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Old job fining me
GiantRobo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ahoy, I'm having difficulties on what to do with this situation. One night way back yonder at work, my pants kept falling down at work, so my assistant manager told me that I could take a belt as long as I put it back at the end of the night. So I take one, but I forget to put it back since we all just wanted to get out of there.
Fast forward to the 24th the regional LP calls, for me. He says he wants to get to the bottom of some things, and that he just wants to talk. We make idle chit-chat, him being cool and all that nonsense. So eventually he asks me if I could've ever taken anything and forgotten about it, and I honestly couldn't remember anything. About 15 minutes later, I told him (I knew I probably shouldn't have) that I did remember that I accidentally took a belt because my pants kept falling down(but I couldn't also mention the fat that my AM said to take it cause I didn't want to get her in trouble as well). I had also told him though since I like it I asked if I could pay for it to keep it and he said that it'd be cool and nothing would ever seem like it happened.
After that, he talks to my AM for a little bit then she gives me papers to fill out. There was something on there about court statements and that they don't promise to not take it to there. I told the LP that I would not sign the papers if they in fact did NOT take it to court and this does NOT leave Spencer's, he agrees so I sign.
Fast forward to about 15 minutes ago:
I walk in my room to find a letter that says if I don't pay $190.00 in 20 days that they may file lawsuit also.
I found it weird though that when the LP kept wanting to talk to the AM or me, we were always alone too, and it was over the phone. He made her also sign a witness signature when she didn't actually witness me talk to him.
TL;DR: Retail jobs can kiss my ass.
Fast forward to the 24th the regional LP calls, for me. He says he wants to get to the bottom of some things, and that he just wants to talk. We make idle chit-chat, him being cool and all that nonsense. So eventually he asks me if I could've ever taken anything and forgotten about it, and I honestly couldn't remember anything. About 15 minutes later, I told him (I knew I probably shouldn't have) that I did remember that I accidentally took a belt because my pants kept falling down(but I couldn't also mention the fat that my AM said to take it cause I didn't want to get her in trouble as well). I had also told him though since I like it I asked if I could pay for it to keep it and he said that it'd be cool and nothing would ever seem like it happened.
After that, he talks to my AM for a little bit then she gives me papers to fill out. There was something on there about court statements and that they don't promise to not take it to there. I told the LP that I would not sign the papers if they in fact did NOT take it to court and this does NOT leave Spencer's, he agrees so I sign.
Fast forward to about 15 minutes ago:
I walk in my room to find a letter that says if I don't pay $190.00 in 20 days that they may file lawsuit also.
I found it weird though that when the LP kept wanting to talk to the AM or me, we were always alone too, and it was over the phone. He made her also sign a witness signature when she didn't actually witness me talk to him.
TL;DR: Retail jobs can kiss my ass.
GiantRobo on
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If you can pay 190 with any kind of ease, that is certainly your most pain free method of putting this behind you, because, in all fairness you did technically steal the belt and they're pursuing you within their legal rights.
TL;DR find out if verbal contracts mean anything in your state, then proceed from there.
I'm assuming you mean to say you would only sign if they agreed to keep it out of court.
Did they just verbally agree to keep it out of court or did they change something in the paperwork? It might also help to know your age and state you live in. You mention they call on the 24th. When did you take the belt? Do you still work there?
I think its a pretty safe bet that he already knew. Why else would he call just to bullshit? I'm gonna guess either you were spotted on a security camera or someone turned you in. Maybe you could talk to your AM in private and see whats going on since it was their idea to take the belt.
He said he was investigating a $12,000 error. I said I took the belt back in December probably, and I quit once I was told that I was most likely going to be fired. I do not have the money for this as they never even gave me a paycheck more than that twice. Oh yeah, I'm in PA too.
1. Dig up $120 and fork it over. You made a mistake, you omitted part of the truth when confronted, and it might just be worth $120 to make this go away, especially if you just don’t have time to deal with this going to court.
2. You can probably find a local non-profit that will set you up with some dirt cheap or free legal advice, and talking to a lawyer would be smart given that you have signed papers relating to this situation. But be prepared for a lawyer to tell you it’s worth $120 to make this go away.
1) you can argue that you have a verbal contract, but it prob won't get you anywhere.
2) if you haven't been fired yet, then quit. I know it sucks, but bottom line is they're not going to keep you around. After they get the money from you, you will be fired.
3) it's a threat. No company is going to take a former employee to court for $190 dollars. The court fees, and the time and expenses do not justify it. They won't spend $1000+ dollars to recoup $190.
4) my former company (GameStop) kept harrassing an ex employee who stole LOTS of stuff. They setteled and he had to repay $1200. A year later they tried to get more money from him. They kept sending him harrassing letters. He ended up getting a lawyer and sued them. Granted he had a letter saying they were even...so if you do pay up, keep all letters saying you guys are square.
5) if a manager told you to do it, you really need to let LP know you were doing what you were told.
6) who old are you? if you're under 18 none of this matters.
Doesn't really matter unless it's in writing. You said you signed something to the effect that they might take it to court. I understand that you only agreed to sign it if they didn't, but if that wasn't in writing you're screwed. Unfortunately they're totally within their rights here (even though they're clearly bastards). You should have first off told them exactly what happened without worrying about your manager getting in trouble. Since you decided to not mention that they're sticking it entirely on you.
