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  • It's the Police!

    Well, we're off to just the most lovely start of a Wednesday morning.

    Normally, Wednesday is the day that everybody loves because that's the day we get paid. Also, since it's the start of a new fiscal quarter, we all got our 401k statements. This last quarter was kind of slow. My net gain was under the total of my contribution and my employer's match, but I digress....

    So, all is humming along nicely when in walk the local police. We think nothing of it since we actually had a visit just yesterday from another pair of police regarding the fact that one of the salespeople managed to put a customer number into the system in such a way that it dialed 911 when she tried to send a fax. I tracked that down, fixed it, then fixed the other 3 numbers that were the same (1 each from each of the people in the sales department).

    However, when they get into the lobby, they ask for one of our salespeople. She gets called up, and it turns out that she, and thus the company, has been reported for theft of a rather expensive device that we are currently attempting to sell.

    This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

    And, no, the device is not stolen, regardless of what the original owners might like to claim.

    Here's the basic timeline:

    Manufacturer creates item.
    Manufacturer ships item (either to another location, as a sale, or to a certification body).
    Item is "lost" by the carrier.
    Manufacturer files a claim (if they have the brains to do so) and gets paid for the item if they have any form of insurance. At this point, they technically are no longer the owners of the item.
    Carrier finds the item and may or may not attempt to return the item to the shipper or receiver.
    Carrier is unable to deliver item to either party and sends it to the department that sells off lost freight.
    Carrier sells the item to the highest bidder, who is now the legal owner of the item.

    In this particular case, that bidder was not us so there is an additional step where we purchase the item from the one who purchased it from the carrier.

    We are now the current rightful owner of the item in question.

    The manufacturer decided they didn't want to believe that and called the police to report it as stolen property, which prompted the police to come pay us a visit.

    What usually happens is that either some moron with the factory or some moron with the carrier (it's usually not the carrier) screwed up the labeling for shipment and so it ended up as lost freight.

    Now, the manufacturer wants it back, but rather than pay us a decent price to get it back (which would be a hell of a lot cheaper than making a new one and thus a whole hell of a lot cheaper than the price they will end up selling it for), they decide to try to do an end run around us and either cheat us out of it by using the police to steal it from us, or scare us into giving it back.

    The US government tried the same trick.

    And, like the US government, this company will fail.

    ^-.-^
    Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

  • #2
    Update!

    (and it's only been an hour)

    The police had left shortly before my last post.

    About half an hour ago, 4 sherriff's vehicles were parked out front, and they were having a discussion amongst themselves. We have no idea why, exactly, they're gathered.

    About 10 minutes ago, a few Feds joined the mix. They're still outside talking, and otherwise not doing anything.

    The salesperson is getting her blood pressure up worrying about it. Others are curious. I'm annoyed that it's starting to interfere a bit with me doing my work, since they all wander over to the side of my desk to check it out, since you can see them through the door/window next to me, and then ask me what's going on.

    ^-.-^
    Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

    Comment


    • #3
      Hmmmm...

      This does seem all a little strange. I wonder why this is a problem? Companies can be so weird.
      Jim: Fact: Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Gallactica.
      Dwight: Bears don't eat bee... Hey! What are you doing?
      The Office

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      • #4
        Well, they finally came in to talk to us.

        Turns out that the supervisor with the sherriff's office is an asshole who thinks that just because the manufacturer claimed the it was stolen, then it must have been stolen and anyone who ends up with things down the line should be SOL.

        There's not even a police report that's been filed, anywhere, yet. So they're all here, wasting everybody's time and taxpayer dollars.

        And then, as he's leaving, he makes some under-his-breath-but-loud-enough-to-be-heard comment about us having a "nice business." As if there's something immoral or shady about buying and reselling lost freight.

        Douchebag.

        ^-.-^
        Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

        Comment


        • #5
          How can the manufacturer claim it is 'stolen' implying that they own the item that was illegally taken from them, when, in fact, they don't own it in the first place? I can see them accusing you of fraud, but not theft. Theft would imply that they owned it and you took it, when this is clearly not the case.

          -Joe

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth gijoecam View Post
            How can the manufacturer claim it is 'stolen' implying that they own the item that was illegally taken from them, when, in fact, they don't own it in the first place? I can see them accusing you of fraud, but not theft. Theft would imply that they owned it and you took it, when this is clearly not the case.

            -Joe
            It's not unheard of for people to resell stolen items claiming they were lost in freight, so this company is using this as an excuse to strong arm people who legitimately purchased items.
            "You know, there are times when it's a source of personal pride not to be human." - Hobbes

            Comment


            • #7
              Basically, they're trying to use the police as a club to bully us into giving them the item back.

