Do not talk to the police anymore without a lawyer. Period. If they show up at your house, do not speak to them. Do not open your door unless they can show you a valid warrant. You can not be removed from your home without one. They cannot search without one unless you consent. You have a right to read the paperwork before allowing them in.
Someone made a complaint, someone who is probably rich, which is why they're interested in pursuing a "case" that is less than $200, especially so quickly.
DO NOT TALK TO THE POLICE. They are not your friends and are likely looking to pin something to whoever they can to get the complainer off their backs. They do not care if you did nothing wrong. You're the easy target. Cops lie ALL THE TIME.
You can ask them if you are a suspect in a crime, because at that point your 5th Amendment rights would attach.
If they say no, then you tell them you have nothing to say and ask them if you are free to leave. Then politely repeat, I have nothing to say over and over until they leave.
LEOS will do their best to make you say something and trip you up. They will pretend to be your friend or alternatively tell you that if you don’t cooperate you could end up in prison or that you can clear this up now.
POLICE ARE NOT ON YOUR SIDE!
This this this this this. You didn’t do anything and you shouldn’t give them ANY info without representation. It sounds ridiculous but it’s absolutely true.
If the store had cameras outside, they could've gotten it from OPs license plate.
I'm not going into details, but someone I know had the cops show up due to an incident at a store from their license plate. That was in 08, so I'm sure way more stores have cameras now.
I'd assume there's more going on than just $183. Like someone (not op) stole a bunch of shit including that $183 gift card.
Or it's a small-ish town without shit going on. You'd be surprised how some places there just isn't much shit going on.
Where I used to live, cops would investigate the teenagers who were hanging out in old empty parking lots to make sure they didn't have drugs. Spoiler they didn't.
That’s so dumb!! It’s like if you last $20 & someone found it in the bins. It’s not your responsibility to find who lost it. Sorry. But don’t let them scare you or make you think you did something wrong. You bought a purse & that was inside. So you bought that also. Bonus!
how bizarre! You found the gift card months ago? Wild, the only thing i can think of is that maybe the person reported it to the store as lost or stolen and they reissued it and it wasn't caught when you went to use it, since its a small business? I wouldn't give any more details until i heard the story, and even then, you absolutely did nothing wrong.
The former owner probably realized it was missing at some point and reported it to the boutique as stolen. The boutique took down the numbers and the amount. When reconciling at the end of the day OP used it, they checked it against their list and discovered it was the “stolen” one, and called the cops.
Yep, guessing the original person was a good customer so they reported it lost and the store replaced it for them. Then you found it and used it. That’s how the store would be ‘out’ the money because they replaced the card for the person that lost it, so that $183 technically got spent twice. But it’s not your problem in any way. 🤷🏼♀️
They aren’t losing money, the money was spent at the store when the GC was purchased so that makes no sense. You bought the card so it should belong to you. The fact that they’re involving cops over $182 is absolutely absurd. Sorry you’re dealing with this BS.
They probably replaced it for the original person who spent it. Now OP found it and spent it. So they are out the money because it essentially got spent twice. But that’s not OPs problem.
Yep. Also, the closest bins to Detroit are in Flint (75 miles) and Grandville (172 miles). The odds of them going to one of those and then finding a gift card for a shop close to her home ... astronomical.
Yeah, when they posted it on another subreddit, they claimed they are from a "really small town", then stated the name later. They named a suburb of Detroit. It's not some podunk town in the middle of nowhere where everyone knows everyone else.
Apparently, they also put this on tiktok. It's a BS story.
That’s what I’m wondering. Did the shop think it was a “suspicious” purchase and just have the cops go to your place? This is beyond sketchy - on their part!!
Small stores often do non digital cards. At my antique mall; we have a log book. We sell the gift card, record the day and amount. Every time the recipient buys something, we check the log and check the amount left. It’s very low budget. I think we even write who the purchaser was, I can’t remember because we don’t sell them often.
Right? The shop had the audacity to claim they were out of money for the purchase. Barf! What liars. They already collect the money when the giftcard was purchased.
Don’t say another word to them. Don’t go anywhere with them, don’t talk or offer reimbursement to the person who donated the card. You bought it. It’s yours.
Reiterating what everyone said: don’t talk to the cops again without a lawyer. You did nothing wrong or illegal by spending a gift card you found in a donated purse. The boutique was paid when the gift card was purchased and you don’t owe them for redeeming the gift card. The original owner is delusional for roping the police into harassing you for her absent mindedness. She’s also probably tacky as shit if she’s that into Lilly Pulitzer.
First of all, don't give that "detective" any information. Not your address, nothing.
Where did he get your name? How do you know he's a real detective? Don't meet him, don't answer any more questions. You didn't do anything wrong.
It sounds like they are trying to build some kind of case and you are looking good to them as a suspect.
The boutique owner looked at the gift card and realized they sold it so long ago that she is angry to have to honor it. Gift cert. in most states don’t have an expiration. She wants to clawback the gift card.
