wallet stolen,i was given false info. from manager can i sue store.by the way i had 1200.00 dollars in wallet?

Question

was at a big franchise store when my wallet got stolen. i went to the manager he said that the video man would have to come from another town to view video. i ask if they could catch everything inthe store he answered YES. he called the out of town office and just left a message. didn't know where the security camera guy was i ask do i call the police he said no cause they could not do nothing until the video guy came in to see video but they would call me when he went in so i could also go. next day i didn't hear anything from them so i go there my self again. again he had not heard anything yet. i was very upset. went home as i got home there's a call from them saying i should go ahead and go in to make police report. so i go again. waited all day again, another day went by, no call from them so i call again, no they have not heard anything so i got district store #. called left mess. guy calls me on 4th day. tell me they could notsee anything and told me i was misinformed

Answer 1

I am a former Loss Prevention Manager and I can tell you there is NO video guy! Anyone in Loss Prevention staff could view video if there is one. What store was doing was conducting the investigation themselves first. This could be for many reasons most to protect store NOT YOU! File your police report like PD deal with but its VERY likely you wont get result you want. The "alleged" video may not have anything on it. Let me tell you how CCTV works in major retailers they have several types of cameras. The ones operated by LP staff rotate 360 degrees and record only what the staff member working it wants to record. There could be as many as 30 cameras but only one or two actually record on to video at any time otherwise there would be miles of video for just one day. It very possible they don't have theft on video. If a LPO (Loss Prevention Officer) sees a crime on CCTV he records it! Now another type of camera records 24/7 but are fixed cameras and record on to a hard drive for a PC. This may be what they needed "Video guy" for. It isn't likely a normal LP would have access to that but it is possible. If theft did NOT happen in view of one of these fixed cameras then again theft would not be on film. There isn't much more than Police report you can do. If you feel store is holding back info then tell PD and/or get a Lawyer. I hope my help and background were of help

Answer 2

I'm very sorry your wallet got stolen. You could however saved you self a lot of grief by not carrying so much money in your wallet. It's wrong to steal but at the same time you need to be practical. A good rule of thumb is not to carry any more money with you than you are willing to lose. This rule also applies to Los Vegas. I'm not really sure you could sue the store but you could try saying their representation caused you to delay reporting the event which done in a timely fashion could have recovered your property. I would at least take them to small claims court. It won't cost you much but your time. Make an outline of what you are going to say. The judge will be more influenced by a well prepared case than almost even an innately good case, just ask Tommy Cohren. Well he's dead but you know what I mean. No matter what take this as a learning experience and in the least you'll get something out of the deal. Best of wishes.

Answer 3

Well, if you think that your case was not handled properly by the police you can contact their division of internal affairs and have the whole matter investigated. You likely have no recourse against the retailer.

To anyone who might find themselves in this situation: When you get your wallet lifted you need to take immediate action. Stand up and yell that someone just snagged your wallet. Get peoples attention because something might just be done about it and someone might have seen something questionable, but decided that maybe they were imagining it or something. Look around you for someone acting strangely. Beyond all that, never ever leave your belongings unattended, no matter what. I don't know what the particulars of this case were, but there is a good chance it could have been avoided. This doesn't mean to speak ill of a victim, it sucks to have something like this stolen. But the faster action you take and the faster action you can get others to take, give you higher chances of making a recovery. I wish this person all the luck in the world and hope this doens't happen to her again.

Answer 4

no you can not sue the store unless they in some way helped to steal your wallent.

Next if you have your wallet stolen you know to always call the police first ( not go see the store manager) And you let the police investigate, not you, what were you going to do if you saw the video.

And honestly they should not let you see it anyway, they only had your word the wallet was stolen, you could have been a epert theif wanting to see where thier cameras showed and were. ( sorry but it could be) so for secuirty you would never see the film if they had it ( of if so, only a clip showing any real evidence)

So you call the police and file a police report,

I would say either your being upset or lack of knowledge merely made you follow poor advice but the police is always first, and because they did not have any evidnece, is no reason to sue them.

Following someone poor advice is not legal reasons for a law suit.

Answer 5

Unless there was some negligence on the store's policy or procedures that led directly to your wallet being stolen, the store really has no responsibility to safeguard your personal belongings.

By the way, always file a police report as soon as a crime becomes known. In this case it is possible the police could have lit a fire under the retailer to get those tapes viewed.

Sorry about your loss.

Answer 6

I don't know where you are from, but in common law there is what is known as implied responsibility on the part of the owner of any goods when they enter a store. Unless the store promised to secure your belongings or somehow protect them, I can see no liability on the part of the store. However, if they have a video tape, the police may be able to track down who took the wallet and maybe lay a theft charge.

Answer 7

I can't give you legal advice about your particlar situation, but as general information, I think chances are pretty slim for a successful suit against the store.

You would have to prove that the store had a duty to you to provide security such that the thief could be identified, but in practice, they don't. Security in stores exists to protect primarily the STORE, not you.

Furthermore, your wallet, with over $1,000 in it, gets stolen, someone tells you don't bother calling the cops and you LISTEN? That alone would likely sink your case as an intervening cause even if you had a case otherwise.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I'm just telling it like it is.

Answer 8

The store didn't steal your wallet and didn't cause you to lose the wallet. The store does not owe you a duty to provide you with any video or to even have video surveillance at all. In short, you can't recover from the store.

Answer 9

No.Always call the police.I would talk to the manager outside the store and open a 55 gallon drum of WHUPA@@.

Answer 10

Anytime you have a crime like that REPORT it especially with that amount of cash. The police maybe able to lite a little fire under their butts to get the ball rolling..as for recovering the money..best of luck.