While the town of Morinville DOES have a random sampling program in effect to help guarantee water quality for all residents, the town has nothing to do with the surprise water testing packages showing up at people’s homes.

Morinville – If you come home to find a little blue bag hanging on your door with a water testing kit inside, Morinville Enforcement Services want you to know that it is not a town-run program.

Enforcement Services have recently received a number of calls from Morinville residents who have received the kits and are reporting that follow-up calls are being made to their homes regarding them.

The kits are not being distributed by Public Works or any other Morinville department.

Morinville already has a water testing process in place. Water testers collect unsolicited random samples on a daily basis and send them to a government lab to ensure the quality and safety of the Town’s water.

If the Town requires anything from a resident or their property, they contact the person directly. At no time do they hang collection kits on a resident’s door.

Residents with questions are asked to call Enforcement Services at 939-4361 or Public Works at 939-2590. ( source )

We have written about shady water testing companies in the past, we find ourselves writing about them now, and we will probably wind up writing about them again in the future. It saddens us to know that people could use matters as serious as drinking water contamination as a way to trick people into purchasing additional water testing and/or possibly unneeded water filtration equipment.

Avoiding the snake oil salesman

Most Effective Method: Don’t let the b#stards in the front door to begin with and/or hang up on them when they call.

Next Most Effective Method: Knowing the condition of your drinking water will always provide you with the best defense against unethical water testing companies and companies using deceptive water testing tactics. They cannot possibly convince you that you need ‘this’ or that you will DIE if you don’t install ‘that’ right away if you already know from testing of your own or a trusted water testing facility indicates otherwise.

Always remember that a water filter company offering to come out and test your water ‘for free’ spends money on gas, training, salary and equipment sending a technician (salesperson) to your house — and therefore expects that technician (salesperson) to sell you something whether you need it or not.

If you think you may need a water filter, first have an independent lab like National Testing Laboratories or a local laboratory certified to test drinking water give you a complete analysis. Then read the results over carefully and make sure you understand what they mean so that when the water filter salesperson makes his/her presentation, you can ask the right questions and keep yourself from accidentally getting sold more filter than you really need.

City Water Test Kit	Lead in Water Test Kit	Bacteria in Water Test Kit
Well Water Test Kit	Chlorine and Hardness Test Kit	Water Cooler Bacteria Test Kit
Science Fair Project Test Kit Four Full Kits	Science Fair Project Test Kit Ten Full Kits	Caffeine Test Strip
Pool and Spa Bacteria Test Kit Contains One Test	Pool and Spa Bacteria Test Kit Contains Ten Tests

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2010/09/02/water-testing-scam-reported-2/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2010/06/22/water-quality-testing-scam/ http://watertestingblog.com/2010/06/22/water-quality-testing-scam/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:03:35 +0000 http://watertestingblog.com/?p=1776 We have written about this sort of thing in the past and we will probably write about it many more times in our lifetime… Phony state/county/government representatives going door-to-door claiming they need to test residents’ water, finding a problem, and then pushing additional water testing and/or water purification products on homeowners.

This time some scandalous louts have targeted the Ontario, California area with their lowdown scheme.

Ontario police are warning residents about a scam involving water quality testing.

Several residents have reported incidents where individuals come to their door claiming to be from different government agencies, according to a police news release.

The first report came in June 10, said Suzanne Thomas, crime prevention specialist with the Police Department.

“This woman had gone to this one house and was trying to force these people to purchase a water quality kit,” Thomas said. “This didn’t just happen once, this has happened several times.”

The suspects have documents that appear official, according to the release. Those documents claim the home’s water must be tested for lead or other chemicals. If the homeowner allows the suspect to test the water, the suspect finds it to be contaminated.

The person claiming to be a government agent will then tell the homeowner they must purchase a water purification kit. Reports state the suspects claim water purification is “mandatory for health.”

Ontario police say scam artists often pose as government employees. Homeowners should call the agency of any person who comes to their door, according to the release.

Police also advise residents never to let anyone into their home without first verifying the person’s identity.

According to the Ontario Utilities/Solid Waste Department, the city’s water meets all drinking water standards and is safe without any additional treatment.

Information about city water is available by calling 909-395-2678.

To report suspicious activity, call the Ontario Police Department at 909-986-6711. ( source )

We find using scare tactics to intimidate homeowners, usually elderly homeowners, appalling and think anyone participating in them needs a good, swift caning… or at the very least a lengthy jail sentence during which they can learn firsthand what the terms ‘scared’ and ‘intimidated’ really mean.

• As a general rule, no agent of local, state or federal government will drop by on a random day asking to test your water unless you have received written, verifiable (by phone book, 411, etc.) notification well in advance of anyone showing up on your doorstep w/ a water test kit.
• IF you feel inclined to entertain the stranger at your door, keep the door locked, ask for ID, look up the agency the person works for in the phone book or by calling 411, and verify the validity of the person’s story. Do NOT call a number THEY give as a means of verification since good scam artists will have one or more scam-buddies with phones ready and waiting to field your call and vouch for person at your door.
• No representative of the local water company will try to sell you a water filter system. Period.

• Official looking uniforms, paperwork, badges and appearances mean NOTHING when it comes to proving a random person at your door’s identity. If scam artists can print fake money and reproduce famous pieces of art, then they can surely also print ID badges, generate phony letterhead, and have government/company shirts made.

And last but not least, if you have your water tested regularly by a certified water testing lab such as National Testing Labs and/or perform at-home testing on a semi-regular basis, you will have plenty of information about your water already at your fingertips and can tell the person at your door to politely “go away” before closing the door in their face.

Why? Because ANY water emergency since your last test date great enough to warrant door-to-door testing would have appeared in newspapers, on the television, etc.

