The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "salesmen" ...
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World of Trouble
This story is a “rare account of the forces that created the U.S. housing bubble and tore the world economy to pieces”. The major finding of the story was executives inside one of the largest lending companies, deliberately ignored warnings from their front line salesmen. This company was loaning money to people who would not be able to pay them back and later was victim to “more than 30 billion dollars of bad loans”.
Tags: World Savings and Loan; Golden West Financial; Wachovia; bank; mortgage; industry; Paul Bishop; homeowners
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Kirby Investigation
The Kirby Vacuum has been around for decades and the selling tactics and tricks have been the same since the beginning. The salespeople go door-to-door, where they normally sell to elderly consumers and involve high pressure pitches. The investigation reveals that the salespeople normally won’t leave until they sign a contract and many stay for hours upon hours till the contract is signed. Further, many people have filed complaints with various agencies, complaining of the selling tactics used by these salespeople and yet nothing has been resolved.
Tags: households; homeowners; machine; salesmen; company; business; distributors; carpet; cleaning; nationwide; unethical
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Door to Door Sales Investigation - 2 Parts
Viewers emailed Inside Edition regarding abuses in the door-to-door sales industry. Inside Edition looked at police reports and court documents, and found over 100 examples of door-to-door salesmen committing violent crimes.
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Tricks of the Trade
This hidden camera investigation looks at the automobile industry as a whole, and finds that more than 52,246 customers in dealerships across 39 states have been ripped off. Dateline talked to Duane Overholt, who was a finance manager at Sonic Automotive, a major corporation that owns 187 dealerships across the country. With Overholt's help, Dateline was able to find an overwhelming amount of fraud and deception within the industry. Dateline also bought a car for the investigation and reported on the whole process, including fraud they encountered along the way.
Tags: Car salesmen; Finance
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The Rascal
Inside Edition uses hidden camera to reveal deceit and high pressure employed in the sales of the nationally advertised "Rascal" scooter. The report shows how elderly, disabled consumers and their families have been victimized by Electric Mobility, a New Jersey company that produces the electric wheelchairs. The deceptive sale tactics have been taught by the company executives, one of whom was a twice convicted felon, the investigation reports.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; ethics; sales; business; direct marketing; medical devices; patients; salesmen; commercials; advertising; consumer affairs
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Odometer Rollbacks
"KIRO TV received a tip about a used car dealer rolling back odometers. Our investigation found a note from the dealer to an employee directing him to rollback the odometers on several cars on the lot. We went undercover to shoot video of the odometers before and after the rollbacks to prove the illegal activity. Then a stakeout caught the employee on tape allegedly rolling back those odometers."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; car salesmen; automobiles; car dealers; odometer rollbacks
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Uncovered Losses: Life Insurers' Race Bias In Decades Past Affects Policyholders Even Now; MetLife, for One, Remedied Some but Not All Effects Of Inequality to Blacks; A Curious List of Risky Jobs
The Wall Street Journal reveals that MetLife Insurance Company's past discriminatory policies have not been entirely remedied. Before 1959, MetLife gave preferential treatment to whites; whites received better policies than blacks. (Salesmen, in fact, were not allowed the offer black customers the best policies MetLife had to offer.) MetLife claims to have discontinued its discrimination, however, many of the companies' older, black clients still have inferior policies. For example, when the company converted into a publicly held institution in 2000, it had to give out stock to its policyholders. Many of the companies older, black customers received less stock than white customers who had purchased similar coverage for the same amount at the same time. The Wall Street Journal reveals that MetLife is being investigated by agencies from all 50 states, focusing on the current effects of its past practices.
Tags: MetLife; racisim; discrimination; insurance; bias; black; African-American; life-insurance; policy; investigation
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Consumer Alert: Bait and Switch
Dateline NBC reports "a hidden-camera investigation of illegal bait-and-switch advertising at new car dealerships. We found that three out of four dealerships were engaging in bait and switch. Several salesmen confessed that this was a dealership practice. One even stated, 'If you were undercover I'd be fired right now.'"
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IRE Feed 1 "New Adventures in Computer Assisted Reporting."
A compilation of 12 stories: 1.) "Stolen Dreams" News 12 Long Island, Employees and Salesmen stealing pensions and retirement money. 2.) "Felon Voters" WCCO, Minneapolis, Convicted felons voting illegally. 3,) "Where Crime Happens." WBNS, Columbus, High-crime neighborhoods. 4.) "Ride At Your Own Risk" WTVJ, Miami, Cab drivers driving without licenses because of violations. 5.) "What's in the Tank?" KNXV, Phoenix, Gas incorrectly labeled. 6.) "The Dirty Dozen" WDIV, Detroit, Unclean restaurants with health violations. 7.) "Occupational Hazards" WSMV, Nashville, Unsafe work conditions ignored. 8.) "Unlucky 13" WRAL, Raleigh, A dangerous stretch of Interstate 95. 9.) "Owning Up" WNEM, Saginaw, Unpaid property taxes. 10.) "Hot Cars" WBNS, Columbus, The most frequently stolen cars. 11.) Wheel of Government" News 12 Long Island, Government cars used for non-government business. 12.) "Nursing Home Abuses." WDIV, Detroit, Health department violations, neglect, whistle blowers, cover up, sexual assaults, inadequate care and more.
Tags: TAPE; News 12 Long Island; WCCO; WBNS; WTVJ; KNXV; WDIV; WSMV; WRAL; WNEM.
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IRE Feed 2 "Award Finalist"
A compilation of 11 stories. 1.) "Airport Security" WCPO, Cincinnati, No criminal background checks for airport workers and other violations of security rules. 2.) "Too Young to Die" KCBS, Los Angeles, The National Cancer Institute stopped recommending that women get mammograms, causing uninsured women to die early deaths. 3.) "Ford Height Four" WMAQ, Chicago, Were four black men wrongly convicted of robbery, rape, and murder, because police withheld information and a key witness lied? A killer confesses. 4.) "Sexual Predators" WLTV, Jacksonville, A law drops some sexual predators from the public list. 5.) "Shooters" WAGA, Atlanta, Convenience stores selling shooters, a brown bag full of everything you need to smoke crack, but the crack. 6.) "Cleaner Gasoline" KGO, San Francisco, The Air Resources Board threw out data that shows a news gas could make your car catch fire. 7.) "The Business of Charity" WRAL, Raleigh, Sales of donated clothes by non-profit organizations equals big money. 8.) "Stolen Dreams" News 12 Long Island, Salesmen stealing pension and retirement dreams. 9.) "Chemical Reaction" WXYZ, Detroit, Did General Motors protect it's workers from deadly and unhealthy chemicals? 10.) "Conspiracy of Silence" CBC, Alberta, Workers denied their workers compensation. 11.) "Nursing Homes: Care and Crisis" WDIV, Detroit, Bed sores, neglect and more.
Tags: TAPE; WCPO; KCBS; WMAQ; WLTV; WAGA; KGO; WRAL; News 12 Long Island; WXYZ; CBC; WDIV.