Complaint Review: Freedom Sales Inc

 The young woman who came to my door had a life story that would pull at anybody's heart. I felt for her. I spent a couple of hours listening to her, eventually letting her in my home. I felt fine with this. I am an older female. A handful of times I quietly thought "is this all true?" but I didn't then and still won't assume she was lying. She seemed very genuine ... But something still didn't feel right. I was willing to give her some cash without any book/magazine purchase, but she insisted she couldn't. She also said I Had to purchase 4 subscriptions. It was tough because I knew I probably couldnt afford this.

I even said a few times I couldn't afford it. But then she'd start talking about personal things again and then I'd share some personal information. Looking back I see it all became too personal and emotional. Well I ended up buying four subscriptions all the while ignoring my conscience. Once she left it all seemed to hit me that something seemed very wrong. I made the decision after a short time that I needed to get my money back. I waited for her to be done talking with a neighbor and expressed that I couldn't do this right now and that I was very sorry.

She didn't look at me, but was upset, and handed me my check back. I did feel very bad. After this I googled the company and found the Ripoff Report site as well as a few others that identified reports about this company, as well as door to door magazine sales companies in general. What I read made my gut sick, and began to confirm my insticts/concerns, whether I had the money or not. Later, after she was done in the neighborhood she came back to my house to say goodbye. We started talking again, but I started to feel guarded as she questioned why I changed my mind. She seemed to feel betrayed, saying she thought we'd bonded and didn't I want to help her.

I explained that I just couldn't afford it (which was true), but privately I didn't want to discuss my concerns about the company. She made more comments playing on my emotions, and I became upfront about this. She in turn became defensive and eventually we were almost arguing. I kept bringing it back to "I totally am compassionate about your life story", and she knew I had been. She just seemed insistent that I needed to order something and wouldn't drop it. Finally I said "I'm not sure why we are arguing", and she said "ok" and left down the street.

This was all a pretty intense experience. Partly my fault for opening myself up, but I genuinely listened to all she said and cared about everything she said she had experienced. I cannot imagine going through all she told me about; but after later checking the company out at BBB, I believe I made the right decision regarding my money. A few other things: she was originally from a different state and had been in my state only a few months or less, had no vehicle, and had a phone that she said didn't work (what? What kind of manager drops a young female in an unknown neighborhood by herself with no phone?).

I never really understood what she was working toward ... "points" of some kind, but for what? She said she was doing this for the opportunity to meet new people, to better her communication skills, and to not have to sell drugs. She claimed "I get no real compensation for this" except to do something "in the program", but at another time mentioned something about a commission. There is a lot more to the dialogue, but I hope I've made the picture clear enough. I'm writing this to advise others not to let sales people bait them with an emotional appeal. Ask questions and listen to your instincts. I'm also very concerned about this young lady and the true nature of Freedom Sales, Inc.