KIRBY VACUUMS SCAMS-ACE company in murrieta

has anyone else been ripped off by this company. IF NOT THIS IS TO WARN YOU ABOUT THESE SO CALLED "FREE CARPET CLEANING" OFFERS. THERE WILL BE A GIRL AT YOUR DOOR OFFERING TO CLEAN YOUR CARPET FOR FREE, IN RETURN ALL THEY WANT IS YOUR OPINION. OF COURSE THAT IS A LIE. THEN A SALESMAN COMES IN YOUR HOME AND STARTS DOING THIS PRESENTATION ON THE KIRBY VACUUM. BOTTOM LINE...THEY WILL TRY TO SELL YOU THE VACCUM FOR 2500 PLUS DOLLARS. THEY WILL KEEP LOWERING THE PRICE UNTIL YOU SAY YES. IF U DO END UP BUYING ONE YOU HAVE 3 DAYS TO CANCEL. WHICH IS SNEAKY OF THEM BECAUSE THEY ONLY ASK THAT YOU MAIL THE CANCELATION FORM, BUT THEN THEY WILL ACT LIKE IT GOT LOST IN THE MAIL. THIS COMPANY IS LOCATED ON 41548 EASTMAN DRIVE IN MURRIETA. SO WATCH OUT FOR THE WHITE VAN DRIVING AROUND WITH A BUNCH OF LOW LIFE SNEAKY SALESPEOPLE THAT WILL COME INTO YOUR HOUSE AND REFUSE TO LEAVE.

Kirby vacuum sales has been around for decades. The schtick is fairly well known everywhere.

It's your standard door to door sales.

There's not really anything sleazy about them in particular unless they use a lot of pressure or intimidation sales tactics.

are you the fritton that responded back to john smith?Because if u are I agreed with you. Anyways, I understand KIrby has been around for a long time. The thing that bothers me is that I canceled my contract as they call it, even though I had already paid for it upfront , but they are acting like they never got my cancellation notice. I believe they did receive it and it is just common for them to do this to customers that have changed their mind.Their sales tactics are misleading because they give you a flyer that says nothing about kirby, it says it is a free carpet cleaning and your opinion is appreciated. The girl who offers you this says it will be a 15 minute visit, and it turns out to be a 2 hour presentation. Not only that, but they are very pushy. I understand it is my fault for saying no and kicking them out, but they told me I had 3 business days to cancel. I followed the instructions and now they are giving me the run around. They sold my neighbor a vacuum for 2100.00 and I got mine for 800.00. Dont you think that is sleazy of them? Oh and they told me not to tell her.

Yah I'm the same Fritton. Price gouging is completely sleazy.

The problem is that it happens in nearly every negotiable situation. Car dealerships etc. Even circuit city and CompUsa will negotiate with you and discount a bit. You were a quicker on the ball than your neighbor and got a better deal, tho it's really surprising that there's so much margin on a kirby that they can afford to retail it at $2500 yet discount it all the way down to $800

I've been in the sales world for years and sometimes you will see the *massive* discounts due to spiffs and incentives. If a salesperson sells 29 units in a month for example, they might make a commission of $200 per unit, but if they hit the 30 mark, they might make $300 a unit. That would encourage them to sell the last few units at cost or even below in certain situations if they don't think they can make the 30 sales otherwise.

$800.00 is still pretty expensive for a vacuum cleaner I think, but then again I'm no expert. I know the best one down at Target costs something like $599

"Losing" the cancellation notice is actually beyond sleazy. It's illegal. Usually just reminding the sales office of this fact will be enough for them to "find" the notice again.

Go kind of easy on these guys however. Door to door sales have to be one of the worst jobs in existance and a lot of times these people will get roped into the job with massive, overly-inflated promises of what they will earn.

Good luck with the situation.

Honestly I dont even want to get the run around that I rather just keep it. The sales manager gave me the fax number to fax over my copy of my dated cancellation form, and guess what. That fax has been giving me a busy signal since yesterday. Im sure they disconnected it or gave me the weong number on purpose. After talking to him and just listening to his cocky voice telling me that it had to have gotten lost in the mail, I rather go down there myself. I know being in sales is a difficult job ,but they shouldnt take advantage of people.I did fell sorry for the salesguy that did the presentation, and he said since I was getting the vaccum for 800., he wasnt making any commision, he was just going to get some points toward some giveaway. Im sure that is also a lie.

