Lost sunglasses

[TexasHusker]

So we rented a home in FL a few weeks ago. My son left his $177 Ray Ban sunglasses behind. When we got to the airport I notified the property manager, and they did find the sunglasses and she said the housekeepers would ship them to me. I do have a text confirming that they found the sunglasses.

Well I never received them. I texted the property mgr. several times, and she would always come back with a different story. "Sorry they haven't quite made it to the post office...can you confirm your address again?"

It has now been two weeks. Today I texted the property mgr and she said "They didn't find the sunglasses, I'm sorry."

Well of course they found the sunglasses because they told me they found them the day I departed.

Is it wrong of me to file a chargeback of $177 against my credit card charge for this, since they found - and then lost - my sunglasses?

[rennigade]

What does the contract say that you signed? Ive rented places before that stated they were not responsible for lost/stolen items.

[TexasHusker]

I am quite certain it has such an exclusion, but if an item was in the rental company’s care and posession, seems like they have some responsibility for it from that point on.

If I lost something or it was stolen while there, fine. But is the rental co alllowed to lose or steal your things, and is indemnified for it?

[disneysteve]

Is it wrong of me to file a chargeback of $177 against my credit card charge for this, since they found - and then lost - my sunglasses?

I don't think a chargeback is right since I'm willing to bet the rental contract said something about them not being responsible for lost items.

What I would do in that situation is take the text confirming that they found them and promised to return them to you and send it to one of several attorney friends who would be happy to send a nice official letter to the manager making it clear that I expect them to honor that promise or compensate you appropriately. If possible, include something documenting the value of the item. If he still refuses to return them, I'd write it off and move on with my life.

[greenskeeper]

So we rented a home in FL a few weeks ago. My son left his $177 Ray Ban sunglasses behind. When we got to the airport I notified the property manager, and they did find the sunglasses and she said the housekeepers would ship them to me. I do have a text confirming that they found the sunglasses.

Well I never received them. I texted the property mgr. several times, and she would always come back with a different story. "Sorry they haven't quite made it to the post office...can you confirm your address again?"

It has now been two weeks. Today I texted the property mgr and she said "They didn't find the sunglasses, I'm sorry."

Well of course they found the sunglasses because they told me they found them the day I departed.

Is it wrong of me to file a chargeback of $177 against my credit card charge for this, since they found - and then lost - my sunglasses?

Same kid who got a new Toyota for graduation?



reminds me of a time back in the early 90's, when one buddy of mine stated how much he paid for a pair of sunglasses, and another buddy said that was more than he paid for his truck

[TexasHusker]

Same kid who got a new Toyota!

reminds me of a time back in the early 90's, when one buddy of mine stated how much he paid for a pair of sunglasses, and another buddy said that was more than he paid for his truck

No judgment whatsoever in that post!

He didn’t get a new Toyota. He got one that was two years old with 60K miles, a reward for scoring $60K-ish in academic scholarships.

He bought his sunglasses with money he earned painting street addresses on curbs.

[rennigade]

If the contract states that they are not responsible...then they're not responsible...simple as that.

You own rentals...you've started many threads stating how people think they should be able to get out of what the contract states, etc etc. Well now you get to feel their pain. Some probably lost $1k+ because of the document they signed...(im not defending them...thats just life.) You signed the legal binding document...they're not responsible for your stuff.

This is a great opportunity to teach your son how the real world works. How he needs to be more responsible moving forward. And that you can never really rely on anyone but yourself...and a few of the absolute closest people to you.

[TexasHusker]

Great feedback and points taken! Thanks everyone.

[Fishindude77]

I think any kid old enough to drive and have expensive sunglasses is old enough to do the follow up to get them back himself without Dad having to get involved. Otherwise, expensive lesson learned.

[msomnipotent]

Lost items are different from items left behind and not given back. The sunglasses are not lost. They know where they are and at this point they are stolen. I would contact them again and remind them that they already agreed to send them back, and you have the time and the resources to file a charge back and/or a police report, and then see what happens.

To me, it isn't the dollar amount but the fact that they are choosing not to do the right thing. Some people need to be reminded that they can't just take what they want. I'm the type that would have been driving back there when they said they didn't get to the post office yet.

[bjl584]

The mere threat of a charge back will probably make the sunglasses "found" once again and in the mail to you before the end of the day.

[TexasHusker]

Lost items are different from items left behind and not given back. The sunglasses are not lost. They know where they are and at this point they are stolen. I would contact them again and remind them that they already agreed to send them back, and you have the time and the resources to file a charge back and/or a police report, and then see what happens.

To me, it isn't the dollar amount but the fact that they are choosing not to do the right thing. Some people need to be reminded that they can't just take what they want. I'm the type that would have been driving back there when they said they didn't get to the post office yet.

This is precisely the situation. I fully understand that I own my own management company and it's high time for me to "feel some pain" of my own, and that my son is a spoiled brat who shouldn't have had a set of Rays to begin with. But the fact is that he did have a pair of nice sunglasses, he left them accidentally, they found them, and now they won't return them.

[disneysteve]

This is precisely the situation. I fully understand that I own my own management company and it's high time for me to "feel some pain" of my own, and that my son is a spoiled brat who shouldn't have had a set of Rays to begin with. But the fact is that he did have a pair of nice sunglasses, he left them accidentally, they found them, and now they won't return them.

I think mentioning getting the local police involved, as said earlier, might not be a bad idea. You have documentation that the glasses were found, so refusal to return them constitutes theft.

[~bs]

my opinion is that 2 wrongs don't make a right and that the chargeback shoudln't be used in that manner. Theres a reasonable chance you'd lose the chargeback too unless you made up a story regarding the room or service provided. Saying you lost sunglasses isn't going to be a good reason for purposes of the chageback.

That being said, I do feel your pain. That's bull****. I would file police charges against the management company in addition to filing complaints against them wherever you can. Then pursue that police charge and potential small claims court case to the bitter end. It will likely result in nothing happening, but would likely cause them to lose a little sleep at night.

And as I mentioned below in a different thread, if you're a big enough pain in the ass, there's a decent chance they'll decide all this crap isn't worth a stupid pair of sunglasses in the first place, and "miraculously" find them again.

My brother actually got a scammer to pay up the money even after the buyer won the dispute as mentioned above. The buyer was a college student living in the dorms, and was (not) bright enough to use his college dorm address. After constant "harrassment" by my brother including police reports, USPS inspector general complaints, and calling the school dean to file an misconduct claim against the student, he finally relented and paid for the item again.

I think the guy was most afraid of disciplinary action by the college than anything else, and decided all the crap he's going through isn't worth the $100.

[PierceFerdy]

As others have mentioned, the chargeback likely isn't the correct resolution to this odd set of circumstances, but getting the authorities involved likely is. If they were lost, then they were lost, but it's the fact that they 'found' and then lost them that gets me. Something's a little off, at the very least. I'd follow up.