*!*help*!* someone keeping me from getting my beardies!!!

[stephnt619]

So, this seems REALLY REALLY messed up to me..but I don't know much about any legal/civil issues...so if someone knows a bit more than me, maybe you can comment. I don't think they're allowed to do this, and I am VERY upset.

I'll start from the beginning. I'll even give you a nice character reference, in case it gets a little confusing.

Todd- Petland store owner
Vicky- Petland manager
Tyler- fellow Petland employee, dragons' current owner
Katy- fellow Petland employee, dragons' original owner

So, it all started when my fellow employee, Tyler, found out that I LOVE my dragons and that I own a few. He happens to have 2, a very nice looking male and female, that he no longer has time for or wants. So we started talking and he was gonna give them both to me for only $30. He wanted me to go ahead and take the dragons, he said I could pay him for them later. He just wanted them gone to someone who would take very good care of them, since he doesn't have the time for them anymore. We discussed when he would bring them and I would take them home. Seeing as we both work at the same place it was logical for him to bring them in at the beginning of his shift and I'd take them home when I left my shift.

Today he brought them in and I then set them up in a rubbermaid container I had brought with a basking light to keep them warm. I was sooooo excited, we had been talkin about this for a week or 2 and I was glad to finally have them. Then, Vicky, the new manager (she's okay...but thanks to her some other shady business other than this has been happening at the store) came in and saw them and asked what they were doing there. So I told her they were Tyler's and I was taking them home, the simple truth. She most have then called up Todd, the owner of the store (he's never there ,hardly, and has practically run the store almost into the ground). Todd then proceeded to say that I was not allowed to take them home because Tyler had to give him (Todd) the chance to sell them in the store before I could take them, and then...if they wouldn't sell, he would allow me to buy them for $80. THIS SEEMS SO WRONG TO ME!!!! Todd does not own them, so how can he say that Tyler can not give them to me?

Todd claims that if it wasn't for him hiring both of us me and Tyler wouldn't know each other so I wouldn't be getting the dragons anyways if it wasn't for him. His other reason was that they were brought into the store...like that some how means he has control of what happens to them then. The final claim he made was that they were originally from the store, and were sold at a discount to another employee, Katy, so some how that means he gets the right to try to re-sell them now. The other employee, Katy, bought them at a discount price (because of employee discount pricing) about a year ago when they were babies. She then did not want them and gave them to Tyler, now Tyler is giving them to me... as far as I understand that means the store has no control over them, they were sold and since that moment they were no longer the property of the store/Todd.

SO, i went home heart broke and dragon-less today

I am just sooooo upset. I went out right after Vicky told me I wasn't allowed to take them with me and spent my 15 minute break trying not to burst into tears. I was so excited...me and my boyfriend even prepared a nice custom built cage so they'd be right at home. I had been looking forward to it all week. Now I just feel cheated and I can't see how they could have legally done that ...but I was to afraid to lose my job or anything to just go ahead and take them with me after my shift.

 

[EclpsPrinc]

Uh... that's just wrong! Any legal professional's around here?

 

[gini]

OMG!!!! I don't even get how they (managers) think they have any claim to them! That is ridiculous! I think Tyler? should just take them home and you pick them up from there. What a complete mess! I hope you can get it all figured out and are able to get them. Good luck.

 

[zebraflavencs]

NOT only is that wrong, but illegal as well. These animals were bought and paid for originally. What happens to them is no longer the Manager's nor the store Owners problem. Now, I would say to these obviously shady persons, that they can't do anything, and if they attempted to fire you, you will be suing them and will then own that store. Document Everything ! And I mean every little thing !
Can you get the original store receipt from Katy ? (If she paid by either debit or credit card, that is even more of a paper trail in your favor.) If so, then this proves that these animals were duly sold for an agreed upon price, and have NOT been surrendered to the owners of said business. That being said, get a lawyer, and again Document Everything !
Janie.
The only thing they can do ( owner/manager) is refuse to allow these animals to be housed even temporarily in the store, due to cross contamination. Even the laws protecting said businesses will have to agree to that. But that is all they can do(owner/manager).

 

[gini]

Well said! Janie

 

[zebraflavencs]

Ah... you live, get older, and learn is all...
Janie.

 

[Fatehand]

Ive worked in a pet store for almost two years now and i was chuckling through reading your entire post because I thought you were joking....absolutely absurd.

If it were me I would of just laughed in my bosses face and told him to fire me if he didnt like it...but I may have alot more "pull" in my store then you do in yours.

You could certainly make a case out of this if it were to continue.

Did he make you keep them there?

What did Tyler have to say about it?

Is your boss a legal retarded person?

