[pirilin]

An alarm technician came to the house for service.

I had a bunch of Surefire flashlights in the top of the kitchen counter.

He picked a little one that's only 200 dollars. People like 'em.

Now the question: what to do?.

I went to the bath room a minute, that's when it must have happened.

He was super nervous, but I didn't notice the abscence until today.
When I'm finishing to put them back on the shelves.

The only proof I have is his nervousness and the absecence of the light.

That nervousness was the same a plumber had when he stole a gold chain from my house years ago. I was rich then, so I didn't do anything.

Times change and I'm fighting for every penny now.

Please, advise. Thank you.

[*Laurie*]

Does the technician work for a specific company? If so, report him.

[pirilin]

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

Does the technician work for a specific company? If so, report him.

He works for a sub-contractor to ADT named Defender.

I don't know the phone number and La Bruja is still in Miami.

I found the phone number of the local police and they came right away.
I filed a police report for the first time in my short 68 years.
And, yes, I want to procecute. To the full extent of the law.

I've been burglarized many times. Even a guy took a gold chain from me while I was in the house with him. I've never called the police.

I think he took advantage of a senior citizen. Althought the police officer told me otherwise. It's a crime of oportunity, he said.

In my old age I'm becoming a cop lover it seems.
But I couldn't sleep last night thinking about the stupid flashlight.
And I don't know anybody of weight in this town.

Had it happened in Miami, I'll be lighting the house by now.
Boy I'm super pissed.

Good luck. Cheers.

[*Laurie*]

Good, I'm glad you filed a police report. That person is likely stealing from others, too.

[Row Jimmy]

I'm a big fan of cutting your losses. Let it go. He'll deny it anyway and there's no proof. When we moved, the cable guy came to remove our boxes. We had 4 - kitchen, LR, and two bedrooms. He said we only had three and we had to pay for the missing box. That was my fault - I should have taken them out myself and handed each one to him. A lot of these guys who visit homes as technicians make a little extra money on the side by ripping people off. The ADT tech has probably already sold the flashlight for 20 bucks.

[wiretwister]

find the actual adt company number in the phone book ... call them and file a formal complant ... go up the chain until you personally talk to the general manager ... they are a corperation and every city answers to a higher up ... at the least the sub contractor will be questioned .... maybe dropped ... do not give up ... keep going up the ladder till you become tired or get satisfaction ...

ps: if they will not do anything request a refund or credit on your monthly bill till the amount is recovered ...
call them every day if you need too ... remember go as high as you can up the corp ladder ...

[emgreen]

Can you prove it was stolen by this dude? It will be hard to do anything if you can't. This sounds stupid, but it's just a material possession (an expensive one) so don't let the experience ruin your mood.

[eskielover]

The thing is that unless the police actually find him with that flashlight & you would have to PROVE that was YOUR flashlight & not another one just like it, the police will not find enough evidence to prosecute.

I went through that several different times. First time I am sure the home care person stole ALL my mom's valuable jewelry & even tried to steal her wedding ring off her hand. I didn't let that slide & searched until she inconnspicuously dropped it in back of the sofa. Caught checks written in my mom's check book & she tried to talk me out if doing the stop payment (both checks were almost $1000.) Caught her on the phone trying to apply for a credit card using my mom's id. I fought her for the phone & as I was trying to find out who she was talking to the phone went dead. Found the base phone cord cut when I looked later. The final straw was that she gave my mom a hand full of pills to take....found that out because my mom was upset because she dropped one & wanted me to find it. My mom started shaking badly, paramedics came & I made them take her to the ER. Turns out they didn't do a blood test but the ER MD said it was probably from an OD to something like sleeping pills. I found the missing pill later that night after getting my mom settled in the hospital....it was her morphine.

Ok....with all that happened, I went to the police station & filed a report. Turns out the only thing they could have gotten her on after investigating everything was IF she had actually tried to cash those checks she wrote. They did confirm that the names on the copy check that was left in the check book was an alias she used. Everything else was circumstantial evidance & wouldn't stand up in a court of law.

Another time my truck was broken into at a motel in Albuquerque. I had a $6000 silver flute in the bittom of the receipts bag they stole out if it. Not only that but the only person at the mitel that night stole my CC information & used the card while I was making a 2100 mile drive across country. Police report, insurance to repair my broken window & the police wouldn't even talk to the guy because he wasn't working the night they supposedly stopped at the motel to question him. Ok....I think there was some corruption involved but the police only did even that because I had made contact with a reporter there who I asked to put out a plee for thebreturn of my flute.....NOTHING. The police said I was lucky they did what they did & wouldn't have it it wasn't for the reporter.

In other words.....It is good you filed a report. Not necessarily for you but if more reports are filed on this same person it will be a red flag on him wuth the police.....but not much can happen with only curcumstantial evidence.