Harrassed by Wal-Mart

[sod124]

What is the name of your state? Florida
My wife( who is Filipino) had taken my 12yr old son, 2yr old son and 1yr old daughter to shop at Wal-Mart. My wife had an Item on lay-away and went back to wait in line to make a payment. When passing through the childrens underwear my 1 year old grabbed a bag of underwear and dropped it into the cart. While waiting my 1 year old started to cry, they had left here bottle in the van, so she sent my 12 yr old with her and the cart to get it. When he arrived at the van, he opened the door retrieved her bottle and was then confronted by a Security person holding the underwear asking if he had payed for it. He was hauled back into the back offices, they went and found my wife, still in lay-a-way. Took her back , said they had to just write up a statement of what happened, it was just a formality, not to worry. A month later we received a letter from their loss prevention stating he had shoplifted from Walmart, we were responsible, the law said we had had to pay three times the worth($3.27) 0r $200.00. That is the law. I went to the Wal-Mart, wrote letters on their website, talked to supervisers, called the security phone #. No one would talk to me about the incident. They have sent out ten letters all warnings 1st, 2nd, 3rd, final, now from lawyers 1st, 2nd, 3rd, called my house saying we had to pay, The last one offering to take half if paid within 10 days. What should we do??

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

What is the name of your state? Florida


My wife( who is Filipino)

MY RESPONSE: What does that have to do with anything?



When passing through the childrens underwear my 1 year old grabbed a bag of underwear and dropped it into the cart. While waiting my 1 year old started to cry, they had left here bottle in the van, so she sent my 12 yr old with her and the cart to get it.

MY RESPONSE: Oh, of course - - with the cart. Sure, that's likely. Yeah, right. Gee, how many items were in the cart that your Filipino wife didn't see the "package"?



When he arrived at the van, he opened the door retrieved her bottle and was then confronted by a Security person holding the underwear asking if he had payed for it.

MY RESPONSE: Yeah? That's what they're supposed to do.



A month later we received a letter from their loss prevention stating he had shoplifted from Walmart, we were responsible, the law said we had had to pay three times the worth($3.27) 0r $200.00. That is the law. I went to the Wal-Mart, wrote letters on their website, talked to supervisers, called the security phone #. No one would talk to me about the incident. They have sent out ten letters all warnings 1st, 2nd, 3rd, final, now from lawyers 1st, 2nd, 3rd, called my house saying we had to pay, The last one offering to take half if paid within 10 days.

MY RESPONSE: They've heard it all before. You see, they don't want to hear your whining. And, of course, your wife NEVER noticed the package in the cart in the first place, right? And, if she was just there to make a payment, why did she have the cart?



What should we do??

MY RESPONSE: Telling the whole story, and telling the truth would be a good start.

IAAL

 

[CdwJava]

How does a 1-year-old GRAB a whole BAG of underwear AND get it IN to the shopping cart? The cart is much taller than they are ... AND the chances of them being able to adequately manipulate a bag of underwear (due to size and weight) at that age is slim ... and yes, I have had 3 children at that age.

If it was an accident somehow ... okay. But I don't buy the story about the 1-year-old.

My suggestion would be to pay what they ask unless you have the lawyer to fight it. It's a civil assessment at this time but it COULD turn into a criminal case if you choose to fight it. And unless you can demonstrate how the 1-year-old could walk (or toddle) to a shelf, grab a bag of underwear, climb up the side of the cart and drop it in, I wouldn't think of fighting it.

Good luck ... and watch the kids more closely in the future.

Carl

 

[stealth2]

Wait. You're required to pay either ~$10 or $200 - which is it?

But be honest - your 12 yo surely knows that one does not walk out of a store with something that hasn't been paid for, right? My 12 yo does. For a 1yo to reach out of the cart and grab something and then toss it into the card - that's hard to miss for the person wheeling the card. Especially if there is nothing else in there but the pack of briefs. Your son walked out of the store with an item that wasn't paid for. That's called shoplifting. Pay the pleading fine and be done with it. And make sonny-boy work it off.

(edit) And IAAL - wanna bet that the point of Mom's nationality is that they're going to claim discrimination?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

(edit) And IAAL - wanna bet that the point of Mom's nationality is that they're going to claim discrimination?

My response:

Well, of course it is - - which was the basis for my asking in the first place. What our writer doesn't realize is that this country is filled with, and made up of, "other" nationalities. What? Does he think you must be 2nd or 3rd generation before "discrimination" doesn't apply? Or, do you think this writer believes that because his wife is Filipino that it gives him some right to scream "DISCRIMINATION" if his wife and family violate the law? Does he think that NO ONE but foreigners steal, and are the only one's that are prosecuted?

I'd really like to know why our writer felt that it was important to the story to point out the fact that his wife is Filipino. Just what did he have in mind?

But, it's very doubtful that the writer will come back because he now realizes that there's no one here who will give him a pillow and warm blanket of "agreement" with him and his lying story.

