Documents obtained by MuckRock concerning complaints made about the Girl Scouts of the United States of America to the Federal Trade Commission offer an intriguing case study in the variety of kvetching humans are capable of.
The majority of the complaints made to the FTC aren’t actually about the Girl Scouts - instead, they reflect the increasing prevalence of scammers changing their Caller ID and the seemingly popular trend of impersonating Girl Scouts leadership.
A YEAR AGO OUR CHILD SENT A SHOEBOX THROUGH GOOD SAMARITAN WITH GIRL SCOUTS. IT HAD MISC THINGS IN IT FOR A CHILD. I BELIVE THIS IS THE GIFT BOX REFERENCED. THE LETTER MY DAUGHTER, AGE 12, RECEIVED IS DISTURBING & REQUEST CASH BEFORE CHRISTMAS. WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF SENDING ANYTHING.
The ones that are actually about the Girl Scouts primarily concern missing patches and botched cookie orders.
I have not received any patches owed to my daughter or any refund. It is incredible that the Girl Scout mission: Girl scouting build girls of courage, confidence, and character. How can this be done, if leaders are stealing from the girls and parents? THIS IS NOT THE FIRST SITUATION/INCIDENT WITH THIS GIRL SCOUT LEADER, BUT OTHER PARENTS AND CO-LEADER HAVE NEVER STATED ANYTHING ABOUT HER PRACTICE. I WILL NOT ALLOW A GIRL SCOUT LEADER TO TREAT MY DAUGHTER THIS WAY! STEALING IS NOT SOMETHING WE TEACH OUR GIRLS. Especially since the Girl Scouts are suing Boy Scouts over a name change. ‘ We applaud every organization that builds character and leadership in children, including the Girl Scouts of the USA’…Girl Scouts statement. Then why are we allowing Girl Scouts leader to steal from our Girls!
My daughter is in Troop b(6) of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida. This year was her first year as a Girl Scout Daisy. My daughter is one of the girls who was out in the sun and cold nights selling cookies during the cookies sales for Girl Scouts under the promise of raising money to be able to go on fun activities and trips. Recently, in a parent meeting us parents have just been informed this will not be happening because money is missing from the funds and council will not be awarding the girls for all their hard work and exploitation. Co-leader who was handling all the money quit and refuses to provide proof of payments provided by parents, myself in particular. Leader has said she has tried to reach out to council but nothing is being done. I cannot speak for other parents but I feel as though my daughter, a minor, was exploited in child labor. I need an answer now.
On Jan. 29, 2016 I placed an online order via a Girl Scout page for four boxes of Thin Mints, two boxes of Tagalon, and two boxes of Do-si-Dos. Total: $32.00 Order # (b(6) from a Scout named (b(6). Four weeks after online order, I inquired about how long order actually takes from local Troops selling cookies. The universal answer was within two weeks. As of April 8th, 2016 I have officially waited ten weeks, the max delivery time. I have not received any phone calls nor received any emails from Local Girl Scout Leader, having exhausted myself on emailing Customer Service (online) for the last three weeks. I was told to keep waiting on order, at time of my emails it had not reached the ten week delivery mark. Well…I have waited and now would like a full refund of money. I’m unsure if my cookies were sold or eaten by someone else. Whatever the case might be, I NEVER received a product that was promised at the time of payment. I filed a second complaint via Girl Scouts website though I am certain it will be seemingly brushed off, as was like my initial complaint.
The others are just odd.
What “we” are reporting here is NOT telephone and/or internet fraud per se. Rather on Sunday March 6th, 2016 we visited a Giant Eagle in Washibngton Pennsylvania-USA-and something strange happened-that has never happened to “us” before. A stocky-scrappy looking gentleman with pale-Hispanic skin wearing a red-Alice-band-like-bandana APPEARED TO DELIBERATELY follow us out of the store-once we had finished shopping+paid+were exiting the store and APPEARED ON PURPOSE to drop DIRECTLY ONTO OUR FOOT PATHTHERE WAS NO MISTAKING HOW DELIBERATE THIS ALL WAS-THROWING WHAT LOOKED like a wad of paper-with gum stuck in the middle-some OTHER “subtsance?” stuck onto the paper. The girl scouts and their chaperon’s were near the front of the store. Seeing “a gentleman” like this young man “reminded” “us” that it’s RARE for person[s] “fitting this description” to shop there-and added to that there was a girl with dark hair flowing down to her waist-beautifully-kept hair-no split ends etc. talking dressed in sweats+talking on her cell ‘phone-who appeared in some way CONNECTED with the [Hispanic male] person throwing paper near our feet[!]. This MIGHT sound “strange” but “we” have shopped at this store for more than a full decade-and perhaps its the time of day of our “usual” shopping and/or the DAY OF THE WEEK [not Sunday!] - writing this report MADE us “realize” that MOST shoppers at Giant Eag;e of Washiongton PA are elderly and/or NON-elderly women shopping ALONE and/or NON-elderly MEN shopping alone and/or grandmothers with daughters and grandkids - VERY FAMILY-oriented - which made the two we are describing here STAND OUT [!] to us. We HOPE it’s NOTHING BAD BUT we heard on a local CBS news affiliate that a downtown Pittsburgh business-store-owner’s ENTIRE BUSINESS PLAN consisted of going to Amazon.com online-“seeing” the top-sellers and co-ercing drug-offenders to STEAL the TOP-SELLING-AMAZON-PRODUCRS “to order” so to speak and after that re-selling the stolen items ON AMAZON [!] online. According to the CBS news report that we viewed this “scheme” had been going on for YEARS and netting [?] the downtown business “owner” approximately 22 MILLION U$A dollar$ per year. According to the news report the kingpin has been caught+charged with his crime etc. but it HAD been “going on” - for YEARS [!] The massive thefts had been taking place in area Wal-Mart stores in area Giant Eagle stores - and other places as well - according to The CBS tv news report.
I would like a full refund. so I can go see mickey on my own.
Download the full list of complaints on the request page, and remember…
It’s a great time to join Girl Scouts of SE MI! Learn more at the Family Info Night near you
Image by Petty Officer 2nd Class Maddelin Angebrand via Wikimedia Commons