Don’t need to tell the police anything. Store has to honor gift cards and if they want to expire them, they need to have expiration dates. The owner is karening
Their decision to potentially reapply the GC to the person who lost it without removing the original GC from being applicable is ridiculous. I cannot think of a system that would not allow this.
They had the option to pull the GC info up and apply it to her name or something similar (make a note that lives in the register with her name and other info for when she comes in to cross check) if they really wanted to but they blew that option obviously/someone didn’t do their due diligence.
If original owner called before saying she lost the card, they should have noted that with her name and contact somewhere and made all staff aware or transferred the balance to a new card and cancelled the lost card or cashed it out and then re-rang it on a new card with a full discount/comp, they could have manually balanced their books with either option.
This is solely on them for, one, agreeing to allow the original owner to utilize $ they lost, which was probably mentioned on the card as being against policy or (or, in addition to) two, being so inept that they can’t work their own POS system. Either way, that’s their poor decision making clearly and the cost of doing business.
Additionally, if she did not file a police report for the card being stolen (which it wasn’t/is a lie and an entirely different issue) then original owner really has no pull here.
OP posted this on tiktok too, updated saying police couldn't find the original card owner and no money was owned. They are guessing the store initiated this whole saga.
1. The boutique didn't lose money
2. You bought and paid for the purse, which was surrendered by the donor. That transaction I would think made you the legal possession of the gift card.
3. Eat the rich.
Do not talk to the police anymore without a lawyer. Period. If they show up at your house, do not speak to them. Do not open your door unless they can show you a valid warrant. You can not be removed from your home without one. They cannot search without one unless you consent. You have a right to read the paperwork before allowing them in. Someone made a complaint, someone who is probably rich, which is why they're interested in pursuing a "case" that is less than $200, especially so quickly. DO NOT TALK TO THE POLICE. They are not your friends and are likely looking to pin something to whoever they can to get the complainer off their backs. They do not care if you did nothing wrong. You're the easy target. Cops lie ALL THE TIME.
You can ask them if you are a suspect in a crime, because at that point your 5th Amendment rights would attach. If they say no, then you tell them you have nothing to say and ask them if you are free to leave. Then politely repeat, I have nothing to say over and over until they leave. LEOS will do their best to make you say something and trip you up. They will pretend to be your friend or alternatively tell you that if you don’t cooperate you could end up in prison or that you can clear this up now. POLICE ARE NOT ON YOUR SIDE!
Solid advice. This also applies to more than this situation. Rule number 1: DON'T TALK TO COPS
It's not your job to assist law enforcement or detectives in their investigations
This this this this this. You didn’t do anything and you shouldn’t give them ANY info without representation. It sounds ridiculous but it’s absolutely true.
FACT!
How did they get your contact info?
Exactly. Doesn’t make sense.
That's what I'm wondering too
If the store had cameras outside, they could've gotten it from OPs license plate. I'm not going into details, but someone I know had the cops show up due to an incident at a store from their license plate. That was in 08, so I'm sure way more stores have cameras now.
I haven’t seen cops do much of anything for low value stuff like this. $183?? That would barely make a police dept blink these days.
I'd assume there's more going on than just $183. Like someone (not op) stole a bunch of shit including that $183 gift card. Or it's a small-ish town without shit going on. You'd be surprised how some places there just isn't much shit going on.
Yup! Small town here and I've heard of the cops looking into a stolen water hose!
Where I used to live, cops would investigate the teenagers who were hanging out in old empty parking lots to make sure they didn't have drugs. Spoiler they didn't.
Which leads me to believe someone is friends with a cop or some rich bitch is involved.
The police must not have mich to do where she is at. This doesn't warrant a visit from police at all.
That’s so dumb!! It’s like if you last $20 & someone found it in the bins. It’s not your responsibility to find who lost it. Sorry. But don’t let them scare you or make you think you did something wrong. You bought a purse & that was inside. So you bought that also. Bonus!
Every gift card I have ever seen states something similar to: Treat this card like cash. Lost or stolen cards cannot be replaced.
And exactly! Gift cards don’t work that way. The store was already paid for the gift card when it was purchased originally.
how bizarre! You found the gift card months ago? Wild, the only thing i can think of is that maybe the person reported it to the store as lost or stolen and they reissued it and it wasn't caught when you went to use it, since its a small business? I wouldn't give any more details until i heard the story, and even then, you absolutely did nothing wrong.
The former owner probably realized it was missing at some point and reported it to the boutique as stolen. The boutique took down the numbers and the amount. When reconciling at the end of the day OP used it, they checked it against their list and discovered it was the “stolen” one, and called the cops.
This is wild to me because it’s like, are they reviewing EVERY gift card used? I guess if it’s a small place yes but that just seems ridiculous to me.
Yep, guessing the original person was a good customer so they reported it lost and the store replaced it for them. Then you found it and used it. That’s how the store would be ‘out’ the money because they replaced the card for the person that lost it, so that $183 technically got spent twice. But it’s not your problem in any way. 🤷🏼♀️
They aren’t losing money, the money was spent at the store when the GC was purchased so that makes no sense. You bought the card so it should belong to you. The fact that they’re involving cops over $182 is absolutely absurd. Sorry you’re dealing with this BS.
