City Revokes Solicitors' Permit After Aggressive Tactics

The city revoked the solicitors permits for a Utah security systems company after more than two dozen residents complained about aggressive and misleading door-to-door sales tactics.

Some residents said sellers for the company, Platnium Protection LLC, of American Fork, Utah, gave the false impression that they were working with the city to protect homeowners after recent home invasions, said Mary Schulz, the city's administration and licensing clerk.

"The solicitors were very aggressive," she said. "One elderly gentleman said they were going into his garage. They would tell people they had to go inside to check things out.

"People would say no, I'm not interested and they would just keep pushing," Schulz said.

Some also wore jackets emblazoned with GE, which apparently makes the security systems but has nothing to do with the sales, further misleading residents.

The city clerk's office received about 16 or 17 complaints, and the police department logged about 10 to 12 calls.

City Clerk Kristine Schmidt called the company on Friday to warn them to tell their sellers — who came to Brookfield from all over the country, including Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Illinois — to stop the aggressive tactics.

When more complaints came in after the warning, Schmidt informed the company its solicitation permit was revoked effective 8 p.m. Jun 17. The permit was supposed to last until July 7.

Platinum Protection spokeswoman Emma Watts said the company received proper permits from Brookfield and "understand that the permits were rescinded due to concerns from a few homeowners.

"We respect the city’s decision and we will not be selling in Brookfield," she said. 

Watts said Platinum is a nationwide home security company with customers in over 40 states, including "hundreds of customers in Wisconsin."

"We are committed to customer satisfaction and any time concerns arise, we take great efforts to resolve each of them on an individual basis," she added.  

Brookfield does background checks on solicitors and found no issues with the Utah company, who also sold systems under a different name three or four years ago, Schulz said.

Each individual seller also undergoes a background check. However, the city is not always able to check criminal records in other states in a timely fashion, which is a problem since many sellers are from out of state and could have records elsewhere even if they have no problems in Wisconsin. Platinum Protection submitted the names of 23 sellers planning to work in Brookfield from June 7 to July 7.

The city receives the most requests for solicitations in summer and often grants permits for single or dual-day sales. For example, a company will set up in a Brookfield hotel for a weekend to buy and sell certain items, such as gold or estate items, Schulz said. Sellers can get a 30-day permit that can be renewed for a second 30-day period if there are no problems. 

With the revocation of Platinum Protection's sales, there currently are no companies with permits to sell door-to-door in the city. That can change from week to week, however, as sellers call the company to seek new 30-day permits.

"There should be no one out there right now," Schulz said.

Police reports showed a number of complaints from residents who said the company had scared them with high-pressure sales tactics about burglaries and refused to leave their properties.

In one case, a Platinum Protector solicitor called police to complain a resident had used racially offensive language with a "trainee," who was African American.  

A solicitor said about 6 p.m. Friday a man living near  N. 148th Street and Pershing Drive threatened to punch the seller in the face if he returned to his door, according to police reports. The Brookfield man denied saying that or using a racial slur, when police questioned him.