Ever wonder what to do when a solicitor comes to your door in Bedford?

It has happened to probably everybody at one time or another. You are sitting in your house and you hear an unexpected knock on the door. Somewhat alarmed, you open the drapes to see an “official looking” person standing on your porch.

You have a moment to decide what to do. Do you open the door? Is this something important? Does the person want to read a meter or maybe drop off a package?

You decide to open the door, and you realize it is a solicitor who is determined to get your attention. Now you are stuck until you can get this insistent person to leave.

At the February 6 City Council Meeitng, Bedford Ward 5 Rep. Jeff Asbury shared about similar instance he had at his home a few weeks ago. He said his wife was visited by someone who said he was from “Spectrum.”

“My wife answered the door,” Asbury said. “She thought maybe it was a package being delivered. The gentleman was very rude, (and) my wife took care of the situation.”

Asbury went on to say that just last week somebody had set up an account for Spectrum in is wife’s name. “We actually had a box delivered with their modem (and) their equipment to hook up for a Spectrum account,” he said.

He said he thought maybe since his wife told the solicitor to get lost, that maybe the man somehow started an account in her name.

“So if these people do come to your doors,” Asbury said. “The best thing to do is to not answer the door (and) call (the city’s) non-emergency number (440)-232-1234 because these people can be very pushy and we don’t need it.”

Any person who comes to the door representing a company needs to have a solicitor’s permit issued by the city.

City Manager Mike Mallis said that there had been a couple of utility companies that have been going around the city lately. He said they have been aggressive and the city has dealt with them in the past. These companies did not have the required solicitor’s permit.

“Right now there are zero solicitation permits that have been issued,” Mallis said. He added that if anyone in the future does get an individual soliciting them, like asking to see a utility bill, the solicitor will have a little ID badge from the police department that makes them official.

“But if not,” he said. ” If someone is soliciting please give us a call. Contact the police department. We’ll be out to address that.”