Ocala, Florida — Residents should beware of door-to-door salesmen offering meats for sale, or offering to take orders for meat to be delivered.
The scam or sales pitch goes something like this: A “salesman” will come to your door and say he or she is from a local food service delivering meat to a neighbor that just happens not to be home at that time. The “salesman” may then say something like, “Since I am in the area would you like to buy some meats? I will be in the area for one day only.” Residents have also reported high pressure “salesmen.” The “salesman” may begin to ask about your shopping habits and ask if you have room in your freezer, and in some cases, insisting to see your freezer. The “salesman” may also claim the meat they have to offer is left over from a local restaurant.
The “salesman” may be using the company name of Favorite Choice Meats with a fraudulent address of 20372 East Pennsylvania Avenue, Dunnellon, Florida. Neither the company name nor the address is registered to conduct business in Dunnellon.
In the Marion County area, residents have reported seeing both a white and red pickup truck with a freezer in the bed of the truck. Additionally, some Marion County residents have reported instances in which they were offered drugs after refusing to buy meat.
Many times, the door-to-door meat “salesmen” prey on the elderly, using tricky language to confuse the buyer. The “salesman” may offer meat at an extremely low cost, but actually charge credit cards hundreds of dollars over the estimated price. Or a brochure is produced showing a 30 ounce porterhouse steak for $20.00, but upon opening the steak it is actually only four ounces. Other tactics used on victims involve placing an order, paying $400 by credit card, but the buyer never receives the goods. Often times, if the meat is delivered after payment, the meat will be spoiled upon delivery.
Direct USA Foods is also a company that may go door-to-door selling packaged meat deals. And while they are registered to conduct business in Florida, they have a long list of complaints with the Better Business Bureau as well as Rip Off Report.
Residents are asked to use caution when dealing with door-to-door meat salesmen. If you suspect you are the victim of a scam you are asked to contact your local law enforcement.