BRUNSWICK
After apprehending a man selling so-called excess trade show product out of a rental truck earlier this month, Brunswick and Freeport police departments have issued a joint statement warning residents about illegal door-to-door transient sellers of power products.
Police remind residents that it is a crime for a person who does not have a permanent place of business in the state of Maine to come to your residence and sell goods or home repair services. In the spring and summer, unlicensed individuals frequently peddle driveway sealing or tree removal services.
While the weather is no longer favorable for these scams, new techniques arise.
One example is a salesman coming to your residence claiming to have excess stock from a tradeshow that he will sell to you on the spot at a steep discount. The product is normally a brand that you don’t recognize so you don’t realize the price is not actually at a bargain, and could even be stolen property.
Risks involved with purchasing products from a transient seller include being pressured into a purchase without adequate time to consider the purchase, purchasing from an unknown company which may not be able to backup any warranties and purchasing goods of unknown quality.
On Dec. 23, the Brunswick Police Department apprehended Brian Woodman, 31, of Anchorage, Alaska. Working on behalf of ZT Industrial, LLC of Somersworth, N.H., he was selling products such as generators door to door on U.S. Route 1 in the area of the Brunswick-Freeport town line.
According to police Woodman was driving a rented truck and claimed to be selling excess product from a trade show. Neither Woodman nor ZT Industrial, LLC was licensed as a transient seller in Maine. A search of the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporations Division records showed that ZT Industrial, LLC is “not in good standing.”
Woodman was summonsed for being a transient seller without registration, a Class E crime.
Before engaging with a door-to-door salesperson, one should always request to see the seller’s Maine transient sales registration.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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