Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Walmart and other companies are using aggressive legal tactics to get the money back, demanding payments even when people haven’t been convicted of wrongdoing.
MOBILE, Ala. — Crystal Thompson was at home watching the Rose Bowl parade when a county sheriff came to arrest her for shoplifting from the local Walmart.
Ms. Thompson, 43, was baffled and scared. An agoraphobic, she had not shopped at a Walmart in more than a year. She was taken to a Mobile jail, searched, held in a small room and required to remove her false teeth, something she didn’t even do in front of her husband.
Four days after she returned home, the letters from Walmart’s lawyer started to arrive. The lawyer demanded that Ms. Thompson pay the company $200 or face a possible lawsuit. She received three letters over two months in early 2016. <snip>
I HATE Walmart, and I absolutely HATE their business practices. I also despise shoplifters or anyone over the age of eight or so who steal. (For very young children, I am willing to say they just haven't been taught any better.)
However, I doubt that retailers now go after people unless they are at least 99.1% sure that theft occurred. I worked as in retail for six years between 1974 and 1980, first for May Company and then as a merchandise manager at the store level for JCPenney; and I have worked part-time in my (mostly) retirement for a major independent retailer since 2015. Both then and now, employees were told to NEVER even approach a suspected shoplifter but to call security because the store could be sued BIG TIME if anyone was even falsely accused. In fact, less than six months ago, at my current place of employment, a cashier was fired "on the spot" because she ran after a person she thought had shoplifted. Forty years ago, the shoplifting had to be WITNESSED by security personnel or seen on videotape before the store would take a chance on apprehending someone.
In short, my question is this: In your experience, has that policy -- not pursuing and having people charged for shoplifting unless the retailer is "positive" that theft occurred -- changed for most retailers?
In short, my question is this: In your experience, has that policy -- not pursuing and having people charged for shoplifting unless the retailer is "positive" that theft occurred -- changed for most retailers?
I agree in most cases the store isn’t interested in dealing with it. They’ll write it off and add the loss to the cost of other goods that customers are paying for. Store profits don’t take the hit, customers do.
I saw shoplifting at the Target store and reported it to the manager as the teenager left the store. They didn’t want to deal with it.
At another time I saw a HomeDepot employee run out of the store in an attempt to pursuit a shoplifter but couldn’t catch him.
^^^
I saw shoplifting at the Target store and reported it to the manager as the teenager left the store. They didn’t want to deal with it. .
The store may decide it's not worth it depending on what's being stolen. If you see someone stealing gum or candy, it's very unlikely they'll do anything. No store employee wants to go running after someone for that.
Easy solution, don't steal. Wal-Mart and other companies are sick and tired of people stealing so they're doing what it takes to recover those loses. Good for them.
Law abiding Americans should not be punished with higher prices just because someone decided to steal and now wal-mart needs to make that money back
The woman in the article posted by the OP was falsely accused.
"Both letters were sent before the authorities determined that Ms. Martin had been “mistakenly charged” and dropped the criminal case, according to her suit."
Easy solution, don't steal. Wal-Mart and other companies are sick and tired of people stealing so they're doing what it takes to recover those loses. Good for them.
Law abiding Americans should not be punished with higher prices just because someone decided to steal and now wal-mart needs to make that money back
Apparently you didn't read the linked article.
The folks being attacked by Walmart didn't steal but were shaken down by nuisance charges that ended up being dismissed. Charges filed in huge numbers by law firms they've hired to send out mass mailings of accusations and warrants demanding money in order to increase their bottom line.
The thief in this situation is Walmart and they're committing it on a massive scale in many states.
Sounds to me, first, that people in a number of states that allow retailers to take such actions need to start writing letters to their state congresscritters.
Let's be sure we realize exactly what this problem is: State legislators have written laws that favor the rights of corporations against individual citizens, essentially turning the police into corporate security guards.
I support the stores. I doubt they’d waste their time going after someone if they didn’t have evidence. A high definition surveillance video and a copy of the checkout receipt or a shoplifter bypassing checkout are pretty conclusive.
I HATE Walmart, and I absolutely HATE their business practices. I also despise shoplifters or anyone over the age of eight or so who steal. (For very young children, I am willing to say they just haven't been taught any better.)
However, I doubt that retailers now go after people unless they are at least 99.1% sure that theft occurred. I worked as in retail for six years between 1974 and 1980, first for May Company and then as a merchandise manager at the store level for JCPenney; and I have worked part-time in my (mostly) retirement for a major independent retailer since 2015. Both then and now, employees were told to NEVER even approach a suspected shoplifter but to call security because the store could be sued BIG TIME if anyone was even falsely accused. In fact, less than six months ago, at my current place of employment, a cashier was fired "on the spot" because she ran after a person she thought had shoplifted. Forty years ago, the shoplifting had to be WITNESSED by security personnel or seen on videotape before the store would take a chance on apprehending someone.
In short, my question is this: In your experience, has that policy -- not pursuing and having people charged for shoplifting unless the retailer is "positive" that theft occurred -- changed for most retailers?
You really have to read the article to know how this is happening because I was pretty stumped. In one case, a young lady was trying to scan items in the self check out, she was having issues with it. Apparently some items did not scan. An employee followed her out of the store, got the license plate number, the cops arrested the person who's license plate/ car it was; not the person that scanned the items. Apparently Walmart refuses to share the video of the "crime" then they don't show up in court.
In another case, someone exchanged an air mattress for a grill without a receipt at a Montgomery, Alabama Walmart. They accused her of stealing the air mattress when they had no proof. No one from Walmart showed up in court, her case was dismissed. It says that while she was awaiting trial, her temp nursing license was put on hold for nearly six months.
Something needs to be done. Walmart is ruining people's lives with no consequences to Walmart. These people being accused are doing jail time, missing work, may lose specialty licenses like the nurse and who knows what else all over BS claims.
I'm always returning or exchanging at Walmart, some days I have a receipt, others I don't. Target's system is far superior to Walmarts, all they have to do is scan your credit card, it looks the item up with all receipts tied to your card. Burlington Coat Factory uses phone numbers which is even better, especially if you pay with cash. I don't understand why Walmart is so far behind with technology. It's ridiculous!
Quote:
In Ms. Thompson’s suit, a Walmart employee acknowledged in a deposition that he mistakenly accused her of shoplifting in December 2015.
He said it had appeared that one of Ms. Thompson’s daughters failed to scan about $70 worth of groceries at the self-checkout line.
The employee followed Ms. Thompson’s daughter out to the parking lot and wrote down the license plate of her car, which was registered to her mother. Based in part on the license plate, Walmart sought a criminal complaint against Ms. Thompson.
Mr. McDonald said that if Ms. Thompson’s daughter took the groceries without scanning them properly, it was by mistake. Video surveillance, reviewed by The New York Times, shows her daughter trying to scan and rescan groceries at the checkout machine for about 17 minutes.
Walmart has not filed shoplifting charges against Ms. Thompson’s daughter.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Tell that to Walmart
