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Local homeowners warn of suspicious solicitations

They're supposedly selling vacuum cleaners. But there are several reports now calling the door-to-door salespeople suspicious

They're supposedly selling vacuum cleaners. But there are several reports now calling the door-to-door salespeople suspicious

The warnings are stacking up on social media.

Take this case in Strongsville.

It’s the middle of the afternoon Thursday. There’s a knock on the door at a home on Hartford Trail.

It’s a man and a woman.

“They said they were going door-to-door giving all my neighbors free dish soap and they needed feedback on how well it worked," said the homeowner who asked to be anonymous.

"Then he said, 'have you ever heard of Kirby vacuum cleaners?' And my husband walked up and they left in a hurry."

A no soliciting sign was of no significance to them.

"It just didn't make any sense and they didn't have anything with them. No badges, no paperwork and just one of those little bottles of Gain."

Sure enough, another call reporting the same tactic came in from just down the street.

Strongsville police responded and questioned a man who lives near Columbus.

The police report says officers told them they needed a permit and they then left the neighborhood.

"I didn't believe they worked for Kirby because it just didn't seem like a good marketing tactic. I can't believe the company would stand behind that kind of tactic either."

Channel 3's Amani Abraham reached out to Kirby.

A spokesman says the man named in the police report is NOT an authorized, independent distributor of Kirby products, but he may be affiliated with one of the distributors as a salesperson.

Whoever they are, they seem to be making the rounds.

Similar social media posts are stacking up from cities like Brook Park as well.

"They’re saying they were giving one tide laundry pod so I kind of had a heads up that something was not right. You just don't know what they are up to and if they are trying to see if someone is home during the day. I wouldn't want older people to fall victim to that."

It may be that they are only guilty of a questionable sales tactic.

But the man named in the police report didn't call us back when we asked for contact information for the Kirby distributor he works for.

Strongsville Police gave him a warning and said stop all soliciting until they have a permit.

They're saying to ask for that permit if someone knocks on your door. Salespeople are supposed to be actually wearing it where it is visible. If you don't see it, they say, call police.

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