INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A door-to-door salesman who said he represented a company selling meat used aggressive tactics to take $295 from an Indianapolis woman, the woman said last week.

The company, Country Choice Aged Midwestern Beef, is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Northern Indiana. It has done business in Fort Wayne, Ind., where it has an “F” rating from the bureau, a BBB spokeswoman said.

The company, also known as Country Choice Meats, has failed to respond to five complaints over the last three years for problems with delivery, product or service, and guarantee and warranty issues, according to the BBB. Three of the five complaints have come in the last year.

The business started in January 2004 and the bureau opened a file on the company in August 2005, the BBB stated.

“Businesses (that sell foods door to door) are required to have a Board of Health permit,” the BBB spokeswoman explained. “Ones that are misrepresenting themselves will use such tactics as saying they were going to deliver the meat to a restaurant but for some reason, it can’t be delivered. They’ll say it’s restaurant-quality meat.”

The Indianapolis BBB has one unanswered complaint against the company and two pending, according to Nick Ostergaard, the BBB’s communications manager. The Indianapolis BBB received its first complaint about the company on April 13.

“We encourage consumers to call authorities if this happens to them,” Ostergaard said. “We’re trying to alert the public that this is going on. If somebody is soliciting door to door, you shouldn’t feel pressured to make a decision.”

The man came to the door of Mary Hedden’s Indianapolis apartment in mid-May, Hedden said. After she went to the door, Hedden said the man shoved her, almost knocking her over. He came to her apartment about 8 p.m.

“I was so afraid for my life,” said Hedden, 83. “I was so upset for several nights after it happened. I was shaken. He cleaned my bank account out.”

The man had a company brochure and brought one box of chicken and one of beef into Hedden’s kitchen. She told the man she couldn’t afford the meat and his response was, “Oh honey, I’m going to give you a great deal,” she said.

When she told the man she didn’t have room in her freezer for the meat, he opened the freezer, took food out of it and tossed it on the floor, she said. He left after she wrote a check for $225 and gave him $70 in cash, Hedden explained. He also left her a fake cell phone number.

Hedden has talked to the police and her bank is looking into filing fraud and elderly abuse charges, she said, adding she hopes she can help save others from going through a similar situation.

The experience has led to some changes, Hedden noted.

“I’m a very friendly person and I’ve always left the door open until 11 p.m. at night,” she said. “I won’t even answer the door now. People aren’t going to get in.

“I’m trying to get a screen door that locks. My son said my safety is the most important thing.”