# Carpet Cleaners -- should I trust them? (need answer fast) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885 "2009-07-13T18:41:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/1 "2009-07-13T18:41:14Z")
Last week I agreed to a carpet cleaning which came from a telemarketing call, and they’re due here in just a few hours…but now, I’m getting a little nervous. The person has called me twice from a private number, and has not given me any official information about their company. Should I trust them? Or could this be a potential scam? ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/2 "2009-07-13T19:17:53Z")
Nothing good can come from this. Despite what this company will tell you, there is no benefit to you in dealing with companies that hard sell through telemarketing and do not provide detailed information about their operation. They do this as an alternative to competing on the open market (competing by price, service level, etc). Even if they are actually a carpet company and not an excuse to scope out your place for stuff to steal you have by basing your selection on their telemarketing most likely preselected the bottom of the barrel company. If you needed your carpet cleaned you are better off looking for reputable companies from the Yellow Pages: accumulate quotes and research the companies yourself. If you don’t need your carpets cleaned, why did you agree to them coming in the first place. I repeat: nothing good can come from this. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/3 "2009-07-13T19:27:15Z")
Ah yeah, I figured that out at the last minute. When the guy showed up, I said we had to reschedule so could he please leave me his card, and he said he’d get it “from his van” but he never came back…hmmf. That’s okay, I didn’t really need my carpet cleaned anyway. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/4 "2009-07-13T19:31:36Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Ah yeah, I figured that out at the last minute. When the guy showed up, I said we had to reschedule so could he please leave me his card, and he said he’d get it “from his van” but he never came back…hmmf. That’s okay, I didn’t really need my carpet cleaned anyway. 😉 He probably wanted to sell you a 9,000 dollar kirby carpet cleaner. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/5 "2009-07-13T20:55:28Z")
Either that or they have a bargain price for so many rooms, but a “room” is 4x5 feet or some other catch. Years ago, I had a $29.95 intro shoot up to over $200 because my rooms were oddly shaped (rectangles), several counted as 2 to 4 rooms, etc … I declined their business. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/6 "2009-07-14T14:52:06Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > He probably wanted to sell you a 9,000 dollar kirby carpet cleaner. I read this as a “9,000 dollar \*\*kinky \*\*carpet cleaner” and was hoping for an exciting anecdote. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/7 "2009-07-14T15:23:04Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Last week I agreed to a carpet cleaning which came from a telemarketing call, and they’re due here in just a few hours…but now, I’m getting a little nervous. The person has called me twice from a private number, and has not given me any official information about their company. Should I trust them? Or could this be a potential scam? No, they contacted you and other through a illegal act, and you’re going to let them into your house? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/8 "2009-07-14T15:25:24Z")
Have you thought of renting the equipment and cleaning the carpet yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/9 "2009-07-14T15:31:58Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Ah yeah, I figured that out at the last minute. When the guy showed up, I said we had to reschedule so could he please leave me his card, and he said he’d get it “from his van” but he never came back…hmmf. That’s okay, I didn’t really need my carpet cleaned anyway. 😉 I’ll bet he didn’t give you his card because he thought you might use it to pursue a claim against the company for violating the Do Not Call list. Edited to add that I’ll bet that you get many more telemarketing calls now that you’ve been identified as a good prospect. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpet-cleaners-should-i-trust-them-need-answer-fast/502885/10 "2009-07-15T01:45:55Z")
I know this sounds paranoid, but I often wonder if these fly-by-night carpet laying and carpet cleaning companies have ulterior motives. It’s an excellent way for thieves to get inside and scope out a house. They can check if you have any valuables, and whether or not you have an alarm system. About 12 years ago we bought some carpet from Lowes. They also offered installation, which we agreed to. So the next week two \*very \*scraggly looking guys show up in a beat up old van with no sign on the side. They did this after they called us on the phone to make sure we were home. They carpeted the room and left. (Did a \*horrible \*job, BTW. Cut deep grooves in all the wood molding I installed.) Over the next three weeks we received hang-up calls on a daily basis. I am not making this up. My best guess is that they noticed my very nice (high end) stereo system in the living room, and that we didn’t have an alarm system.