Complaint Review: Kirby of Concord

Kirby of Concord NH, owned and operated by Richard Smith under the name L&R Merchandising just doesn't understand how to properly maintain a do not call list. That, in itself, is a frustrating ordeal to get call after call pitching carpet cleanings meant to impress and then lead to a vacuum sale. But to respond to several requests to be placed on a no-call by having employees call from the office while blocking the caller ID data threatening to burn my house down and spout racial and sexual insults up to three times a day is a ludicrous escalation and can not be ignored.

Some history: About two years prior an acquaintance of mine, not a good friend, got a job selling Kirby Vacuums. He submitted my name and some other salesman came to my house to clean my carpets. He was nice, polite, and professional but I was not in a position to buy a $1000 vacuum. However, I was impressed enough to buy a Kirby second hand on craigslist not long after (still use it to this day). Soon after buying my Kirby the calls continued to my cell phone asking if I'd like another cleaning. I declined and asked to be placed on the no call list. From there, over that year I continued to get calls, and I continued to ask them to stop calling and place me on the no call list. At one point I called back to complain to the owner, Richard Smith, who promised I would not be called anymore, that he would retrain his employees, and that would be the end of the matter. Less than a week from that communication, I received another call from Kirby and was extremely frustrated and again voiced my concern to Richard. He promised that my number would be posted clearly in the office (a fact that would probably later haunt me) and that everyone would know not to call me. At first I wasn't so sure but a package arrived in the mail from Mr. Smith in a week containing a multi-pack of vacuum bags for my Kirby and a note apologizing for the ordeal. I was satisfied by the gesture and that was end of the story, or so I thought.

About 10 months after that I get another call from the same Kirby number, this time letting me know they're opening a new location and asked if I wanted my carpets cleaned. Irate they still didn't understand what a no call list was called and left a voicemail for Richard to call me from his personal cell phone. When he failed to call me back I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint. That's when Kirby of Concord decided it was time to take their sales tactics to the next level. I began to get Blocked calls to my cell phone between 5:30 and 8pm from a female, sometimes two. I'm fairly thick skinned but she would threaten to have someone burn down my house, insult and harass with sexual and racial comments, and promised that she would continue to call with impunity. Calls to my wireless service provider to identify the the caller were useless as they could not provide that information. When the call frequency increased from weekly to several times a week I researched my options and found a service called TrapCall (www.trapcall.com) that will unmask blocked calls. I shouldn't have been surprised when the number went back to Kirby. I decided I would not answer them and just document the calls. The calls continued, soon daily, and then up to 3 times in one night. When I got the third call in one evening I had reached my breaking point. I called back at the number, left Richard another voicemail, and filed a report with the Nashua police documenting the harassment. Since leaving Mr. Smith that voicemail on November 29th the calls stopped. I'm sure the girls who were making the calls were quite surprised to have a return call after calling me thinking they were safe behind a blocked caller ID.

I can only imagine how many other people who have been and still may be getting harassing calls from a blocked caller ID not knowing who it was. I was never a customer of Kirby of Concord and all I wanted was to be left alone. Apparently, that was the only thing they were incapable of and after a quick google check on the business I now wonder if the harassment was under management direction and not just a rogue employee. In addition to filing a report with the police, expanding my complaint with the BBB, recounting my ordeal on RipOffReport and other web-based complaint sites I am also scheduling some time with an advocate in the office of the Attorney General to discuss my experience. Mr. Smith has yet to respond to my appended BBB complaint or contact me from his personal cell phone as requested.