Home Depot Wouldnt Help Me Find The Money That I Lost

What I don't get about the posters here is why it was such a big deal
whether or not it was the managers duty to make an announcement? I
realize it is a feat of epic purportions to make an announcement to
help a customer that obviously had money to spend in the store, but
come on, make the damn announcement. I saw a guy drop a wad of cash in
a line ahead of me, I picked it up and said "hey, you dropped this".
If you think it is ok to keep found money like $800 I feel sorry for
you. Hang on to it, tell the store, and if someone claims the exact
amount, give it back. Otherwise you are a loser. That being said I am
sure the employees of HD don't mind if you hold the door for them
while they wheel out a cartload of wood, or if you help them lift
things into your car even when it "is not your job" to do so. It is
called human decency. Making the announcement is human decency. The
manager was indecent and inhumane for not trying to help a mother that
lost a lot of money. You never know, sometimes people will turn it in
if they hear someone is looking for it. Obviously that is true because
she got the $100 back. I see trees, gas grills etc. outside HD all the
time without price tags, does the finders keepers law apply to that?
Should i just take one because I figured someone dropped it so it must
belong to me now?

Cash is cash. You lose it its gone. Announcing on the intercom that
$800 bucks is laying around will send every customer on a scramble to
find it and keep it. Next time buy a wallet like everyone else.

Losing money is not always fun, no matter what the amount. My mom has
had that happena couple of times one in a Wal Mart, other times in
other stores, and she was lucky enough to have gotten the money back.
But blaming someone else for your own mistake is not the way to go.
Carrying that much money on yourself probably wasn't the smartest
thing to do in the first place. I work in a fast food place and had
one girl come in and yell at us for HER losing her wallet in the
restaurant with about $400 in it and wanted us to fork up the dough to
pay her back. We told her to leave, ain't no way in hell WE were gonna
pay for her mistake. Just learn from this lesson to better handle your
money, don't lose it again!

Sorry that you had such a horrible experience. It sounds like you did
what you could to recoup your money. I wish the store would have been
more helpful...Unfortunately they would probably tell you not to carry
that much cash around, and use direct deposit instead. Easier to
replace a debit card than it is cash. You know?

WoW, I hope know body who replyed ever losses something in a retail
setting!

Yes it was her fault she lost the money, and she clearly states that
but you would think any kind person would take a few minuts to take a
look around.

I work in a retail store and almost every day someone losses
someting.When they inform me I ask them what areas of the store they
have been in then go do a fast check .Then i always ask them to check
thair car and the bathrooms. If we dont find it we make a short
announcement. Belive it or not we get over 80% or so returned when we
do. It only takes a few minuts to help someone!

We had a checkbook containing 2,000.00 in cash returned to us one
time.

As the saying goes "do un to others as you want done to you".

Well be a little grateful, atleast the man gave you the hundred dollar
bill he found, instead of claiming he found the paper clip only.

I realize we have about beat this one to death and everyone agrees
that it is the letter writer's fault that the money was lost and that
Home Depot has no liability.

But, after reading this letter several times I wonder if she ever
thanked the guy who handed over the $100 bill he found more than an
hour before blowing around the parking lot. The "finders keepers"
theory isn't always fair, but the guy was under no legal obligation to
hand over the $100 bill and there was no way to prove that it wasn't
his in the first place. Just a thought . . . . . . . .

We had a rash of thefts in my office awhile ago . . . the most recent
was someone's purse. Someone mentioned searching people on the way
out . . .we were advised by our attorney that it was illegal to do
that so this manager was correct.

I'm sorry for the loss of your money, but if you truly believe that
this employee found/stole your money, you should have called the
police

Nice to see we could all come together and agree on something. LOL! :)

Forgive me for saying so, but the only one who is at fault here all
the way around is you. How can you put the fault in the mananger when
you weren't smart enough to put it in a safe place, like, oh say a
bank to begin with? You lost the money, you had too many things going
on. Why not put it in a purse or wallet?

Let this be a lesson in the school of hard knocks to be more
reponsible and not to blame others for your own shortcomings.

It wasn't your decision about making an annoucement as you state. It's
the managers'.
They could have helped you look for it,though.

