An Austin, Texas, homeowner gets a knock at her door from a Power window salesperson who says they’re working in the area. However, she quickly regrets agreeing to their offer of a free quote.
In a video with over 31,000 views, TikToker Lauren Hamilton (@laurenschlueter6) claims that she was almost “scammed” and offers a “cautionary tale” to other homeowners.
She says she and her husband recently purchased their home and knew they needed to replace the old windows soon. So, when a man knocks on their door and claims to be a window salesperson from a company called Power, she quickly agrees to receive a quote.
“I was like, ‘Perfect, we have already been discussing this,”” she says. “So I scheduled a day and time for them to come back.”
However, Hamilton spots several red flags when the company sends another salesperson on the day of their appointment.
Why does she think she was ‘scammed’ by the window salesperson?
Hamilton says a woman about her age shows up on the day of the appointment and comes into the house. She asks her where she can sit down.
“First red flag. I thought this was just them looking at our windows and giving us a quote. Not coming inside to sit down,” she says. “That is the beginning of a 2.5-hour-long sales pitch.”
She says she cooked, ate dinner, and cleaned up all while the Power Windows salesperson continued their pitch.
Finally, the woman ends her pitch and insists on going into their attic. She brings in a ladder from her car.
“She comes down and basically tells us that our house is going to crumble and fall to the ground if we don’t get this roof fixed,” she recounts. “I was like, ‘Do you also do roofs?’”
Hamilton gets fed up and tells the woman she has 15 minutes to give them a quote for the windows. She quotes them $30,000, but says they’ll bring the cost down to $20,000 if they commit that same night.
They say they’re no longer interested and go to bed. However, when Hamilton wakes up the next morning, she notices something strange in her inbox.
“Throughout the night, every minute, I have recieved five spam emails,” she says. “So my entire inbox is flooded with thousands of spam emails.”
She believes that Power Windows used the “free quote” to obtain her personal information, compromising her email address.
“I had to make a new email for all of my accounts,” she laments.
Just days later, another salesperson from a different window company knocks on her door. She quickly rejects their offer for a free quote.
“I know I should have done stuff differently here,” she says. “But lesson learned.”
The caption continues, “If anyone comes to your door selling this service, do not engage!! If you’re unaware of this scam, now you know.”
Has Power done the same to other homeowners?
According to a post on the subreddit r/Scams, other homeowners have had similar experiences with Power. Several say they had almost identical sales pitches to the one shown to Hamilton.
“If you do have someone come out, they will give you a 5 hour psychologically manipulative powerpoint presentation, scare you with how much your project could cost somewhere else and give you a price for how much it would cost with them IF YOU SIGN RIGHT NOW,” one writes.
“Do not EVER do any work with them or give the guy knocking at your door any information. They will sell your info to other companies and you’ll get spammed forever,” another warns.
In the comments of Hamilton’s TikTok, others offer ways to avoid potential scams or predatory salespeople.
“In Austin, the best way to find someone good to work on your home is by asking around. Your neighbors, friends, and coworkers always know who does great work. Word of mouth is everything here!” a commenter suggests.
“Friend please never answer the door if you didn’t invite them. No reputable business sells door to door,” another writes.
@laurenschlueter6 If anyone comes to your door selling this service, do not engage!! If you’re unaware of this scam, now you know ? #scam #scammer #atx #austintx #storytime ♬ original sound – Lauren Hamilton
The Mary Sue reached out to Power Home Remodelling and to Hamilton via email for further comment.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Rebekah Harding is a reporter and content strategist based in Philadelphia. You can contact her at rebekahjonesharding.com.