Contaminants scam artists may use as reasons for testing

… and as you can see, you can test for them yourSELF — which means they DON’T need access to your home. If tests come up positive, then YOU can call the water department yourself and officially request that someone come out and test your water.

Recently police have received a number of reports mentioning fake county workers asking residents in Forsyth County, Georgia to allow them access to their homes supposedly for ‘official business’ involving water related matters.

Just north of Atlanta in Forsyth County, authorities are warning people about a situation that could prove either physically or financially dangerous. While they are not saying what the motives of these people are when they come to doors there; they are warning people that the county never conducts business in the manner in which these imposters are suggesting.

Since little is known at this time, people in surrounding counties and in Atlanta should also be aware since it is not know how far and wide this scam may be. If you have grave suspicion that something is awry, phone 911 immediately.

The officials have received several calls where individuals posing as water department employees in which they say they need entrance into the house to test the water.

Again it is not clear if how these imposters make appointments either at the front door or by phone, it is well advised to not let any stranger into your home. Apparently some have been contacted by phone to set up an appointment.

Living in the perilous times that we do, it is always important to keep your guard up. Always question any utility – gas, water, phone, etc. if you did not contact them.

The Forsyth County Water and Sewer Department says they never solicit over the telephone and residents should be leery of anyone contacting residents; especially if they did not initiate the contact.

Citizens of the county are being advised not to give any personal information to those inquiring.

Forsyth County Director of Water and Sewer Tim Perkins said. “Most all of our work can be accomplished outside the home.”

At any time when strangers approach your home, be cautious and always ask for valid identification no matter who they are – and for whatever reason they have approached your home even if you made the appointment. But also be advised that some crime groups are sophisticated these days and can reproduce false ID.

It is not known if these potential criminals are operating only in Forsyth County or in surrounding counties as well. Always err on the side of caution. As the old adage goes, “better safe than sorry.” ( source )

PUBLIC SAFETY TIP: Under NO circumstances should you ever allow a stranger into your home unless they can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that they have legitimate credentials and reason to enter your home. As a general rule, if the County, City or State really DID need access to your home, they would have called and written you well in advance of showing up on your doorstep.

Additionally, as the article stated, most of the tasks any County, City or State personnel would need to accomplish would take place outside your home and they would have no reason to ever go inside your home.

Variation of the Scam

Some of us here at the Water Testing Blog have heard about shady water treatment companies sending their sales resp out into neighborhoods with instruction to tell residents that the City or County sent them out to conduct a test of the home’s water. Once inside, the salesperson would ‘prove’ that the water contained all sorts of dangerous ‘stuff’ and more or less refuse to leave until the homeowner, usually an elderly person, signed up to buy an expensive, overpriced, and/or totally unnecessary, water treatment system.

PUBLIC SAFETY TIP: Reputable water treatment system salespeople will not show up on your doorstep and city/county workers out to perform testing will not EVER attempt to sell you a water treatment system.

Need a Safe Way to Get Your Water Tested?

For those that feel they may need to have their water tested, but do not want to have a stranger in their home that might hit them with a high pressure sales pitch at the end of the test, other options exist:

At-home drinking water test kits from SenSafe and WaterSafe provide fast results for basic water quality tests and submit-by-mail water quality test kits analyzed by a certified drinking water quality testing laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories provide a highly detailed water quality report in about a week or two.

Then, if the in-home water testing trick does not work, the sales representatives allegedly resort to good old fashioned bullying until the homeowners agree to buy a water purification system.

PORT HOPE – There appears to be a water scam happening in town again, says Ed Symons, Water Distribution Supervisor for the Municipality of Port Hope.

“We seem to have to deal with this issue every year lately,” he said.

He says elderly people are telephoned and told they should have their water tested, then set up appointments and try to convince them that their water is unsafe to drink. They use “very persuasive selling tactics” to pressure them to purchase a $3,500 water purifier from their company.

“These people are not licensed to test Municipal water supplies nor do they use accredited labs as we do,” he said. “They use an old trick by setting up an accelerated corrosion cell that would make you think your water is bad (it turns black) when actually they are causing a piece of metal to rapidly corrode causing the water to turn black.”

If you hear of anyone getting these calls please contact Ed Symons at 905-885-7461 or the Port Hope Police Service at 905-885-8123. ( source )

All of us here at Water Testing Blog hope law enforcement officials in that are catch up with the con artists responsible for these phony water testing sales techniques and throw them under the dirtiest, most wretched jail in the region… giving them only unfiltered, dirty sewer water to drink.

Arm Yourself Against Water Purification Con Artists:

First of all, make sure the company whose sales pitch you will entertain sells quality, reputable water purification systems. Whenever possible, see if the company sells water filters bearing NSF Mark and/or the WQA Gold Seal, as the technologies in those filtration systems will have passed third-party inspection by recognized organizations in the water quality community.

Next, never go into the meeting with a sales representative without first doing some homework on your water because the water filter company’s representative makes money based upon the size and dollar value of the water purification system you buy. Arming yourself with simple water quality knowledge can stop you from unknowingly buying too ‘large’ a system and spending money unnecessarily.

By simply testing your water with a do-it-yourself water test kit such as the WaterSafe All-in-One Water Quality Test Kit or the SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit before meeting with a sales rep you may have the ability to see through a water purification con artist’s game if they try to say your water contains things or has characteristics that you know it does not.

Complete Water Test Kit

WaterSafe Well Water Test Kit

WaterSafe All-in-One

An honest water purification system representative will not need to con you. The merits of their product line will speak for themselves and you will have the opportunity to purchase the correct system for your water quality situation.