She was only using a hateful voice because you accused someone of
stealing when they probably did not steal don't take it personally.
Also your money is gone. You should have been more careful with it.
I had 20 dollars stolen last week from the library because I left my
coat on the chair and went to read some books. They also stole my
Harry Potter and Pokemon cards. But that was my fault for leaving it
there.

You money was most likely gone within minutes of your dropping it and
it's not Home Depot's fault you didn't get it back. This is a very
unfortunate situation that can't be reversed, so it's time to move
on.

Now - - to prevent this from happening in the future - - you can
either open a checking account and get a debit card or if you don't
want to do that, get the majority of the money in money orders to pay
your bills. Either way, everyone needs to carry a certain amount of
cash so you need to get a purse that has a secure compartment in which
to store it.

I am so sorry this happened to you. Yes, it was your fault that you
lost the money but it was not Dawn's fault you didn't get it back.

'I would like Home Depot to repremand this indivual for her handling
of this situation and I hold her responsible for thwarting my every
attempt to recover the money (and treating me badly while she was
doing it)It was my fault that I dropped the money, obviously. But it
was her fault I didnt get it back.'

Don't tell us you actually expect Home Depot to make deductions from
her salary until you have all the money you lost! I think the other
posters have been more than sympathetic to your plight. Now it's your
turn to be sympathetic with Dawn. What she told you was not
unreasonable.

Who was irresponsible in the way the money was handled? YOU! Whose
fault was it that the money was lost? YOURS! Ever hear that
expression 'finders keepers, losers weepers?' You may weep over this
loss, but I think although it was an expensive way to learn, you may
have learned your lesson. Or not--you may still continue to blame
others for your faults.

I agree with the other posters. It was your fault you dropped the
money but it was NOT her fault you didn't get it back! It is YOUR
fault!

The employee found and gave you $100.00. You mention that he didn't
find the 15 $20.00 bills floating around... hmmm.. don't you think he
would have returned only a twenty instead of a hundred dollar bill if
he had one and wanted to keep the rest? You also do not know that the
cashier didn't call for help, you kept walking off!

Also, making an announcment over the loudspeaker about missing money
is next to pointless. If somebody honest had found it they would have
brought it to a manager without the announcment. It isn't your
decision.

You really have no one to blame but yourself.

Actually, I believe she was trying to say that she had fifteen to
twenty bills in the clip, not fifteen $20 bills.

I'm very sorry you lost your money, and for the hardship it will
cause. If I lost $800, I too would be up the creek without a paddle!

That said, although perhaps she was not as patient with you as she
might have been, due to how busy she obviously was (the repeated
interruptions on her walkie talkie), I have to say Dawn had a valid
point about not making an announcement that you'd lost your cash. With
the number of people who were in the store, all that would have done
was increase the likelihood of someone pocketing it. Unfortunately,
there are a lot of dishonest people out there - no need to give them a
heads up that there was a large amount of cash lying around for the
taking. She may have come off as curt, but it seems to me that Dawn
was trying to prevent what likely would have meant your kissing your
money goodbye for good.

As for the employee who found one $100 bill, he may not have heard the
announcement. You don't know how long he was working outside when he
found it, and the fact that he even mentioned it to his co-workers
leads me to believe he had every intention of turning it in. If he was
going to keep it, seems to me he would have just kept quiet about it.
And, as other posters have said, why would he only return part of it
when you knew he had found that much? Putting a paperclip on your
bills won't necessarily keep them together as they fall out of your
pocket and hit the ground. And you have NO right to demand that Home
Depot treat this man as a criminal and force him to turn out his
pockets. He did you a favor.

Again, very sorry for your loss. But I'm afraid you only have yourself
to blame. I'm sorry it had to be such an expensive lesson. Please read
the responses you've received - there is some good advice to be found
for handling your money in the future. Good luck over the next two
weeks till you get your next check.

Katie, I think you were still in the heat of the moment when you wrote
your letter. I hope you are calmer now and have read all the
responses because I think you'll agree almost all of them make sense.


The moment a person realizes they've lost something of such importance
is one of shock and desperation, and you acted out of those emotions.

