Home Depot is Accused of Shaking Down Suspected Shoplifters Bloomberg BusinessWeek (09/10/13) Berfield, Susan A man accused of shoplifting by Home Depot filed a class-action lawsuit in California Superior Court on Sept. 5, alleging that the chain is attempting to shake down its customers for arbitrary and unjust damages for shoplifting charges and using false threats of criminal prosecution. Jimin Chen says he and a friend shopped at a Home Depot in California on June 6 and had put on work gloves they planned to buy before loading lumber into their cart. All the merchandise was scanned at check-out, except for the two pairs of gloves, which had been belatedly added to the pile of products. After paying the bill, Chen said he and his friend were stopped at the door by a security guard who accused Chen of stealing the gloves. Chen states that he was taken to a "stew room" and questioned, after 30 minutes in the room he agreed to sign a document promising to stay out of the store for 90 days, and provided his contact information. Later, Chen received two letters from the law firm Palmer, Reifler & Associates in Orlando demanding payments of $350 and $625 to settle claims that he shoplifted, and both threatened legal action if he did not pay. A spokesman for Home Depot said the company has not yet reviewed the details of the case. The first hearing is scheduled to be held on Oct. 8.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 20:02:15 +0000
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