October 02, 2009

Door-to-door solicitor is back in the Northwest

SEATTLE — If a young person knocks on your door and says they’re selling magazines for a charity, wait before reaching for your pocketbook. The Washington Attorney General’s Office, which issued a warning about Fresh Start Opportunities in March, says solicitors have returned to Washington state.

Fresh Start Opportunities claims to be a “job business training company” that sends young adults door to door to give them a “fresh start” on life. The organization has ignored repeated inquiries from the Secretary of State’s Office concerning its failure to register as a charity, as well as consumer complaints received by the Attorney General’s Office and the Better Business Bureau.

 “After paying generous amounts for subscriptions, consumers throughout the country never received the magazines and have no idea how their money was spent,” said Attorney General Rob McKenna.

The AGO has received complaints from consumers who paid $50 to $784 for subscriptions. A common theme among the complainants is that they were touched by the solicitors’ stories. They said solicitors claimed to be earning money for college, working toward a better job, receiving points for a free trip, or contributing proceeds to help homeless youth. Consumers paid for subscriptions by check

Read the rest here:  http://www.atg.wa.gov/pressrelease.aspx?&id=23970.