Ladies & Gentlemen!

Step up to the plate & take those pictures. I will personally deliver them to the police.

Let's protect ourselves & our own.

Thank you.

My smart ass fiance, when approached by scammers like this, tells them (re: the dents and large gouges in our car) "we like it that way." And it's kind of true, I work in Newark and we drive in bad neighborhoods enough that I'm glad my car doesn't look like it's owners have any money LOL.

10 minutes later another one!

the red escalade...

Happened to me at pepboys today...hassled me about how they could fix my banged up car. I politely told them my car is 10 years old and its an old beater and to take a hike.

Needless to say I got a photo of their vehicle and plate. Do what you want with it.

This is a scam. I was approached years ago outside of the JC Target and turned the guy away.
A few months ago, a friend of mine was approached outside of a Target in NB. She had recently been in an accident and had a dented bumper.
A man and a woman who had Oregon plates on their silver car pulled up behind her car and blocked her in. They approached the car window and said they were a couple with children that were buying furniture for their house. The man said that he was a mechanic with an overflow of work who had all of his equipment in the trunk of his car to repair dents.
Needless to say she took them up on their offer to fix it for $200.
He banged out the dent and painted a pink and white substance on the bumper claiming it would change color when dry. Her car is black.
He essentially painted a mess on her bumper. She then had to pay a real mechanic to fix the eyesore.
She filed a police report. The police acknowledged it was a scam but offered no recourse.

This type of scam happens all over the country. The scammers prey upon the elderly and unsuspecting gullible folks.
If someone approaches you in a parking lot claiming to be a mechanic, walk away and threaten to call security, store management, or the police. If you can, take down their license plate and file a police report.

It's a predator scam. There was an article on NJ.com about this a year ago. Had this happen with my crap car that fits a dog and a kid in it and has more scratches and dents than car. When they said, "I can fix that" I'm like, "the entire car? are you buying me a new one?".

How do you know that these predators are not putting dents in your car. You want to get rid of them.....just snap a picture of their vehicle showing the license plate & fill out a report to the police. These predators do not make the Comstat reports as no one is reporting it & it is a (non-violent) victimless crime.

Ignoring them, emboldens them.

I had people in a van approach me when I exited bestbuy,asking me if I needed a blu-ray player or a home audio system. "cheap price man" was the pitch. just say no thnx and walk away. if you show any kind of interest they will be all over you like flies.

Don't ever agree to have those guy fix a dent. What they do is make few holes in the dent and pull it out. It looks uglier than before. These guys used to be rampant in Brooklyn 20 years ago.

What's next? squeegee guy at a red light?

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Start screaming like you are on fire. They will never bother you again.

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It is all you described... but it must work, or else they wouldn't do it.... I wonder if they also had Box of M&Ms?

Could be much worse. At least they're not damaging your car while you're inside shopping and then offering to "fix" it when you come out. I was afraid this might be the case when I started reading the first post. Has anyone tried to report these people to store security for harassing customers? Or is that like trying to complain about EZ Towing to Shop Rite?

I'd call it harassment, predatory / bullying behavior; targeting women or soft targets, intimidating, unlawful detention; being blocked from freedom of movement etc.

These guys would be better off cruising the streets with some sort of billboard on their car advertising their service.

They are looking to make a quick buck. If they are blocking you in your parking space or following you around a parking lot hassling you, it probably is not legal.

Here's an idea, when someone gets blocked in or harrassed by these people just turn the tables on them. Get out your cellphone & take a picture of their vehicle showing the license plate number & turn it over to the police.

Yea this happens in almost every parking lot. This is really nothing new, just aspiring mechanics.

pretty sure they're just looking for a quick buck. A guy hit my car earlier this year and totally messed up the bumper and I had no less than 4 guys give me their cards within an hour of it happening. The next day I still had my messed up bumper taped to the car and a guy in Newark offered to "fix" it for $15. I think he just planned on tapping out the dents, maybe not realizing that dents were the lease of my worries.

Just tell them to get lost.

Just keep a beat down stick of some sort in your vehicle for protection.

Actually happened to me few weeks ago in the National Liquidator parking lot & saw them earlier in the Pathmark lot driving around.
I told him to get lost.
It was a white dude with some white trash lady in the passenger seat of a pickup truck.

Find out where they parked, and when they're walking around pressuring people into detailing work, slam a shopping cart into their car. Then when they come back tell them you can fix the dents for a good price.

This happened to me about 6 years ago. Had some bad bumper scratches and was having a weak moment so took them up on it. They did what they said and it was cheap. Few months later took the car to a real body shop and they laughed at the bad job the guys did. They even said, "A&P parking lot?"

No idea of the legality of it but agree, certainly shady.

In the past few months I've been approached several times while getting into my car in the A&P and Target parking lots. Each time it is a different male in a different vehicle saying "I can fix those scratches on your bumper for a good price." I always decline and they are very persistent. Today, I was IN my car and two men pulled up behind me (basically blocking me in my space) and continued to honk their horn until I finally rolled down my window to see what they wanted. It was the same question again (the working is always the same). I know if might sound like they're just trying to get some business , but there's something really shady about these guys. Something just doesn't feel right. They always block me in my space. The first time it happened, the guy opened up his door and had me stuck between his car door and my car. I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else?