Piedmont Business Owner Warns Of Scam Attempt

A small business owner from Piedmont is warning others of a scammer targeting businesses in the area.

Vicki Hietpas, co-owner of Do-It-best Hometown Hardware, said a man came in asking for a refund, and was even able to receive one from another business down the street.

“I hate that he goes around to small business like that and takes advantage of owners," said Hietpas. 

Hietpas said the man walked in claiming his dog died after purchasing two bags of dog food from her store with mold and bugs inside. 

The man had no receipt, pictures or any proof of his claims, Hietpas said.

“We buy what we need when we need it, our dog food is always fresh," Hietpas said. "We have had no problems."

Hietpas said the man told the store owner that he called the local dog food's distributor, but the distributor had no record of a phone call. 

When the Hietpas' store wasn’t giving in, the man started to get irritated before saying he’d "drag the dog food bag back to the store and show them."

Hietpas said the man left a fake name and number before leaving and never returning.

"It was just a crazy story, and I was just sitting there with red flags going up thinking this can’t be legit,” Hietpas said. 

Hietpas said she called around nearby stores to warn them, when one told her they had just refunded the same man who came in with complaints about a different brand of dog food.

"Our margins are small, and we don’t make a million dollars off our products, so it matters to us." Hietpas said. "I would love to see him caught."

Piedmont Police said they were notified, but there was nothing the Police Department could do since the business who gave the refund was not located inside city limits. 

While Hietpas said her intuition saved her, she wants businesses in the area to be aware of this scam.