I worked for Kirby for a week. I am an honest person and i don't like the way that they get into houses and all and when i saw the way that they were doing so itook off. And Friton is right on when he says that you get scammed into the job. They basically ue their sneaky sale tactics to get you to work for them. I was supposed to make 2600 a month standard, but it turns out that it is nearly impossible to meet the requirements for that. SO you are forced into full commission and its ridiculous. The vaccums are very good machines if not the best, but the price is $2695 to start. Our commission is based off of anything over $1695. But rarely do you make that and when you do it seems like its not a good credited person so then we get nothing at all. Also to answer your question, yes there is incentives and prizes and they do get credit for doing demos, including trips, ipods, etc, but they are rarely won. The reason that they can sell for so low is because the price that the company pays for it is between 400 and 700. and managers that close the deal get 200 bucks for every sale. basically everyone but the demo guy gets money. Its all jacked. but the vaccum is excellent nd has good warranties. So if they come to your door just keep working the price down, just like the blankets in mexico.:)

These Kirby distributors are so evil! I bought a Kirby Sentria for $2600.00 after two hours of demo, so the next day i decided i didnt want it after all and mailed out the cancellation as the contract said i should. Long story short, this rude guy said they never got the letter and that i should mail one "certified" which i never heard of and so i did. Then he calls me and says its too late its past 3 days. I know they got the 1st letter on time, and when i drove 70 miles to his office the first thing i saw by his desk was a paper shredder, but anyway. I talked to the guy and he basically said there was nothing he could do, its past 3 days and i have to pay for it. I asked him if he threw away my 1st cancellation or shredded it, and he pulled out two stuffed folders with cancellation notices, and only three out of hundreds were not post office certified. So today, i drove all the way back there and dropped of the kirby, then i took a picture of him standing in front of it at his office as proof, he tried to back away but i got him. So i drive off and he calls me saying he will charge me $25 bucks a day storage and send me to collections after 10 days. So when i got home i called the finance agency and they set up an on phone meeting with him, i told her my story with him on the line, and they both say i am liable to pay for Kirby. Is there anything i can do? I've been reading countless rip offs and similar stories but i dont see any end results. This is a scam thru and thru and im sure he commited a federal offense and destroyed my uncertified letter that he recieved in time...only God knows. I hope someone knows a way i can resolve unjust rip off.

form400zeater@yahoo.com

please help if you can or have any advice.

well, I FINALLY was able to return that vacuum.I got nothing against that vacuum, but their sales techniques are just wrong. They came into my house and would open the door for all these other people that called themselves managers,I remember the closing manager that tried to close the deal, had such dirty nails, I actually felt sorry for him. I really did. I am glad I got rid of that problem , considering I have read many more comments and rip off reports about people having to pay for repairs that were not covered by the 3 year warranty. Anyone that reads this"IF A KIRBY SALESPERSON COMES TO YOUR DOOR, DO NOT HESITATE TO CLOSE THE DOOR IN THEIR FACE, BECAUSE IN THE END U WILL END UP BUYING THE VACUUM AND U WILL BE MAD AT YOURSELF FOR A LONG TIME, AND WILL BE IN THE WHOLE FOR SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Yeah, i let them in, and bought the kirby fully intending to cancel the next day, and did, all to clean my entire house with that awesome machine. However, the never recieved that letter with the post office time stamp, and it was never back in my mail box, so it basically dissapeared from the face of the earth. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO? i dont want the Kirby, i returned it and they are charging me 25 bucks a day storage. 3 days to cancel a 2600 dollar machine?? WTF is this? And if they throw away the letter, your completely screwed? How can this be, in America?? Please is there anything i can do, im still stressed and in a mess!