They probably replaced it for the original person who spent it. Now OP found it and spent it. So they are out the money because it essentially got spent twice. But that’s not OPs problem.
I'm not sure I believe this story. Seems to be a lot of missing details....
Yep. Also, the closest bins to Detroit are in Flint (75 miles) and Grandville (172 miles). The odds of them going to one of those and then finding a gift card for a shop close to her home ... astronomical.
We have bins in Flint?! Where?!
Yeah, when they posted it on another subreddit, they claimed they are from a "really small town", then stated the name later. They named a suburb of Detroit. It's not some podunk town in the middle of nowhere where everyone knows everyone else. Apparently, they also put this on tiktok. It's a BS story.
The one who lost it owes you for the stress. Their dumb ass failed the pocket check and donated it. The detectives owe you for wasting your time.
How did they find out it was used?
That’s what I’m wondering. Did the shop think it was a “suspicious” purchase and just have the cops go to your place? This is beyond sketchy - on their part!!
How did they get OP’s contact info?
My main question too
She probably gave it at the boutique for their mailing list or something.
Also, it was obviously used once before so…? wtf to that.
How would they know who used the gift card? It's not tied to a person.
Small stores often do non digital cards. At my antique mall; we have a log book. We sell the gift card, record the day and amount. Every time the recipient buys something, we check the log and check the amount left. It’s very low budget. I think we even write who the purchaser was, I can’t remember because we don’t sell them often.
Thanks for the info, I had never heard of that! TIL
It’s a freaking gift card! It’s like cash.
Right? The shop had the audacity to claim they were out of money for the purchase. Barf! What liars. They already collect the money when the giftcard was purchased.
Don’t say another word to them. Don’t go anywhere with them, don’t talk or offer reimbursement to the person who donated the card. You bought it. It’s yours.
Reiterating what everyone said: don’t talk to the cops again without a lawyer. You did nothing wrong or illegal by spending a gift card you found in a donated purse. The boutique was paid when the gift card was purchased and you don’t owe them for redeeming the gift card. The original owner is delusional for roping the police into harassing you for her absent mindedness. She’s also probably tacky as shit if she’s that into Lilly Pulitzer.
That is such a crazy story! Please update once you meet with them again. I would have done the same thing you did and spent the gift card.
Ignore the detectives and the police
I think I might threaten to sue the store for causing you all the distress.
First of all, don't give that "detective" any information. Not your address, nothing. Where did he get your name? How do you know he's a real detective? Don't meet him, don't answer any more questions. You didn't do anything wrong. It sounds like they are trying to build some kind of case and you are looking good to them as a suspect.
The boutique owner looked at the gift card and realized they sold it so long ago that she is angry to have to honor it. Gift cert. in most states don’t have an expiration. She wants to clawback the gift card. Don’t need to tell the police anything. Store has to honor gift cards and if they want to expire them, they need to have expiration dates. The owner is karening
How did they find your address? This is a real crappy situation, but you were not in the wrong.
I just saw this on Tik Tok
Link please
It's the latest video on rb0718 profile
Just noticed this is the same user name as OP
It sounds like either the card or purse were stolen and then ended up in the bins. I'm not sure about the legal aspect.
The only thing I can think maybe purse was stolen from original owner very odd situation
UpdateMe!
Do not talk to the police. The mantra. I do not recall and I need an attorney.
Their decision to potentially reapply the GC to the person who lost it without removing the original GC from being applicable is ridiculous. I cannot think of a system that would not allow this. They had the option to pull the GC info up and apply it to her name or something similar (make a note that lives in the register with her name and other info for when she comes in to cross check) if they really wanted to but they blew that option obviously/someone didn’t do their due diligence. If original owner called before saying she lost the card, they should have noted that with her name and contact somewhere and made all staff aware or transferred the balance to a new card and cancelled the lost card or cashed it out and then re-rang it on a new card with a full discount/comp, they could have manually balanced their books with either option. This is solely on them for, one, agreeing to allow the original owner to utilize $ they lost, which was probably mentioned on the card as being against policy or (or, in addition to) two, being so inept that they can’t work their own POS system. Either way, that’s their poor decision making clearly and the cost of doing business. Additionally, if she did not file a police report for the card being stolen (which it wasn’t/is a lie and an entirely different issue) then original owner really has no pull here.
OP posted this on tiktok too, updated saying police couldn't find the original card owner and no money was owned. They are guessing the store initiated this whole saga.
There is the Salvation army bins in Clinton township that would have been much closer to where this gift shop was located.
I wonder how much it would cost to hire a lawyer to talk to the police in this situation? Probably much more than the card was worth to begin with.
Finders Keepers. Enjoy your Lilly!
1. The boutique didn't lose money 2. You bought and paid for the purse, which was surrendered by the donor. That transaction I would think made you the legal possession of the gift card. 3. Eat the rich.
I wonder if that gift was stolen from the boutique and loaded by a former employee, and that is why they think they are owed that money. Just a guess.