 

[Kelcifer]

i'd tell him (todd the manager? and the other chick) to stick it. it's none of their business and they cant do anything at all like that. you signed no papers saying the store had the right to consign or confiscate the dragons. i would have taken them home anyways. you shouldn't have left them there at all. try bringing the police in on this.

 

[Gail]

You need to call the police, what todd is doing is theft no matter how you look at it. Tyler did not give them to todd so todd can't keep them or sell them, they are your personal pets, not store property.
I'd call the police tonight and see what they have to say, that way you know what to tell todd or vicky when you go back to work. This is a fight that will probably get nasty so be prepared and if todd tries to fire you, get a lawyer, you can't be fired because your boss is stealing from you.

Personally, I would have kicked todd, grabbed the dragons and ran.

 

[zebraflavencs]

The Law is on your side. Use it. I have the feeling you are young, and they are using that to force you to do whatever they want. Make the trade with Tyler away from the store. Have him remove these animals back to his home, and don't allow him to sign any consignment paperwork to them. Stand up and face them down. They may not like it, and harass you, but then that is just one more law suit against them. Don't allow them to bully you.
Janie.

 

[crickest]

First, is this a privately owned pet store or a chain? If a chain, I would go up the chain of command and complain. If privately owned, I would call the police. The only problem I see with the second scenario is if Tyler doesn't back you and wants to let the owner sell them instead. Since the money never changed hands and you never "legally" took possession (since they were at a store where both you and Tyler worked - rather than on your property) Tyler could argue that he was offered a better deal from the owner.

This whole thing hinges on Tyler. If he wants to adhere to his oral agreement with you, he should take the dragons home and you should get them from him there. Make sure you pay him when you pick them up and that he gives you a receipt for their purchase. If Tyler feels intimidated by your boss, as do you (I assume you were intimidated due to the fact you didn't take the dragons home), then Tyler needs to register a complaint with the police.

I would also call the Department of Labor and talk to them as well. Your boss can't force either of you to sell the dragons in the store. He is using his position as your boss to intimidate you and steal from you. I'm pretty sure that's against some law or other. You just tell them you were afraid to argue because you felt he would fire you.

Your final option is to file a small claims case against your boss and Tyler for violation of an oral agreement. It will cost $75 or so to file, and then you can argue before a judge that you had taken possession of the beardies and that your boss refused to allow you to keep them. That you had been bullied over the phone.

Good luck.

 

[crickest]

Okay, I just reread your message and realized its a franchise store. Here is the corporate number to complain about store operations. (740) 775-2464. Call it from home, not the store. Tell them your story. Be persistent and don't let anyone blow you off. Ask to speak to the manager or to be moved up a level if they aren't responding. Don't get defensive, just tell your story. Bring the Rain.

 

[SARBEAR]

The petstore cannont legally resale an animal!!!!
They can put it up for adoption and someone can adopt it for free, but they certainly cannot resell an animal.
That's so wrong on so many levels, the petstore is just trying to make some more money.
I bet if you brought up going to corporate and seeing how they feel about it, the managers would change their minds.

So where are the beardies now?
Did you guys have to leave them in the containers with the basking bulbs?
Cause you could also bring up how they are "endangering" the lives of animals.
If that would make any sense, lol..
Why couldn't Tyler just say, hey I want to keep them after all and give them to you secretly later?

And if you got fired over this, you could also go to corporate and complain, they cannot fire you for something so ridiculous!

 

[stephnt619]

I talked to Tyler about just aking them back and meeting up with me later to exchange them...but he still may feel they will be mad at him or something if he doesn't give them to the store. So, when i go into work tomorrow morning at 8 I will know if he took them home or just handed them over to the store

Right now there isn't really anything I can do about it, and last I knew, yes, they were still just sitting in a 5 gallon rubber maid container with a 75 watt basking bulb.

So, I'll be responsible for caring for them if they are still there in the morning...kinda sucks having to take care of them at the store when I could have had them. But thank you guys for all the advise and phone numbers.

 

[SARBEAR]

You should not let the managers walk all over you. Like I said, what they're doing is wrong, and I'll bet if you even mention the word corporate they will hand them over to you in a heart beat. Don't worry about being fired, they can't fire you for something like that. And if they do/try, take them to court or whatever.
If it were me, I would go to the store and get them. Or just ask Tyler to bring them home if you don't want to cause any trouble with your managers, which I fully understand.
I definitely would NOT let them walk all over you like that, they'll just keep doing it over and over.

The managers cannot be mad that Tyler takes them home, they're HIS dragons. He paid money for them (I'm guessing) and has been taking care of them. Tyler shouldn't even ask them if he can take them, I would do it anyways.