Sheriff says door-to-door solicitors not legal

A group of door-to-door magazine sales people do not have a permit to solicit in Carson City and are breaking the law, Sheriff Kenny Furlong said this morning.

"Anybody who is soliciting in town must have an ID issued by this sheriff's department. Without it they cannot solicit. These people are soliciting, they are being intrusive into peoples homes, they are asking for money and not taking it the way the people want to give it," he said of the group which calls itself Integrity Sales, and offers magazine subscription.

Furlong said his office has received a number of complaints concerning the groups aggressiveness and sales tactics.

"One woman had a (salesman) showing her the needle marks in his arms and he was saying that he has cancer."

Furlong said when the Lakeview-area woman decided to get a magazine subscription, the salesman was unhappy with how she filled out the check. She eventually decided against the transaction and "ended up kicking him out of the house," and calling police.

Furlong reminds everyone that solicitors in Carson City must have identification from the sheriff's department for door-to-door sales.

"I ask every citizen who gets a solicitor to ask for that ID first before they even talk to the person. If they do not produce it, they have not been issued the authority to solicit in Carson City and they are breaking the law," he said. "If we catch any of them today, they will be cited. I will not tolerate a business from out of town intruding on this town without going through process."

Anyone who has contact with such a salesperson today is asked to call Carson City's non-emergency dispatch at 887-2007.

- Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.