~all i can think to do, is change my bank account so they cant withdraw my money, but then there is the collections and the storage fee they charge for me returning the vacuum.. a fine mess. SO Please, SLAM THE DOOR IN THIER FACE!

contact small claims or the better business bureau

There are honest Kirby salesmen. My wife sold them when she was in high school. She felt so bad about the price that she was constantly cutting the price, so she didn't make hardly any money on the deal. Needless to say she didn't make very much money that summer. There are plenty of people who are willing to take your shirt, but there are also other out there who are honest.

Call the district attorney's office and complain. Call the better business office and complain. Eventually, when each gets enough complaints, the DA will start an investigation. You have to make sure you keep a paper trail of your efforts to return the item, along with dates and names, but ensure you complain to both of the above agencies. The DA always gets involved when there are sufficient complaints.

Thanks for your help, if nothing else i will have peace of mind in doing the right thing. People shouldnt be trapped into something and taken advantage of...only the lord knows if they actually throw away cancelation notices, if only there were a way to find out and prove it. What court would believe i actually mailed it out on time rather than just saying i did. I'll have to get over it.

Thanks again all!

Amber, This happened to you also!? Your first post sounds identical to what happened to me, what became of your situation, are they debiting your account monthly like i think they are about to me? Should i change my checking account and transfer my direct deposit and let the Kirby barstards send me collections and mar my credit?(I give a damn about credit). I would like your advice on that, since you have been through this before me. Firt thing after Turkey day (Mon.) im gonna get on with BBB and the DA. I hate that kind of situation lol. Thanks again!

p.s. good advice everyone, thank you too.

So sure there are a few happy customers below, who love their vaccume's. But the consumer should think again before buying. You buying from a fraud van. A van that drives around young kids (who are brainwashed that they'll receive money for their demo's provided.) and then are never compensated for work done. These teens work 6 days a week 9am until sometimes 12 or 1am when they finally get home. If they don't work Saturday for Kirby, then they wont get paid at all. It doesn't matter if they worked the previous 5 days before that.
When these salesmen (which can we really call them salesmen) when they are 18 or 20 and have been brainwashed to sell on the streets? But anyways when these young people go door to door, the 'manager' who drives the van, drives miles away picking up and dropping off other salesmen to do the same thing. Leaving behing a salesmen in a dark and sometimes scary neighborhood, alone. Alot of times at night, when things can happen. Its very unsafe.
When the salesmen try to call the van driver to pick them back up from outside a house where they did a demo, they have to sit and wait on the curb for the driver to come back and find them. This can take between 20 mns, and 2 hours.
I can say all of this is TRUE, because I was one of the women who was sucked in to this scam, I feel so stupid for believing their pitch to us. It was all so promising. I worked there for 2 weeks and never got paid, because I missed one day, the next week.
A friend of mine worked there a month and only received around $300 dollars, I thought she was crazy for staying so long.
The Kirby company wharehouses these salesmen, work them like dogs, and then dont pay them for the time put in for good hard work.
The Kirby company distributors, are very low people if you ask me. They clearly know how their dirty business works, yet they never tell the new employees the truth.
Also ***Consumers be aware, that the Kirby is actually not worth that much, they mark it up so high, that way if they need to talk the price down for you...they can. Easily. They also tell the salesman to sell to you people no matter what, even if you say no. And why? So the salespeople can win a trip to mexico or wherever.(which that ever happens.)
PS****---Very important, There is no warranty. That paper and contract is FAKE, trust me. Research it and you will see. If you try to call the number on your warranty, you will find its a bogus line, or they will refer you to speak with your salesman who sold you the vaccume. In which theres NO way you'd be able to reach that person. The salesmen don't give out their information, so in the future...if you have problems. Your just screwed!
Obviously this is all true, i worked for them. i have done my research...And I have taken the time to type this to save future employees from getting scammed in to working there, and to protect future consumers.
DONT associate yourself with KIRBY at all! STAY AWAY, and dont let them in your house! They will fraud you.

I am so glad i started this post. I wonder though, have they ever been reported to the Labor board?

hey shawn , I emailed u a while back. I WAS able to return the vacuum. They finally accepted it because I had the stamp on my cancellation form. I feel bad that you got stuck in this. If I were you, dont ruin your credit. Seriously, in this world credit is everything. Unless you are set for life,like have a car already or have a home. I think collections stays on your credit for like 7 years. Just fight them. Call the BBB.