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Old 03-16-2014, 01:53 PM
 
6,039 posts, read 6,013,867 times
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I am talking about people who abandon shopping carts in neighborhoods.

DISCLAIMERS: I am not talking about truly homeless people who carry their lives around in these carts.

We live in a nice neighborhood. Not Beverly Hills, but nice. All SFHs. I've started seeing about 1-2 carts a week just left to sit on the street.

If someone uses them to cart groceries back home...no offense...they ain't living in my 'hood. Why wouldn't they leave them at their own place? Do they bring groceries halfway home and then dump the cart? If they need a cart...there are so many non-stealing options they could use, for just a few bucks.Are they not used for groceries?

I can't think of another explanation, I'm really stumped.
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Old 03-16-2014, 02:06 PM
 
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When I first lived on my own, I didn't have a car right away and if I bought too many groceries to carry I used a cart. I always took it back though because the grocery story was just a block away. I wasn't the only one, a lot of people take them but a lot of them don't take them back. It was bad in my old neighbourhood. I didn't do that anymore since I have a car, but the grocery store was just down the street. It was a five minute walk at the most, and yet you'd see shopping carts on the side of the road. Some people just left them in the middle of our building parking lot. Others threw them in ditches. There was also a creek nearby and people would put them in the creek. I don't get what is so hard about taking the shopping carts back, especially if it's just down the street.
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Old 03-16-2014, 02:14 PM
 
Location: Southwestern, USA, now.
21,020 posts, read 19,189,987 times
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Gee, there is a long, maybe the longest thread on this very thing
already here...I laugh at how long it is, it's a phenomenon!
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Old 03-16-2014, 02:15 PM
 
6,039 posts, read 6,013,867 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn View Post
Gee, there is a long, maybe the longest thread on this very thing
already here...I laugh at how long it is, it's a phenomenon!
Should have searched for it first...

Oh wait I remember that one. That was more about people who leave carts in the parking lot and not bring them back to the corral.

I'm talking about people who abandon them in neighborhoods where it is highly unlikely they live.
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:05 AM
 
4,761 posts, read 14,210,432 times
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What are "SFHs"?????

As for carts in a nice neighborhood, there are still going to be people living there who do not drive. That will be kids/young teenagers. And the elderly.

Other people may not drive because they got a Driving Under the Influence citation. Also there could be a friend or relative staying with someone and that person lost his/her job and the car is parked due to not enough money to pay for insurance or repairs. (While the homeowners are at work, the friend/relative walks to the store to do the shopping.)

Look at the store name on the carts and call the store. Let them know their carts are in your area. They will come and pick them up.
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:26 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
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SFH - probably "Single Family Homes"
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Old 03-17-2014, 10:57 AM
 
6,039 posts, read 6,013,867 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy_J View Post
What are "SFHs"?????

As for carts in a nice neighborhood, there are still going to be people living there who do not drive. That will be kids/young teenagers. And the elderly.

Other people may not drive because they got a Driving Under the Influence citation. Also there could be a friend or relative staying with someone and that person lost his/her job and the car is parked due to not enough money to pay for insurance or repairs. (While the homeowners are at work, the friend/relative walks to the store to do the shopping.)

Look at the store name on the carts and call the store. Let them know their carts are in your area. They will come and pick them up.
There's a service I call and they pick up any cart within 24 hours.

SFH=single family home.

All of what you mention could be true. But if true...why don't these people leave the cart where THEY live? Not my house, not someone else's house. I mean I cannot think of a reason whay they wouldn't do that if their cart use was for a reason you suggested. Especially in a neighborhood like mine.
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Old 03-17-2014, 11:10 AM
 
4,761 posts, read 14,210,432 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elhelmete View Post
...why don't these people leave the cart where THEY live? Not my house, not someone else's house...
I should think if their shopping was so many bags or heavy bags that they needed a cart, then they would push the cart all the way to their home.

The only reason I can think of that they would not "go all the way" would be if the sidewalk ended or the cart was difficult to push beyond a certain point? Maybe the street pavement becomes rough at a certain point?

What looks like a smooth surface from a car might be quite rough and impossible to push a shopping cart on.

Other than that, I've seen people leave them out near the street so the store will see it and pick it up.

Or in some areas it is a crime to remove shopping carts from the store parking lot - some stores have warning signs saying not to remove the carts or ELSE! Maybe people are afraid of being prosecuted, so they leave the cart in front of someone else's house?

If they are leaving the cart in front of your house frequently, get a security camera system and you can see who is doing it.
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Old 03-17-2014, 04:12 PM
 
Location: FROM Dixie, but IN SoCal
3,484 posts, read 6,482,183 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elhelmete View Post
There's a service I call and they pick up any cart within 24 hours.
Yup, and they charge the stores a service fee for returning them. In some areas they regularly patrol the streets, apartment complex parking lots and etc to round 'em up and take 'em home. The stores gladly pay the fee because it is ever-so-much cheaper than buying a new cart.

But you know who actually winds up footing the bill, right?
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Old 03-17-2014, 04:17 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
20,203 posts, read 14,425,887 times
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I'd also guess it might be teenagers getting up to shenanigans. I've seen teens do some pretty ridiculous things, even affluent ones in very nice suburbs. Such as grabbing a cart, having one kid ride in it, while others push it down the road madly. Trying to Johnny Knoxville it down a flight of steps or something. Kids are silly sometimes.

Just a possibility. *shrug*
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