West Michigan Police Warning About Door-to-door Soap Salesmen

Police in West Michigan are issuing a warning after they received multiple complaints about individuals going door-to-door selling soap.

The warning was posted to Facebook by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department on March 17.

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The Ottawa County Sheriff's Department says that they've recently received two different reports of individuals going door-to-door "selling soap". They say that the salespeople have attempted to enter people's homes.

Because of these reports, police are warning folks across West Michigan to use caution when unknown people knock on your door.

They suggest that you always ask unknown individuals for some form of identification. Additionally, they highly recommend installing video doorbells and say that if something feels off about a situation, to immediately call the authorities.

West Michigan Residents Share Their Stories of Run-Ins With Door-to-Door Salesmen

I've personally had a run-in with these door-to-door salespeople here in Grand Rapids. In my case, they knocked on our door late in the evening during a snowstorm and handed my partner a bottle of dish soap.

While normally, we ignore knocks on the door when we aren't expecting company, he allowed them in, and they proceeded to give us a demonstration of a very pricey vacuum cleaner. One of them even got down on the floor to play with my dog.

Wendy Reed/Townsquare Media

Frankly, I got weird vibes from the whole situation, and since then we've put up a "no soliciting" plaque on our door.

In the comments of the Facebook post by the Ottawa County Sheriff, Karen shared her story of when these individuals came to her house saying,

She would give me the soap for free if they could show me something. I kept the door locked and my dog was at the door. Told her sure. She said thank you. We get $100 just for showing you. She ran to the back of the van and grabbed a big box and asked to come in. I told her no because of my dog. To show me on the other side of the door. She told me to lock him in another room. I told her sorry. I have plans to go to dinner and I have to leave. They got back in the van and left.