              They, however, are unaware that we've been through this before (3 times that I know of since I started here) and are not about to buckle to their underhanded schemes.

              Besides, after the feds raid your company and round everyone up in the center aisle for questioning, a little visit from the local sheriff's office is nothing.

              ^-.-^
              Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

              Comment


              • #8
                Does it make me a bad person that my first reaction to the title of the thread was "Quick! Hide the pot!" ?
                How was I supposed to know someone was slipping you Birth Control in the food I've been making for you lately?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Well, my first thought was "Don't stand so close to me." Followed by wondering what music had to do with anything.

                  And you have to hate a huge waste of time and money like that when there isn't even a police report filed yet. And what would that guy prefer happen to items found after being claimed? That they were trashed? They can't go back to the original manufacturer, they already reported them lost and were reimbursed for them, making it fraud if they got them back. The items were likely replaced, meaning that the receiver can't get them or else they'd be getting free stock that they may not even want.
                  Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

                  http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    So what do you think the odds are that the manufacturer would repay their insurance company for the claim on that item should it be recovered?

                    I would say about zero.

                    If you have to ask, it's probably better posted at www.fratching.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Had something similar happen

                      I had something similar happen to me but it worked out great in my favor. I ordered a high end system from AlienWare computers, got the notification that it was on the way, and then nothing. AlienWare and FedEx went back and forth for about two weeks for deciding that FedEx had indeed lost it. AlienWare got the insurance money and sent me a replacement. Three months after I got the replacement the original showed up. I was a little confused that a second system showed up so I called. Turns out the misplaced system was eventually found, scanned and sent on it's way. Since the insurance had already been payed and FedEx didn't want it since it would cost them more then then they paid out in insurance to recover the money and AlienWare was paid for it so they couldn't take it back so I ended up with two computers.

                      Now, I don't know how much the piece of equipment you were dealing with was, but the computer was $2,500, which sounds like a lot to an individual, but to FedEx and AlienWare, it was a rounding error.
                      "The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents."
                      - Nathaniel Borenstein

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Andara,

                        what was the item and how much was it worth?

                        Because that sounds like a lot of cops/feds for what is finally a dispute between two firms that ought to know how these kinds of problems are supposed to be resolved.

                        And like Joe mentioned, claiming theft when you yourself may be open to charges of fraud is not a wise first move.

                        In my experience, cops (and the IRS) like to justify how they spend their time by charging someone.

                        If the theft claims turns out to be a dead end, well, then there's always fraud by the party that was made whole by the insurance company.

                        Keep us posted. This sounds great.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Ok, I worked late yesterday, so I got a ride home with the managers, so I got to hear more of the saga.

                          First off, the manufacturer has told us, point blank, that they don't really care about buying it, but they might, but the people who would deal with it are gone for the next two weeks. They also told us that anyone who bought the unit we have would find themselves completely without support. Is it wrong of me to hope that happens and they get sued for breach of contract when they cross the wrong oil company?

                          The item in question is something that is used in the oil industry, for rigs, I believe. New, it would cost approximately $750,000. The one we have is in good working order and had been on it's way to delivery to the customer in Texas, so we're looking to get about $250,000 for the item. Huge profit for us, huge savings for them, win-win, right?

                          The customer in Texas is the one that called the police and claimed that we were in possession of stolen property. He didn't file a report, and the police really had no business being here beyond determining that we purchased the item in a legitimate manner, which they received within 10 minutes of walking through the door, courtesy of yours truly, who handles all of the paperwork for purchasing from that particular vendor.

                          The manufacturer has never filed a claim with the shipper on this item. The shipping company lost it, the buyer called the manufacturer to find out where it was, the manufacturer replaced it, but they never actually called the shipper to file a claim. Not that it matters, because they didn't have anything but the base $100 insurance on it. For a $750,000 item, they don't have any insurance. Morons.

                          ^-.-^
                          Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth Andara Bledin View Post
                            The manufacturer has never filed a claim with the shipper on this item. The shipping company lost it, the buyer called the manufacturer to find out where it was, the manufacturer replaced it, but they never actually called the shipper to file a claim. Not that it matters, because they didn't have anything but the base $100 insurance on it. For a $750,000 item, they don't have any insurance. Morons.

                            ^-.-^
                            Strange that they wouldn't file a claim; but in any case, shouldn't the shipping company be the one to contact their insurance company?

                            Well, I suppose 750K is chump change in the oil industry. A cousin of mine works for a support company of the oil industry; they rent ships and engineers to do repairs and maintenance on oil rigs. The base cost for renting a ship from them is 300,000 GBP - 500-600K$ - PER DAY. And that's without any personnel...
                            You gotta polish a memory like a stone. Chip off the parts that remind you it was just a game. Work it until it's indistinguishable from any other memory.

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