A A A A Search :
Toledo Talk   (musing about Lake Erie West and beyond)
From transcom's workspace   

Gutter cleaning dudes?

Ok just wanted an opinion on something that might not be anything. I am not a paranoid person...but this situation is just not sitting well with me.

So every month or so...some random dude shows up in my driveway with a ladder strapped to his car asking to clean my gutters. This usually occurs on Sunday afternoons. They usually come to the door and knock and I politely say "no thanks" and they move on down the street.

Well yesterday two guys in a car with ladder on top pull in front of my house knock on the door. I did not answer because we were out back with friends. I figured the guy would just go away. Well the guy then proceeds to come around to the back of the house, my dog goes nuts and I tell him no thanks. I take a look out front to see him back to his car then go back around back. As they leave the car has this very distinct grinding noise going on. 10 min later I hear the car coming back down the street the other way and they stop in front of the house again and this time the other guy comes directly to the back of the house and asks me the same thing. This time I say "really, no thanks" and he returns to the car. For the next 2 hours these guys run up and down my street stopping at every single house. After 5pm I never see them again.

At 3am. The dog woke me up to go outside and when I come back to bed. I hear this car come rolling down the street again. WTF.
Go back to sleep and just kind of forget about it.

So then today I head home for lunch and as I am leaving...the same fucking car comes down my street with a guy I have never seen before. Ladder on top the car.

Now like I said not paranoid usually, but this time...it just seems a bit odd that this same car is working my street two days in a row. I debated on calling Crime Stoppers or whatever, but did not as of yet.

Anyone with any experience like this? What would you do?

created by transcom on Jul 28, 2008 at 12:12:20 pm     Comments: 12

print      source      versions

Comments ... #

When in doubt, always call the Police - 911. Describe the situation and let them know you are 'fearful of their motives'. Try to get a plate number, direction of travel, description of the vehicle and of the occupants (race, clothing, height, weight, hair....) and how many occupants were seen.

Better to be safe than sorry.

posted by GraphicsGuy on Jul 28, 2008 at 12:46:00 pm     #



Agree with GraphicsGuy this smells like "scoping out the territory". Though it might be legit, however the 3am scenario really sets off a buzzer.

posted by jshriver on Jul 28, 2008 at 01:01:08 pm     #



You and your neighboehood were/are being "cased". No getting around it. Rather dumb for them to be that obvious, but the smart criminals thieve with pencil and paper. Stupid criminals thieve with second story equipment, noisy cars and an accomplices. Call the cops. Keep any information you've collected handy. As slow as the cops are to take a report, it's more likley someone in your neighborhood could be broken into first.

Is a block watch in the realm of possibility? Although in my opinion the cops organize those merely as a "feel good" for the residents some vigilance is better than none.

posted by holland on Jul 28, 2008 at 01:18:10 pm     #



We have a block watch program and I have spoke a bunch of friends on my street and the next 4 streets over.

I called the police...they asked if thought the activity was suspicious. Why else would I call the police?

posted by transcom on Jul 28, 2008 at 01:23:22 pm     #



good call on calling the cops

posted by upso on Jul 28, 2008 at 02:16:30 pm     #



You and your neighboehood were/are being "cased". No getting around it. Rather dumb for them to be that obvious...

I am picturing the guys from Home Alone.

posted by babbleman on Jul 28, 2008 at 02:54:06 pm     #



(laughing at the Home Alone reference)

I never do any kind of business with door-to-door types. While there are still a few honeat individuals who use this technique, the door-to-door world is now all but owned by crooks and religious zealots, neither of whom I'm particularly interested in conversing with.

I agree with the earlier postsers: chances must be better than 50-50 that the "gutter cleaners" are really just looking for items to steal when the house is empty. They were probably driving at 3:00 am looking for the empty houses to B&E.

What also gets me are the guys driving around with pickups and small freezers full of dry ice trying to sell you cuts of meat. The spiel they give is usually something like: "We just delivered to a big account and they sent out the wrong cuts, and my boss said to sell them for whatever we can get, since we can't sell them because they were special-ordered."

Who in the hell buys meat from a dude in a T-shirt driving in a pickup truck? Yet obviously there must be enough suckers hungry for a steak that these mobile meat clowns manage to stay in business.

posted by historymike on Jul 28, 2008 at 07:44:30 pm     #



I think it was a smart move calling the police. The fact that they were in your neighborhood at 3 am is a huge red flag to me that your neighborhood was likely being cased.

I have an uneasy feeling about anyone that goes door-to-door and wants to enter your house these days. (Unless you've agreed to schedule an appointment and they are a known company.)

Our neighborhood recently had salespeople/appointment schedulers come through recently wanting to clean the carpet in one room of your house as a demo. Thanks, but no thanks...I'm not letting strangers in my house to see what they can come try to help themselves to later. lol

(I did Google the company after they left...some company based in Ann Arbor that has been around for awhile, and apparently does most of their business this way. So, at least I'm relieved that they didn't appear to be casing our neighborhood...but I'm still not letting just anyone who comes to the door into my house!)

posted by mom2 on Jul 28, 2008 at 07:59:22 pm     #



Transcom, this is the TPD we're talking about involving, so you gotta approach it quite a bit smarter.

Just calling the police today with a problem that doesn't immediately involve "gun" is a waste of time. As you found out, they acted dumb when you outlined the problem. They do that intentionally ... since they don't want to send anyone out, or advise the patrols in the neighborhood, or anything else that resembles WORK.

So kick it up. Keep a digital camera handy and snap a shot of these guys and their truck. Advise neighbors to do the same. Once you have photographic evidence (including time/date of the shots), compile a statement of what you and the neighbors have been seeing.

Yes, I'm instructing you to START THE POLICE REPORT for the police. After all, with the statement and the photos, you're going to march right down to the Safety Building (TPD HQ) on Erie St, and insist on seeing a Detective. Don't relent until you see one. Get his card. Submit a copy of your evidence. AND CALL HIM ONCE A WEEK IF THE PROBLEM PERSISTS.

Czarty the the police unions think they can just collect tax money and pay and benefits by AVOIDING real police work. SHOW THEM THEY'RE WRONG.

posted by GuestZero on Jul 28, 2008 at 08:41:57 pm     #



Ya know GuestZero - I like your style. Transcom - do what GZ says.

posted by holland on Jul 28, 2008 at 09:40:31 pm     #



"I too like your style Zero since it echoes my sentements to a "T"

when the TPD dispatcher asked "do you think its suspecious"? The next questions should have been "do you have a sign on your back saying "I don't pretend to be stupid"I REALLY AM"!!

posted by blacjac687 on Aug 02, 2008 at 07:45:46 pm     #



And Oh yea; are your cutters really full of crap and growing cotton wood trees??

posted by blacjac687 on Aug 02, 2008 at 07:46:54 pm     #