theft?

[joyce]

What is the name of your state? AL

Last year, a young lady called the phone company and paid her phone bill with my checking account numbers. I found this in September, after she had stolen over $1300.00 from my checking account, over several months. Even with the evidence from the phone company, all of my checking account statements that show that the money came out of my account and paid her phone bill, the police won't charge her with it. The D.A. says that he doesn't have enough evidence to "charge" her with the crime. They've told me that the only way they can prosecute this young lady is if the phone company can come up with a tape of her calling in to the phone company. I find this hard to believe. Is it true? Can people actually get away with this kind of theft without any consequences?What is the name of your state?

 

[outonbail]

I suppose this is because there is no way of knowing for sure if it was actually this lady who tapped into your account. It could have been a friend of hers or even an enemy trying to land her in hot water.

How were the other funds removed from your account? If there are numerous occasions of this same woman paying bills from your account or her fingerprint was taken when cashing a check then they should have a case against her. However, the one time payment to the phone company probably isn't enough to prove it was her who made the electronic transfer or phoned in the check number.

However, she did benefit from the payment of her bill so you should have no problem filing for the damages which relate to that one bill in a civil court and winning the case. This will at least get you some of your money back.

Is your bank taking any actions against her?

 

[joyce]

it's still theft !!

There were 7 occasions that this same lady called the phone company and paid her bill with my checking account numbers. 7 times ! At one point, the phone company even asked her about there being 2 different accounts being paid by one checking account, and her reply was that it was her grandmother's account. Personally, I believe that the phone company should share in some responsibility, after all**************.at that point, shouldn't they have contacted the person on the checking account? It seems from their notes that they questioned it for some reason. The bank reimbursed one of the payments, but refuse to do anything about the others because they were over 60 days old.
I didn't know that you had to have enough evidence, "to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt", to charge someone with an OBVIOUS crime. After all, this young lady has been fired from 2 jobs for stealing, and has actually stolen and forged checks prior to this little escapade. If they won't charge her, and she continues to get away with it, just how will she learn that it's wrong. And yes, I will be filing in a civil suit. The total sum comes to $1,497.00, not counting court costs, (and not counting the last payment of $222.00 that the bank reimbursed me for.

 

[mb94]

I didn't know that you had to have enough evidence, "to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt", to charge someone with an OBVIOUS crime.

No, but you do need enough evidence to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Just off the top of my head a defense attorney could bring up a number of issues to make it look like his client is not guilty. Like why it took you so long to notice the money was missing from your account? Or how she got your account info in the first place? It's possible that she would argue that you gave her permission to use the checks to pay her phone bill, especially if you have some type of relationship and are not complete strangers. You have the civil courts left to you to fight this out since the criminal courts have declined to get involved.

 

[outonbail]

There were 7 occasions that this same lady called the phone company and paid her bill with my checking account numbers. 7 times !

That should be enough to bring criminal charges against her, especially if she has priors, which you claim is the case. So there has to be more to the story. Why would it take so long for you to notice these funds were being removed from your account?

At one point, the phone company even asked her about there being 2 different accounts being paid by one checking account, and her reply was that it was her grandmother's account. Personally, I believe that the phone company should share in some responsibility, after all**************.at that point, shouldn't they have contacted the person on the checking account? It seems from their notes that they questioned it for some reason.

The frequency that the phone account was being paid with your bank account sets a payment pattern that would make it appear normal. Again, if you had caught this activity sooner you could have alerted the phone company early on. What do you mean by there were 2 different accounts being paid with your checking account? Was this woman paying your account as well as hers?

The bank reimbursed one of the payments, but refuse to do anything about the others because they were over 60 days old.

They must have found it unusual that you didn't discover this activity for close to a year. This is why they mail out monthly statements. You don't expect them to know who's using every customers account in an illegal manner do you?
Have you in the past, ever given this girl permission to access your account, or permission to pay any bills with it, either yours or hers?
How did she obtain the information she would need to dip into your account?

