car broken into while in for repair, they left doors unlocked

[joniandian]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? hawaii

My car is at the dealership for repair. They left the doors unlocked and someone broke in at night, stole some property, including checks. The dealership did not contact me after this occurred. I was notified by the police officer who took the call. We went into the dealership with the police officer to go through our car to see what was taken. No one from the dealership acknowledged or came to speak to us when we arrived. We had to go into the service department and ask to speak to the manager. It was only then that they gave us an apology, "we would like to give you 20%off lifetime and 6 free oil changes. Let us know what was taken and the value and we will make it right." I feel like we were mistreated. It has turned into a case of identity theft also, as someone used a check and cashed it for $525. Luckily I had already put a hold on my account. I am having to spend much of my time with the police and my bank. It has caused immeasurable stress within our household. This just occurred two days ago, so it is unknown if more checks have been used, or if they are using my name or husbands name and information for any other fraudulent purposes. I feel like I have been mistreated. Do I even have something here?

 

[Zigner]

Why would you leave such valuable things in your car?

Was the car inside of the locked building?

 

[joniandian]

Why would you leave such valuable things in your car?

Was the car inside of the locked building?

I did not know I had left checks in the car. The car is not in a secured building, it is in an open lot.

 

[justalayman]

Yes you have something there...against the person that stole your property.

If the car was not locked suggesting no damage to the vehicle to gain entry, how did the dealership know it had been accesssed at all?

As to your immeasurable stress that has accrued over 2 whole days; you might want to speak to your doctor about your over reaction to life events.

 

[joniandian]

The trunk was left open, they found it that way the next day, and upon reviewing the overnight surveillance video, they observed a male party checking the doors to all the cars on the lot. Mine was left open by the employees of the lot. He gained entry without damage to the vehicle. I pray that you never have to experience being violated. I have had to close accounts, as checks were forged and cashed. Numerous people were involved and I have several criminal cases against the thieves. I am now having to call my bank daily to manually pass each transaction through, and spend much of my time with the police, prosecuting attorney, trials, and court dates, all on my free time. I have also had to take personal days off from work to aid in prosecuting these thieves, also with identity theft. You try shutting down all of your finances even for a single day and see how you would feel, all while managing a full time job and 4 young children. I would never wish this upon anyone. Even feeling unsafe in my own home because they know my personal information.

 

[quincy]

The trunk was left open, they found it that way the next day, and upon reviewing the overnight surveillance video, they observed a male party checking the doors to all the cars on the lot. Mine was left open by the employees of the lot. He gained entry without damage to the vehicle. I pray that you never have to experience being violated. I have had to close accounts, as checks were forged and cashed. Numerous people were involved and I have several criminal cases against the thieves. I am now having to call my bank daily to manually pass each transaction through, and spend much of my time with the police, prosecuting attorney, trials, and court dates, all on my free time. I have also had to take personal days off from work to aid in prosecuting these thieves, also with identity theft. You try shutting down all of your finances even for a single day and see how you would feel, all while managing a full time job and 4 young children. I would never wish this upon anyone. Even feeling unsafe in my own home because they know my personal information.

The theft happened, according to you, on June 20. It is now Sunday, 5 days later.

One person, you said, was seen on video surveillance. How was that person already identified, arrested and charged, and how is it known that "several people are involved?"

How is it that you already have "several criminal cases against the thieves" and are having to deal with the prosecutor and court dates?

There is much that does not make sense.

 

[joniandian]

The theft happened, according to you, on June 20. It is now Sunday, 5 days later.

One person, you said, was seen on video surveillance. How was that person already identified, arrested and charged, and how is it known that "several people are involved?"

How is it that you already have "several criminal cases against the thieves" and are having to deal with the prosecutor and court dates?

There is much that does not make sense.

The theif was apprehended the next morning by quick action of the police as he was riding the same bike in the surveillance video, and wearing one of the backpacks that was stolen from my car. He has been arrested and charged, and has his preliminary hearing tomorrow. I was subpoenaed yesterday by police to appear in court tomorrow. He sold my checks to another party who cashed them at the bank. As of Friday, he was not yet in custody, but when they do get him, as they already are aware of his general whereabouts, he will have several criminal charges, including the identity theft. That is a different case entirely. We have already had to go in for handwriting exemplars with the police, and I need to complete an identity theft packet which contains affidavits, and forms to be notarized, accounts closures, notifying credit bureaus etc. if you side with the criminals here, then u must be one yourself. You think I'm lying??? everything is 100% truth. It is only thru the quick action and diligence of my local police that things are moving as quickly as they are. Most cases such as this end up with no arrests, no resolution, no closure. Like I said, I do not wish this upon anyone, including you.