All you can really do now is make some changes in the way you handle
your money. If your company offers direct deposit, that's a great way
to go, especially with a debit card. You can still get whatever cash
you need and the rest of your money is safe and sound. Hopefully you
have a local bank where you can open a checking account with a low
minimum balance. Check out the banks in your area to see who offers
the best deal. It may take some time and effort, but as you now know,
it will be worth it.

I hope you have a way to make it through to your next paycheck, but
even more importantly, I hope you take that check right to a bank and
open an account. Once you get the hang of doing it that way, you'll
see how much easier and less stressful it is. I would be a nervous
wreck carrying around so much cash even for a short time.

Best wishes.

My sympathies for losing so much money. However, chalk it up to one
of life's many lessons.

My question to you is: Why on earth do you carry around that much
money? Especially given the importance of it (i.e. paying rent, etc).
In this day and age, there really is no reason for someone to carry
that much money around. Personally, I never have more than $20 on me
at any given time (and usually less than that).

My advice: Open up a checking account (if you don't already have
one), and inquire at your place of employment if they offer Payroll
Direct Deposit (most places do). If they do, enroll in it immediately
(usually takes two pay cycles to activate). Have the bank issue you a
check card/debit card, and use that for every purchase that you can.
Even most fast-food restaurants accept debit/credit cards now. Plus,
it's a good way to keep track of virtually every penny you spend,
since every purchase will be on your bank statement every month.

Additionally, I think you shouldn't be accusing that employee of
stealing. He didn't have to give you ANY money that he found. Be
thankful that he was honest enough to give you $100 that wasn't his.
It's obvious from your letter that the money was dropped in the
parking lot, and it's not unheard of for money to become dislodged
from a paper clip. After all, it could very well have been run over
several times by passing cars, which would likely cause the clip to
become mangled and faulty.

Like I said, chalk it up to one of life's many lessons learned.

I'm with all the other commenters. You lost the money. You are
responsible. It is not Home Depot's fault. I had a similar situation
when I was in high school. I did not blame the store, I did not
expect them to stop everything and hunt it down. I retraced my steps,
didn't find it inside, so I replaced my purchases, went out, and was
able to find my money. End of dilemma, and it was over in 10
minutes.

You also wrote "I had to get loud and insist that it was my money my
decision about the announcement, not hers". You are not the one with
control over the PA system, so it was not your decision. It was the
manager's. And, there is a flaw in your logic, which has already been
mentioned. Having an announcement would not mean the money would be
returned. If somebody is going to return it, they would have,
announcement or no.

If someone finds the money, then obviously, that would mean that
somebody had lost cash. Money doesn't magically grow in stores or
parking lots. If it's laying around, somebody had lost it. Your
announcement had no bearing on somebody keeping or turning it in.

You are right you were careless, so it was your fault. Also the
manager does have a point. If she had made an announcement it is
likely people would look for the money so that they can keep it.
There are people that would have been honest and returned the money
right away, but well if that were the case the money would have been
returned a long time ago.

The manager is right she can't really search the employee. And for
you to accuse him of theft with out real proof makes you seem not much
older than your children. They money still could have come loose. I
understand that you are upset at Home Depot, but why are you really
upset. Are you upset because you did not find the money or are you
upset because of the service? That is something to think about.

You are right it is your money so you have a right to make an
announcement if you want. Take into consideration that this will as
the manager that an announcement may make someone search for the money
and steal it. You say the employees were laughing, well how are they
supposed to know if this was for real or if you were just pretending
to lose money hoping that they would give you something. I am not
saying this is the case, but it's not everyday that someone loses
money at Home Depot. One of the employees found some of your money
which proves that you did lose it, but it is hard to believe that
someone would lose that much money.

Is this lady serious? It's home Depot's fault? And she can stop with
the "I'm a single parent so I'm special!!" bullshit.

You made a mistake by not securing your money in a safe manner and in
a safe place. A paper clip can come off easily and anyone with a
brain knows that. If you dropped your money, it, in all probability,
did come loose and your cash was blown all over the place. You had no
right to blame the worker who found the $100 bill. He gave it back to
you and he could have kept it and said nothing. Shame on you.

