Just want to vent- Husband and door-to-door salespeople.

[Narmelleth]

Looking for some solidarity and to vent I guess.
Every time a salesperson knocks on our door and DH is the one who answers the door he just starts getting sucked in.

He will stand there listening to the whole sale speech. Looking at brochures. Feeling out forms. Handing out names, phone numbers, email address, answering every question they have. Like for the love of God, stop handing out your personal data to strangers, tell them thanks but no thanks and shut the fucking door!

Today was the cherry on the top. Probably 2 hours of our Saturday wasted. In the end, I had to go out there, threaten divorce and gave the death stare to the salesman. He left running, but with DH's info. I didn't go earlier as I had hopes, hopes that DH will send him packing on his own. I didn't want to be THAT wife, I didn't want to emasculate him, but here we are. I snapped.

Seriously, I can't even trust him now to answer the fucking door. Thanks for reading. I had to get it off my chest.

I hear you.

Does he not get that the only people selling door to door nowadays are scammers? Or cults like Jehovah Witness? He's a numbskull.

Lock down your credit and check your credit report regularly.

Mine's similar, he 'doesn't like being rude to people'.

I've seen him chatting away for ages when he leaves a message on someone's answerphone too.

Since we got our Ring I don’t even bother answering. We moved to a cul de sac of bungalows last year and get SO many cold callers.

We are not elderly or vulnerable and DH still works.
Someone knocked and rang the bell yesterday woke my 2 dogs up and DD puppy ( care for her in the day) so peace shattered!

DH does answer cold phonecalls whereas I never do but firmly declines. Soon gets rid of any doorstep callers.

Maybe get DH watching some TV scamming progs and maybe we need a no cold callers sign. Moved from a large detached and rarely got cold callers.

Your husband needs a job and a hobby.

He has far too much time on his hand if he can afford to waste 2 hours with a spammer!

Is he lonely?

Tell him not to answer the door to them in the first place. I don't answer the door to anyone that I don't know or am not expecting. Unless you regularly have total randoms knocking on your door for other reasons, then complete strangers are almost certainly going to be selling something, pushing religion or possibly even up to no good.

Does your husband have no common sense? I mean entertaining a cold caller for a few minutes is one thing but 2 hours? That's just ridiculous. Why does he do it? I think an upfront conversation about his stupidity is due. And if you have a regular cold callers, maybe it's time to install a camera so that you don't open the door to them at all.

I pointed out that people trying to sell you stuff on the door are scammers and trying to fleece you and even if they are legit it's never a good deal despite what they are saying, but I am apparently too cynical.

Yes, he is too polite and patient as well.
I just cut them off when they start the sale pitch, say not interested, thanks, bye.
Life is too short for this.

I have been thinking about those cold caller signs today. I was wondering if they work in deterring people or they just ignore anyway.

We have a doorbell camera but H just doesn't bother checking it like ever.

It doesn't help that the dog goes mental wherever someone knocks.

Put a note on your door saying something like "no salespeople, insurance groups, charity collectors or religious groups" If you have a doorbell or doorknocker make sure to put it underneath or next to it so it will be seen.

Put a note on your door saying something like "no salespeople, insurance groups, charity collectors or religious groups" If you have a doorbell or doorknocker make sure to put it underneath or next to it so it will be seen.

My husband works in an upstairs office above the front door. He looks out sees who it is and doesn't answer unless it's the postman, a delivery driver or online shopping. I got caught yesterday as I was walking past the lounge window when the bloke rang the bell - he'd seen me.... I opened the door to be greeted with 'hi I'm Josh, I'm not selling anything' so I replied ' so why are you disturbing me?' He wanted to book an appointment for a security review of my home so that they could sell me an alarm system.... I'm going to get one of those 'no unsolicited callers' signs! (My favourite is a sign that says 'doorstep consultations are charged at £5 per minute and by ringing the bell you agree to those terms - cash or bank transfer only'.)

edited for typos.

He thought he was being clever today because luck would have it that the thing the salesperson was selling we will need replacing at some point in the future as we have been having minor issues. So he thought, 'look we can get a quote! And the price range they are offering not bad at all!And look they have offers!'
His face when the final price was shared after 2 hrs of nonsense was priceless. I would have laughed if I wasn't raging.

I ask myself that daily lately. Zero common sense. ZERO!

Today he thought he was being smart and proactive in sorting a potential future issue. I mean that's all good and great but trusting a cold caller to give you an amazing/honest deal?
If he was that desperate to sort our issue he could have googled it, checked reviews of products and services etc. Not trust a random at the door!

I went nuclear had a conversation with him the moment the salesman left. Hopefully, he will remember...

We have a doorbell camera but unfortunately he doesn't bother checking it. He just goes straight for the door.

What part of the country to be getting this so often? We rarely get salespeople.

£5 per minute. Love it. We would have made some good money today!

Mine’s the same. He can’t bring himself to say no to anyone (except me).
It the same at work. We get endless shit calls about gas/electricity/healthcare/insurance and however busy he is he always wastes hours listening to their bullshit, whereas I’ll hang up and have been known to tell them to fuck off.

South East.
I wouldn't say they are super duper often, but it feels a lot worse this last year than it used to be.

In 2026 so far I would say we have had:
Hellofresh rep, someone trying to get us to subscribe to milk/egg deliveries, energy company, 2-3 different charities, jehova witness, selling doors/windows, selling burglar alarms, roof repairs, window cleaning, Internet provider.

I am probably forgetting something.

@Narmelleth i have a large sign on my door saying any cold callers will be charged £100 for wasting my time.
Young lad did try and sell me something so I asked him for the £100 🤣🤣🤣🤣
eBay has loads of no sales/cold callers signs

Oh God, suppressed memory unlocked.
A few years back O.2 called wanting to sell him some deals and packages. I remember coming home from work that day and him telling me ever so proudly that he switched our providers to O.2 and now I don't have a "pay as you go" sim card anymore, instead we have a contract for 10 (12? can't remember exact numbers) quid each a month and look I have 2GB data in the deal! Isn't that amazing?!?!

With my pay as you go i was paying similar money and was getting 5GB a month... the 2GB was not enough to see me through the month.

Oh how I didn't push him off the nearest cliff that day I don't know.

It's nice he understands that some people are really struggling, have no job and are trying anything to get work, and that he doesn't want to be rude. But just put up a no coldcallers notice.

My husband has been caught several times on the door and in town signing up for monthly dd that i then have to cancel. I just shut the door saying no thank you. Its not rude, they are being rude by knocking on the door!

I don’t know what the answer is, because even putting up signs on the door doesn’t stop the knocking.

That's weird.

Is he desperately lonely or something? Someone like that could be a liability one day.

Someone like that could be a liability one day.

I actually said this to him, but he is in denial...

I see others have mentioned loneliness but I don't think so. He never reaches out to friends and he prefers being at home.

@Narmelleth There is something quite child-like about it, so I'm wonder if he's not particularly intelligent, or he finds it therapeutic or relaxing 😄That undivided attention that he gets.

I wonder what he'd make of ASMR videos of getting one's hair cut, getting himself measured at a tailor, that kind of thing. If you go looking for videos like that on Youtube, just be aware that these days, so many of them are sexualised, but it didn't used to be that way!