I didn't know that you had to have enough evidence, "to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt", to charge someone with an OBVIOUS crime. After all, this young lady has been fired from 2 jobs for stealing, and has actually stolen and forged checks prior to this little escapade. If they won't charge her, and she continues to get away with it, just how will she learn that it's wrong.

This is why I believe there is more to the story.

And yes, I will be filing in a civil suit. The total sum comes to $1,497.00, not counting court costs, (and not counting the last payment of $222.00 that the bank reimbursed me for.

Good, let us know how that turns out. Expect her to claim she had your permission. The burden of proof will be on you to show she did not have permission, so it is going to take more than your word against hers.

Good luck!

 

[ENASNI]

Okay Joyce, so who is this "young lady" in relation to you?

 

[joyce]

there is more to the story

The young lady happens to have been a friend of my youngest daughters. She had frequent access to my home, and since I work 2 jobs, I'm not at home as much as I'd like to be. The 2 accounts being paid out of my checking account **************.. seems obvious to me**************.mine, and then hers. She has "denied" having any knowledge of her phone bill being paid out of my account. She's denied having any knowledge about anything concerning this issue. As for me not catching the money being removed from my account for so long. I make enough money that I don't always balance my checkbook every month. If the amount comes out somewhere close to what I'm supposed to have, I put it off for a time that's more convenient for me. Sometimes I go months without really balancing my checking account. When I realized there was money coming out of my account that I couldn't account for, it took a couple of months to find it. When I found it, and was on the phone with the phone company, the lady at the phone company actually gave me the dates that each of those payments came out. Over half of my bank statements hadn't even been opened. I know that seems irrisponsible on my part, but I just never thought something like this could happen to me. An expensive lesson to learn, but learned well.

 

[outonbail]

The young lady happens to have been a friend of my youngest daughters. She had frequent access to my home, and since I work 2 jobs, I'm not at home as much as I'd like to be. The 2 accounts being paid out of my checking account ************** seems obvious to me**************.mine, and then hers.
She has "denied" having any knowledge of her phone bill being paid out of my account.

Well, that should make her look fairly stupid. I don't know how they do things in Alabama, but if I don't pay my phone bill every month, I don't get a dial tone when I try to use it. So if someone can not show how they have been paying their bill for the last seven months, yet they still have telephone service, they must figure everyone around them is pretty stupid, if they think their BS story will be believed.

What you need to do, is request a copy of all the bills you have been paying, yours & hers and do an accounting to present to the judge when you go to small claims court. I wouldn't mention too much about taking anyone to court to the phone company, or they may be hesitant to provide you with the other girls bills. In fact, I don't know if you have any right to receive them simply because you've been paying them or not, but it can't hurt to ask. If they refuse, then ask the court clerk where you are filing the claim how you can subpoena those records. You will need them to prove your case!

She's denied having any knowledge about anything concerning this
issue.

Well there's a surprise,,,,,

As for me not catching the money being removed from my account for so long. I make enough money that I don't always balance my checkbook every month. If the amount comes out somewhere close to what I'm supposed to have, I put it off for a time that's more convenient for me. Sometimes I go months without really balancing my checking account. When I realized there was money coming out of my account that I couldn't account for, it took a couple of months to find it. When I found it, and was on the phone with the phone company, the lady at the phone company actually gave me the dates that each of those payments came out. Over half of my bank statements hadn't even been opened. I know that seems irresponsible on my part, but I just never thought something like this could happen to me. An expensive lesson to learn, but learned well.

Well if you ask me, you got off cheap considering the lack of concern and loose control you had over your own finances. A crook with a little more motivation, would have cleaned you out!

In fact, you may want to do a credit check on yourself and make sure that there aren't any credit cards or loans that you've taken out without your knowledge. Considering how long this girl has been manipulating your account, the phone bill may only be the tip of the ice berg!

 

[joyce]

yep

Actually, I have the records from the phone company. They were subpoenaed per the police dept., and I have the copies. Since this has happened, I've paid much closer attention to my finances. Like I said, it was an expensive lesson, but one learned well. I'll let you know how things turn out in the civil court.