Does this sound ethical? (Legal advice)

[david]

I know this girl online that lives in Colorado and she recently stopped at a supermarket in her town and purchased some things and all seemed normal and usual for her. She was walking back to her car when she was tapped on the shoulder by a security guard and was then asked to come back into the store.

She ended being taken into a store room and was quested by this security officer who accused her of shoplifting and claimed it was caught on the store security tape. They wouldn't and didn't show her this suposed tape of her shoplifting. She was then photographed by store security, she ended up signing something and was told to phone a 1-800 number to pay a $250 STORE SHOPLIFTING fee.

She is just a teenager was really scared and intimidated.

I and other people that know her feel that was taken advantage of. She's a good kid and didn't steal and they never did find this merchandise that she "stole" according to them.

This whole thing doesn't even sound right.

 

[melon]

Sounds like something to bring up to a lawyer or the ACLU. No, it doesn't sound ethical or even legal.

Melon

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

That's really shitty, David. I hope it all gets straightened out.

 

[david]

I feel bad for her. I wish she didn't sign anything. I just hate when people get taken advantage of.

 

[jammin909]

I would even call the local media and see if they would be a small story about it. Once the store manager starts to get interviewed they may drop the charge. It might be a little much but screw that store....that makes me mad just hearing about it.

But if it happened to me I would def try to get a story out of it to give that store awful publicity. Hiring a lawyer would cost a lot and the ACLU might take a long time, call the newspaper and tv news.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

that does not sound right at all.

 

[lauren430]

Most states have what is known as shopkeeper's privilege; so if a store employee reasonably believes that the person has stolen something, he has a privilege to detain that person for a reasonable investigation of the facts.

So the question would be whether or not this investigation was reasonable. The scope of the privilege differs from state to state so if she wanted to contact an attorney, they would need to check and see what the law is in Colorado.

I have read worse cases though where the court found for the defendant. You'd be surprised at how far they can go and get away with it

 

[david]

She signed something which pretty much means she sealed her fate.

Oh well. You live and learn.

I am concerned about the tape really. If they claim they have her on tape "stealing" that would mean she's on tape putting something in her purse of pockets right?

She didn't, so how would this tape exist, unless this is just a bad case of mistaken identity.

 

[starsgoblue]

Where the police never involved in this though? That seems odd to me. Usually the store will hold the person until the police come to formally arrest them.

 

[sallycinnamon78]

Where the police never involved in this though? That seems odd to me. Usually the store will hold the person until the police come to formally arrest them.

Precisely. I'm not sure about the law on these things in the States. As a UK Store Manager, I can tell you that this would be totally illegal here... I'm not sure about other companies, but the company I work for would treat this matter as misconduct and the staff member responsible would be disciplined. We can't stop the person unless a) we've seen them steal something, and b) they have left the shop. We have no authority to search a suspected shoplifter without their permission - only the police would be able to do this. Which doesn't answer your question, I know. It certainly doesn't sound right.

 

[david]

She was asked if she wanted to call the police, she said she didn't want to.

I found that strange too.

Here in California the stores always call the police whenever someone shop lifts.

 

[melon]

She signed something which pretty much means she sealed her fate.

Not necessarily. Coercing someone to sign a document under pressure may invalidate the document. Again, this is where the ACLU or a lawyer might come in handy.

Melon

 

[starsgoblue]

I would think a store can't formally charge someone with shoplifting....the police do that.

That's messed up.

 

[lmjhitman]

How old is she? If she's a minor, that signature may not stand up to an investigation.

 

[Chizip]

didnt she have a receipt to prove what she bought?

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

How old is she? If she's a minor, that signature may not stand up to an investigation.

bingo.


Such a form would have to be signed by her guardian in order for it to be legal.

 

[sallycinnamon78]

I would think a store can't formally charge someone with shoplifting....the police do that.

That's messed up.

That's right - all stores are obliged to deal with cases of shoplifting according to the law (which, obviously and sadly, doesn't mean that they always do).

If it was me I would start by seeking further advice on my rights, and make a formal complaint to the company's Head Office HR department... assuming they have one.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

the most the store could do would be to ban her for a period of time (a month, year, indefinitely) for shoplifting. this happened to someone i know (she put something in her cart and forgot it was there, she even offered to pay for it when they discovered it but they were being assholes). forcing her to pay a fee to some third party sounds like extortion or blackmail to me.

 

[dandy]

didnt she have a receipt to prove what she bought?

there's the obvious question.

this sucks. something fishy going on for sure. she should contact a lawyer for advice, because the store was almost certainly up to no good.

 

[nbcrusader]

She signed something which pretty much means she sealed her fate.

NO - not at all.

If anything, this was signed under coersion.

Also, she could have a good case for false imprisionment, fraud and extortion.

DO NOT PAY the money!

If there is an ounce of truth to the store's story, they would call a police office. Since this did not happen, it sounds like a SCAM.

As a lawyer, this thing smells to high heaven.

 

[U2Girl1978]

I seriously would suggest her calling everybody she knows and tell her how she was treated, etc. etc. This is suspicious and sounds very scary.

 

[discothequeLP]

it's total bullshit. how did she allow them to take pictures of her? she shouldn't have signed anything or agreed to anything. she shouldn't call the phone number, and if they try to pursue then she should get a lawyer