Have you canceled AT&T only to find a stranger at your door trying to win you back? Did you wonder if it was a scam? It might not be according to the Akron Beacon Journal:

This person identified himself as being with a company called EMS and had no details to give or leave with my husband for me to see later.

The man told my husband that all he had was a list of people in my neighborhood who didn't have AT&T service.

My husband wondered whether it was a scam. After all, some guy knocking on our door on one of the coldest days of the year with sketchy information seemed suspicious.

This piggybacked on a call I received about a month ago from a reader who said she had received a door-to-door solicitation from someone claiming to be with AT&T. The salesperson offered to move her from ``the old AT&T'' to ``the new AT&T.'' But again, no information was given to her, and even when she called AT&T, the phone representative didn't know what she was talking about.

Both instances were legitimate, said Kevin Petersen, vice president and general manager of AT&T Ohio.

``We have subcontractors working on winning people back as well as showing them additional services. It's a very legitimate program,'' he said. ``We have a very organized process. We'll notify the police department and we'll get licenses in the areas if it requires.''

Apparently, the door-to-door game is still successful enough that AT&T continues to subcontract people to do it. However, these door-to-door contractors have the same deals that you can get by calling AT&T's Customer Service number, so if you don't like being solicited, don't feel like you're missing out if you say no. .And of course, the door-to-door person in question should have had branded clothing and been able to show identification.—MEGHANN MARCO

AT&T house calls are no scam [Akron Beacon Journal]