found it funny that on the receipt he left me, he put his name as Josh C., with no full last name. I did the cancellation procedure as it says on the receipt and also cancelled my check. I will probably close my checking account as well. I called ACA to make sure they got my cancellation fax, and the lady told me she would mail my check back. I'm sure this is a lie. She also told me that the only magazine that went toward charity was "Shape," which is one I didn't order. Again, I'm sure this was another lie.
What I don't understand is why we are not doing more to stop this. Since this happened to me, I have contacted everyone I can, including anyone in the media that will listen. The people running this company deserve to burn in hell for treating young adults and teens like animals. I pray every night that Josh didn't get abused for his lack of sales and is able to see through what is going on and make it home safely. Never again will I answer unknown knocks at my door.
Company: Face To Face Technologies
Country: USA
State: Colorado
City: Golden
Address: PO Box 18352
Phone: 3036748252