You lost the money and you are responsible for the consequences. I
sympathise with you because it is a terrible thing to work hard and
lose your pay but Home Depot is not responsible and you have a lot of
nerve blaming them for your carelessness.

In case you haven't noticed, Home Depot is a business. They do not
have time to stop everything and go look for your cash. They do not
have an obligation to do anything for you except sell you their
products. They should have been courtious to you and maybe they
should have announced your loss over the intercom, but they don't have
to.

I am beginning to think a lot of the people that write letters on this
site are just mad and want to vent. Ok I understand that. BUT WHEN ITS
YOUR FAULT YOU NEED TO BE MAD AT YOURSELF!!! It is not her fault that
you didn't secure the money, that you went to a home supply store to
cash a check (I mean, really Wal-mart would have been better), that
you took your dog? (you took your dog inside? that your kids were
running all over the place, it sounds like you need to get your life
in order and the first step would be to realize it is a mess. This
would be a time to look back. Put it in your purse then zip it up,
then put your purse in the front seat while you are putting your kids
away in the back. I am really sorry you lost your money. I would be
screwed too if I lost a whole paycheck put just consider this a lesson
learned and move on.

As the others have said, I am sorry you lost your money. I learned
the hard way about keeping large amounts on cash on me. One summer,
when I was a teenager, I worked for 3 months straight and had all my
earnings in a paper bag which I kept in my car (I was planning to go
shopping and buy a new wardrobe). Of course, someone broke into my
car and stole my money.

As far as the employees not helping, I think thats terrible. I have
heard announcements before where someone lost something, i.e. a
diamond ring, cash, etc and people in the store were requested to
bring said items to the front if found. It took the employee maybe 15
seconds of time and effort to make the announcement. There is NO
reason for those employees not to have assisted you. For them to say
that if someone found it, they would keep it is a total lie. A lot of
people would have turned in your money, people like ME!

As far as speculating about the dishonesty of the employee, I think
its probably unwise to "go there". When you called back and got Dawm,
you should have asked for the store manager or district manager and
talked to them, because you already stated that Dawn wasn't helpful
and wasn't even the store manager (if said manager wasn't available,
call back when they are). She perhaps does not even have the authority
to do anything. Which, if true, I think the proper response would have
been for her to have taken your name and number and referred your
matter to her superiors.

So the bottom line for me is:

1. Don't carry a bunch of cash or at least have it in a purse that is
zipped up

2. Let this be a learning experience

3. Follow-up with the REAL manager or district/regional manager. I
definitely think the performance of the employees overall was very
lacking. They could certainly have been more helpful. And the image
of them standing around, making jokes is annoying. If I were the
manager, I'd be livid about that. You wanna talk about customers? Do
it in the breakroom but don't do it on the floor!!! So
unprofessional.

4. If you write a letter to corporate or even to the manager, please
use paragraphs! Also, allegations of theft are pretty serious. I'd
leave any direct accusations out. Just state the facts and relay the
events as they unfolded and state how you would like the situation
handled. But you should not directly accuse someone without
conclusive proof.

Oh and P.S. I disagree with your last line where you say that you
hold "her" responsible for not geting your money back. That is an
unfair statement. What is more proper to say is that you hold her
responsible for not ASSISTING YOU and being rude. Big difference.

You lost the money. It's no one's fault but your own. Quit trying to
blame the store employee for your mistake.

I do feel bad that you and your children are going to be strapped
until you get your next paycheck.

However, it is time to turn the finger of blame from the Home Depot
employees back toward yourself.

You chose to keep an extremely large sum of money in your pocket
secured only with a paperclip. Why, in this day and age, anyone would
have that much cash on them is beyond me. You lost it. Not them.

I suggest a bank account with a debit card. That way you can alert the
bank immediately and that way possibly limit the monetary loss.

I feel the need to add:
The manager actually bought you more time to find your money by NOT
announcing it over the intercom.

Count this as a hard lesson learned.

I'm sorry you lost that money. That would be really stressful. I can
see why they wouldn't make an announcement though. First of all, it
would sound rather unprofessional to make that sort of announcement in
any sort of business. Second, with that sizable amount of cash, it
could cause a security issue: Under some circumstances, that could
cause a small riot. Some customers would likely loiter in the building
for extended periods of time in hopes of finding the cash. Third,
having made that announcement, customers would look up and take note
of who had lost that cash. If you were to find that cash, you could be
susceptible to being mugged. Home Depot would then be liable.

