Scam Type
Worthless Problem-solving Service Scam
Date Reported
2023-03-18 00:00:00
Victim Postal Code
23502
Total Dollars Lost
0
Scam Description
A woman came to my house under the pretense of free water testing for the entire neighborhood. She stated the water would be tested and we would receive a call in a few days. Within two days we received a call informing that our household water tested at 176 TDS and they recommended further testing for free. She informed that the tester could give a specific breakdown of what was in our water, with in-depth numbers and quantities. She was very pushy but I scheduled the tester to come to our home while my husband was home. A man named Tony arrived as scheduled and immediately began asking for items (bowls, glasses, washcloth, towels) to conduct his water testing. It ended up being that he was only selling water filtration systems. From the beginning he was quite rude and aggressive in his approach, including insulting myself, my family, and our parenting. When I asked questions related to water testing or about our water content he ignored the question and simply stated he would “get to that later” and his speech felt very scripted. During his sales pitch he washed our glasses with unknown soap (he would not show us what) and then filled a cup with water that he brought with him from an unmarked container and asked us to drink it. He stated he was only trying to show us how much better the water tasted and to help us do what was best for our family. When we questioned him about the water breakdown he then directed us to a public domain and informed that he could not test anymore than the chlorine and pH (and two other items). Tony did inform that our current TDS was at 78, nowhere near the level of what we were told over the phone. (I took notes while on the phone so I had a reference when the tester arrived.) When we questioned him about being the dishonesty of getting him into our home he became increasingly hostile and aggressive in his demeanor and approach. My husband stated that he felt very targeted in this encounter and Tony admitted they were not doing water testing for the entire neighborhood as we were led to believe but they do approach new home owners (like us). We then told him that this was not going to go any further and he left. The “staff” from HR Water Solutions used scam tactics and fallacies to gain access to our home where our children were present all while trying to get both my husband and I to consume an unknown liquid. It very quickly went from a “free service” to being told the system was only $34/month for the rest of our lives.