Your options are pretty much pay the $190, or don't -- in which case it's going to get much worse. Also, if you do manage to pay the $190 make sure that you get some sort of signed statement to the effect that it covers all of this and they can't try to get you to pay more in the future.
I'm not a lawyer, but in many cases the losing party is responsible for court costs. So if they're confident that they can win, they very well might.
Why would it not matter if the OP is under 18? They would just take his parents to court over it. Just being a minor doesn't mean you can steal or break the law without consequences.
exactly. a person under 18 can't legally sign any binding contract.
and the losing party might have to pay court fees, but the cost of the lawyers for spencer would be over $1000 and that would fall on spencer, not the losing party.
Just pay. 190 bucks is not that much money. Find it, get a loan from friends or family, whatever. Your best bet is to make this problem go away as easily and cheaply as possible.
Maybe I don't understand the situation, but it sounds almost like extortion.
Starman: Shut up. I don't steal, intentionally at least.
I just did remember though that the manager thought I was stealing from through the back door, but I don't even have the key to open it, and if I did the alarm would go off. She was trying to fire me for the longest time also.
Two things I'm not clear on. Did you pay them the $20 for the belt? Who did you give that money to? Did they give you a receipt or anything? And what exactly did you sign? The line "there was something on there about..." sounds to me like you didn't even read the thing.
Ask them what the 190 dollars is for. Where on earth did they get this figure from? What are they charging you for? Obviously, as you said, it's not for the belt. They're asking for an arbitrary amount of money for God knows what. I think you need to find out what... because if it's that they're trying to pin more on you, you need to know. If they're just arbitrarily asking for money to stop them from suing you, I think that's extortion... and then it'd be YOUR turn to go to the police and file charges.
I mean, no offense, but that was a really dumb move not getting a receipt so you'll probably end up paying $40, but I can't see how they could convince a court to make you pay an additional $190.
You said you didn't want it to leave the company.
And the you SIGNED IT ANYWAY?
In any case, considering you took the belt accidentally and are proceeding to pay them back for it, it sounds to me like there should be a way to get out of this without having to pay the fine. However, I don't know enough about the legalities or the situation itself to say what's the best way to go about it. Presumably, once the money gets to head office you should be able to call them up and say "hey, here's what happened, I accidentally took the belt, I completely forgot about it, now I've paid up for it, is this fine really necessary?"
But if that's not possible, you should certainly find a way to pay the $190. Borrow the money if you have to. It's not a lot to pay considering you've learned a few important lessons about life.
I told him the only way I was signing it was that if there would be NO court action and it would NOT leave Spencers, and he agreed.
HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THAT?! I've already said it THREE TIMES.
What important lesson? That being honest fucks you in the ass?
Ok that makes a bit more sense then. I was thinking you talked to the guy, then the AM talked to him. Then he had the AM give you the papers.
Yes... this doesn't matter. It was a mistake on your part to do this. It's just a verbal statement and it's your word against their's if they try to press it. If you are ever signing a contract/agreement/whatever and you will only sign it with changes, those changes need to be put down in the agreement or they're not legally binding.
Sorry, I know you've already said it, but it just wasn't making sense to me. I figured there had to be something else on that piece of paper that would be beneficial to you.
Among the things you will learn from this, first and foremost will be that the next time you borrow something from a company, you'll be less likely to forget that you borrowed it.
Second, will be to keep your cool in situations where you are accused of doing something illegal. You signed a paper that was 100% contrary to your wishes, and I'm willing to bet you were thinking to yourself "I really don't want them to take me to court, I'd better go along with whatever they want me to do."
The next time someone shoves a piece of paper in front of you and asks for a signature, you'll think it through a little more.
Restitution, even though I wasn't arrested.
Even if I told the AM that I wouldn't sign it unless they didn't do that? I told her the same exact thing as LP, and she agreed with me.
As much as I did think that I didn't want to go to court, no, I did not go along with everything as we had an oral contract and made him agree with me.
And then you signed a paper agreeing with everything he wanted you to.
Like I said, lesson learned. It happens to pretty much everyone!
OP, you are stuck. You got dicked twice, once when you put the belt on, and another time when you agreed to something without getting it in writing. You have learnt a lesson The Hard Way, and you're better off letting this drop as soon as possible. Get the agreement in writing, give them the $120 or whatever they're extorting out of you, and get it over with. You're not in a position to fight this, as you are in the legal, if not ethical, wrong here.
They basically took you to task on this one. I advise getting legal help as was mentioned above by Andrew_Jay: I can't imagine they are legally entitled to "restitution". That's crap I think.
Regardless of whatever verbal arrangement you had with this one man, you signed a documented agreement between you and this company that they CAN take you to court if they so desire.
You. fucked. up.
It is possible that there may be some legal loophole through which you can get away with just paying for the belt, but no one here is going to know what or how that is.
Your options now are thus:
Pay them.
Get a Lawyer.
It's not fun, it's not cool, but you made a mistake and then you made it worse. You're going to have to face those facts.
Just quit.
They will be happy to be rid of you, and drop the whole thing. They will not go after you for $190, especially if they only have proof of a $20 belt. They lose more than that in shrink externally probably daily. If they thought you had stolen hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of product they would go after you.
Dude its spencer gifts. you will get another job. just quit and walk away.
Satans..... hints.....
What does that change other than it not going on my record?