My question to the writer is WHY he even bothered to come here if he wasn't going to tell the whole, truthful, story?

IAAL

 

[sod124]

Good questions!

Why mention my wife is Filipino- English is not her first language , she did not understand why the Walmart people would say "Don't Worry". Why the cart? I would think anyone with kids would know to keep a 1 year old in a cart as well as the two year old to keep them from grabbing every thing. When you walk down the rows and are shopping the kids will grab stuff, we usually sort out anything we don't see when we check out. My wife had been shopping all the stuff she was buying was in the other cart.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Why mention my wife is Filipino- English is not her first language , she did not understand why the Walmart people would say "Don't Worry". Why the cart? I would think anyone with kids would know to keep a 1 year old in a cart as well as the two year old to keep them from grabbing every thing. When you walk down the rows and are shopping the kids will grab stuff, we usually sort out anything we don't see when we check out. My wife had been shopping all the stuff she was buying was in the other cart.

My response:

Okay, so it's her second language. So what? I'm sure the 12 year old translated for Momma, right?

But you still haven't told the whole, truthful, story. There's much more to this.

IAAL

 

[sod124]

The whole truth and nothing but.....

Okay, My son does not speak Tagolag, That is why I went to the store to find out thier story, No police were called. I know they would have pulled some video on this incident. I want them to take me to court! But all they do is send letters and call and harrass. What can I do to get them to sh.. or get off the pot. Either take us to court or leave us alone. Can you answer that question??

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Okay, My son does not speak Tagolag, That is why I went to the store to find out thier story, No police were called. I know they would have pulled some video on this incident. I want them to take me to court! But all they do is send letters and call and harrass. What can I do to get them to sh.. or get off the pot. Either take us to court or leave us alone. Can you answer that question??

My response:

Write to the address on the letters (if you haven't already thrown them out) and tell them just that. Make it a Certified Return Receipt letter - - that way, you'll know they received it, and that way, they can forward your letter to the District Attorney's Office to give you your wish.

"My son does not speak Tagolag" - - and I'm not even going to get into the reasons why you're giving us the impression that your 12 year old can't even communicate with his mother - - but, he sure could understand "go out to the car and take the cart and get the bottle." He sure understood that!

You see, you're not telling the whole, truthful story. So, we can't help you.

IAAL

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Maybe the question is why does a 12 year old boy need to take a cart to go out out the car to get a bottle? I've raised too many kids & agree there is something more.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Maybe the question is why does a 12 year old boy need to take a cart to go out out the car to get a bottle? I've raised too many kids & agree there is something more.

My response:

Our writer was desperately trying to slant the little amount of information given, and to only give enough information that might possibly be helpful to his position in this matter.

Little did our writer realize, but he gave information that lead all of us to believe that he's not telling the truth, or at least, the whole truth. There's too much that doesn't make sense.

IAAL

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Wanna bet that the cart was on two wheels and or didn't take a straight course to the car? OH! Yeah! Sound effects gotta remember those!

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Wanna bet that the cart was on two wheels and or didn't take a straight course to the car? OH! Yeah! Sound effects gotta remember those!

My response:

You're too funny!

Hey, does Wal-Mart have "Blue Light" specials like K-Mart? I don't know - - I haven't been in a K-Mart for years, and have never been in a Wal-Mart. But, it would appear that Momma Filipino was trying to get some kind of "special"!

Oh, and you know what? Our writer never said what size the underwear was. You know, I'll bet they were a size that would have fit one of the kids. Coincidence? Or did the baby know his sibling's size? Any bets?

IAAL

 

[sod124]

O.k.

Will send them a certified letter. Thanks
To answer the "not telling the whole story" This is what my wife and son told me.. My wife is pushing the cart with the two year old, my son is pushing the cart with the crying one year old. She brought him along to help, not leave him home with the babies by himself. (I work!!) the money from our last discrimination lawsuit ran out the month before. ANYHOW, the little one is crying, she didn't really want to have two carts in line, one screaming kid annoying everyone, when he could just push her to the van get the bottle and come back in the store. My son was on the kid end of the cart, not the basket. He didn't look in the basket, and said he didn't know the package was in the basket, next time your in Walmart, find a package of three underwear, drop it in the basket, squat down so you are about 4'8" and see if you notice what is in the basket. His instructions from his mom was to go get the bottle and get back to where she was. Now if there would have been a package of Pokeman cards or something like that......but underwear, not on the top of the list for a kid to shoplift. It says in the statute you must have the intention of taking it for your or someone elses use. Anyhow thanks, make you think and ask ?'s!

 

[CdwJava]

Money from your "last discrimination suit"? You aren't thinking of suing Wal-Mart for discrimination, are you? For something that they could easily interpret as being theft? Perhaps if they ONLY attempted to get civil restitution from Filipino women for shoplifting ... but I KNOW that isn't true.

Anyway, I suggest that you write the letter and see what they say. It may not be worth it for them to pursue the matter. Or, they may go to the police ... only THEY know what they heard, saw and were told at the scene.

Carl