Asking that man to empty his pockets would be rude and unprofessional
as well. It's a violation of his privacy primarily. You had absolutely
no proof that he took the money. You were going on an assumption and,
although I can understand how you feel, that's not enough to warrant
making that sort of accusation. He may refuse to empty his pockets
because he has medication in his pockets that he doesn't want anyone
to know about. There may be any number of reasons why he wouldn't want
to empty his pockets.

A large bundle of cash may not stay in a paper clip all that well so
it is highly probable that the money was flying around in the wind. He
may have only caught the one bill. Yes, he should have brought the
bill up to the front when the announcement was made. Though he may
have been outside gathering carts or something when that announcement
was made. If he was outside and able to catch the money, then he may
have been outside when the announcement was made.

I'm sorry the money was lost, I honestly am, but you are trying to
project blame on all of these people for your own mistake. It was no
one's fault that you didn't get the money back. An earlier
announcement would likely have yielded no more results than the
eventual announcement did.

I'm not sure where to begin here:

* I'm sorry you lost so much money. I'm sure it's a very unhappy
situation to be in.

* The manager had a point. Making an announcement would alert
everyone in the store that a large amount of cash had been lost and
increase the chances that a dishonest person would find it and keep
it. It may have been your decision to ask, but it was her decision to
decline making the announcement.

* I would have checked the parking lot before alerting the store that
money had been lost, as well as the car itself. Your argument with
the employees only gave the money more time to blow around.

* The problem with asking Dawn to talk to the employee who found the
money was you asking her to have him empty his pockets. You are
making an assumption that, because the money was paperclipped, it
could not have come loose and, therefore, he must have done something
with it. You have no evidence that this happened, especially since it
had been a good half hour since you first missed it.

"It was my fault that I dropped the money, obviously. But it was her
fault I didnt get it back."

I am glad you realized this..FINALLY...because that was going to be
the basis of my reply.

However, it ISNT her fault you didnt get it back.

Things like this happen. Yes it is unfortunate but it does happen and
it isnt really anyone's fault.

The problem here lies in the fact that you thought that putting more
than 800 dollars in cash, in your pocket, was a good idea. Why would
you do that?!?! I carry most of my things in my pocket. But I have a
holder for my cash and cards and it is very hard to get out of my
pocket and I ALWAYS have my hand on it. And yes...I have a child and
have wild days but I always know where my money is. Although I would
never carry that kind of money around unless I HAD to.

Dont you have a bank account you could have put that money in? That
would have been the smart thing to do and would have saved you all
this trouble.

Now..as for the store associates. Yes, they should have been nicer.
However, I can assure youthey would have made fun of you at some point
because the way you handled yourself. I can understand that you were
upset but you really should not have been so mean, nasty, demanding
and bossy.

No...Dawn could NOT ask this associate to empty his pockets. Of course
it is against the law!! Would YOU like being accused of stealing at
work? What if he hadnt of? That could have opened them to being sued!
Besides, why would he risk giving you ONE bill and not the others when
he would know then that you knew who he was.

I am very sorry this happend. I am sure it has happend to most of us
at some point. But this really isnt Home Depot's fault. It's
unforunate that most people wouldnt turn the money in. But thats the
way the world is now. And I really see the point in making an
announcement would only alert people to the fact that there was a
large sum of money and just give more people a chance to walk off with
it.

So..next time put the money in the bank.
Leave the dog at home.
If you MUST carry cash then make SURE you have it before leaving the
vehicle and put it in a safer place than a pocket.
Try to shop without the kids if possible.
Dont be nasty to the people who could help you.

I am trying really hard to feel sorry for you. But the fact alone that
you left an animal in a vehicle while you went shopping doesnt make
sympathy easy for me. Nor does the way you treated the employees even
though I understand you were upset and they really didnt help you the
way they probably should have.

The money was gone before you realized it was missing. Lets not get
over dramatic here. No one thwarted anything.