Anyone rent to travelling salesman. Scam?

Question

Had a call last Friday.  A lady affiliated with DirecTV wanted to rent a house for herself and 8 other salesman for 2 weeks.  They were going to do door-to-door sales in this area.  She wanted to pay with a credit card on Friday, and start renting the place Monday.  I told her to pay when you get here. Monday came and they never showed up.  Didn't respond to a text message either.  Now it's Tuesday and still no contact from them.  I called DirecTV, and they said any door-to-door sales would be a 3rd party.

So I think it was some sort of scam.  I think she wanted to make a payment, but would want a refund a day or two later.  Something tells me I would have been out the money.

What do you think?

She had reserved a 3 story house with 8 beds and 4 baths for $1200/week for 9 people.  I don't think she could have found a better deal anywhere else in this county.

Mike Zipf · Answer

Haven't heard of this as a specific scam but it sounds like it could be similar to a scam I have heard before. Essentially it goes that someone would buy something on a stolen credit card then ask for the money to be returned to their bank account or paypal account. The credit charge would most likely be challenged by the real owner of the card a few days later. Hard to defend against when not using an intermediary service which shoulders most of these risks, which most small businesses don't do.

Ken Latchers · Answer

I would say in the future,  when you get a scenario you question,  do a web search on exactly that.  Like traveling salesman and  DirecTV and scam

Paul Sandhu · Answer

It was legit.  The people have been filtering in over the last 3 days.  Today the person with the company credit card showed up and payed.  There were 30-40 boxes of DirecTV dishes and mounting brackets on the porch, plus other hardware.

When I met one of the guys today, he said "I've been in this house since Wednesday, I didn't know there was a third floor until today."

Paul Sandhu · Answer

@Frank Geiger Putting 2 people in a motel room would cost the company $1750/week in the cheapest motel in town.  Plus no kitchen or private laundry.  I've had 11 people in that house before, and they didn't feel crammed. These DirecTV salesmen are probably college students on summer break.  A full/queen/king size bed is probably a luxury compared to the dorm room they came from, with its twin size bed.

Frank Geiger · Answer

I think you did the right thing by protecting yourself. Having her meet you Monday for the payment was a smart move.

Wouldn't a company rent the employees individual rooms at a hotel? I don't think they would cram everyone into one house like that.

John Underwood · Answer

Certainly sounds fishy. Especially since they wont respond back to you now.

Anyone rent to travelling salesman. Scam?

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