 

[quincy]

The theif was apprehended the next morning by quick action of the police as he was riding the same bike in the surveillance video, and wearing one of the backpacks that was stolen from my car. He has been arrested and charged, and has his preliminary hearing tomorrow. I was subpoenaed yesterday by police to appear in court tomorrow. He sold my checks to another party who cashed them at the bank. As of Friday, he was not yet in custody, but when they do get him, as they already are aware of his general whereabouts, he will have several criminal charges, including the identity theft. That is a different case entirely. We have already had to go in for handwriting exemplars with the police, and I need to complete an identity theft packet which contains affidavits, and forms to be notarized, accounts closures, notifying credit bureaus etc. if you side with the criminals here, then u must be one yourself You think I'm lying??? everything is 100% truth. It is only thru the quick action and diligence of my local police that things are moving as quickly as they are. Most cases such as this end up with no arrests, no resolution, no closure. Like I said, I do not wish this upon anyone, including you.

I beg your pardon? Your post is extremely rude.

 

[joniandian]

I beg your pardon? Your post is extremely rude.

I'm sorry if I appear rude. I am just sick of feeling like the criminal has all the rights. People seem to believe the word of the criminals rather than the victims. I've learned that the victims are excpected to jump thu hoops, while the criminal can just deny or refuse to do things to protect themselves.

 

[quincy]

I'm sorry if I appear rude. I am just sick of feeling like the criminal has all the rights. People seem to believe the word of the criminals rather than the victims. I've learned that the victims are excpected to jump thu hoops, while the criminal can just deny or refuse to do things to protect themselves.

Victims of crimes often feel that the law favors criminals. It doesn't. It favors the innocent who may be unjustly accused of crimes and it protects the rights we all have, criminal and victim alike.

You are speeding through the process with remarkable speed so far. You should be thankful at least for that.

In addition to the criminal action pursued by the prosecutor, you could have a civil action to consider against the one or ones arrested and charged with the theft. It is possible that the dealership could share liability for the theft but more facts are needed to determine this better. I suggest you speak to an attorney in your area to discuss these facts.

Good luck.

 

[joniandian]

Victims of crimes often feel that the law favors criminals. It doesn't. It favors the innocent who may be unjustly accused of crimes and it protects the rights we all have, criminal and victim alike.

You are speeding through the process with remarkable speed so far. You should be thankful at least for that.

In addition to the criminal action pursued by the prosecutor, you could have a civil action to consider against the one or ones arrested and charged with the theft. It is possible that the dealership could share liability for the theft but more facts are needed to determine this better. I suggest you speak to an attorney in your area to discuss these facts.

Good luck.

Thank you. I just pray that this is all resolved relatively quickly, so that my family and I can have some sense of normalcy once again. I would rather not seek civil action against any of the involved parties, because that just means more time and energy involved, and I'm assuming civil matters take time. I am very upset with the dealership for leaving my car unlocked. They admitted fault to this and verbalized that they want to "make it right" but how does one "make it right" after something like this?

 

[Zigner]

Thank you. I just pray that this is all resolved relatively quickly, so that my family and I can have some sense of normalcy once again. I would rather not seek civil action against any of the involved parties, because that just means more time and energy involved, and I'm assuming civil matters take time. I am very upset with the dealership for leaving my car unlocked. They admitted fault to this and verbalized that they want to "make it right" but how does one "make it right" after something like this?

If the car was in a locked lot, it's entirely possible that the lot bears no responsibility. How does one "make it right"? Just like the big box stores do when they lose customer information for millions of people through a data breach...they say "sorry" and offer a free year or two of credit monitoring.

I would suggest that you make it clear you'd like restitution ordered as a part of any criminal conviction/sentence that the offender may receive.

 

[quincy]

Thank you. I just pray that this is all resolved relatively quickly, so that my family and I can have some sense of normalcy once again. I would rather not seek civil action against any of the involved parties, because that just means more time and energy involved, and I'm assuming civil matters take time. I am very upset with the dealership for leaving my car unlocked. They admitted fault to this and verbalized that they want to "make it right" but how does one "make it right" after something like this?

A civil action is time consuming and can get costly so you are smart to take that into consideration.

I do not know what the dealership can do to make things right. If the thief or thieves are indigent, however, even court ordered restitution can be difficult to collect. If you have provable monetary damages, a showing of negligence on the part of the dealership can help you recover losses.

Good luck.

 

[HighwayMan]

I do not know what the dealership can do to make things right...

They've offered : "we would like to give you 20%off lifetime and 6 free oil changes. Let us know what was taken and the value and we will make it right."

I guess that's a start. With the cost of repairs these days 20% off over a lifetime can be a substantial amount.

 

[quincy]

They've offered : "we would like to give you 20%off lifetime and 6 free oil changes. Let us know what was taken and the value and we will make it right."

I guess that's a start. With the cost of repairs these days 20% off over a lifetime can be a substantial amount.

That sounds a decent offer, especially since there is no guarantee of winning a civil action. Any offer made by the dealership should be committed to writing and dated and signed by the parties, if an offer is to be accepted.