Extreme couponer arrested for theft....

[Dax]

I feel we will see this more and more..

Extreme Couponer arrested

 

[RitaE]

I feel kind of bad for her.

Don't get me wrong, I think the whole Extreme Coupon thing is stupid but it says they were bagged up and sitting on top of the trash cans out in the parking lot. I think many people would assume they are fair game for taking.

That's nothing like the "I used a $5 coupon for an expensive beauty creme to buy toothpaste and made money off of it because the cash register system can't recognize the difference" type of stealing they showed on those tv shows.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I am a couponer, but I only use 1 newspaper a week. I am not a grocery item hoarder. I save as much as I can and do pretty darn well with my 1 paper.

It is obvious that this woman is a nut...but I don't say a thief. It was on the trash can. Why would the paper carrier not pick the papers up inside? The trash can is an odd place to put something that you do not intend to throw away...

 

[ilovemk76]

I feel kind of bad for her.

Don't get me wrong, I think the whole Extreme Coupon thing is stupid but it says they were bagged up and sitting on top of the trash cans out in the parking lot. I think many people would assume they are fair game for taking.

That's nothing like the "I used a $5 coupon for an expensive beauty creme to buy toothpaste and made money off of it because the cash register system can't recognize the difference" type of stealing they showed on those tv shows.

Her actons tell a different story. She would not need a lookout and sped away if she was told she could do this.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I work in circulation at a major newspaper.
This is theft, plain and simple. It's no different than taking milk crates, 2 liters soda bottle cases, or bread racks from the back dock. The store should be making the complaint though, not the newspaper.

If a carrier drops 200 papers off at Kroger, they are responsible for 200 papers. If the carrier picks up 0, then Kroger pays for 200. If the carrier picks up 20, Kroger pays for 180.

If, after the store closes, 20 papers walk away, ultimately the store is responsible for payment, since the carrier cannot get credit without them. If suddenly the sales don't match, the usually loss prevention gets involved.

With the spike in paper thefts, there are sneaky ways to find out who is taking papers. One expensive way is a scale that goes just below the paper tray, you type in the weight of the paper, and electronically sends a report that a paper has sold. If that number drops by 2 or 3, then theft is occurring. Usually a pattern develops. We have also stationed people in unmarked cars within eyesight of the location to snap photos of the thieves. Other papers have stopped using vending boxes on Sundays as theft has skyrocketed over 25%.

If you are stealing newspaper for coupons, you will get caught.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I work in circulation at a major newspaper.
This is theft, plain and simple. It's no different than taking milk crates, 2 liters soda bottle cases, or bread racks from the back dock.

Then maybe they should put them on the BACK DOCK and not the TRASH CAN!
I have a feeling she was in cahootze with whoever was placing them on the trashcan....

 

[daraddg]

They said these were stacked outside on the trashcans therefore they should be fair game.Up here in NJ I worked at a Wawa and the paper reps would come inside the store to pick up what wasnt sold themselves,if this is an issue there they should do the same.

 

[RitaE]

I am a couponer, but I only use 1 newspaper a week. I am not a grocery item hoarder. I save as much as I can and do pretty darn well with my 1 paper.

It is obvious that this woman is a nut...but I don't say a thief. It was on the trash can. Why would the paper carrier not pick the papers up inside? The trash can is an odd place to put something that you do not intend to throw away...

I know. But really that whole "Guy standing there as a look-out and then speeding away" is a really subjective description that I take with a grain of salt without any other information. Her husband could just as easily say he got out of the car to stretch his legs and he always drives that way.

 

[DVC-Don]

Kind of rampant. They got a lady near here last month for swiping the inserts from Sunday papers, then people would come along and buy the papers to find out there were no inserts.

 

[Praying Colonel]

IMHO they're going to have a hard time proving intent beyond a reasonable doubt, unless there was something like a sign indicating the papers were for pickup by the paper carrier.

 

[Free4Life11]

"Jamie also said that she did not think it was wrong and gave the comparison of someone leaving [their] camera in the parking lot and being able to keep it since it was left there. … he figured that someone would tell her to stop doing it if she was not supposed to," according to the report.

That says everything regarding her character. I guess she thinks "finders keepers" applies.

 

[daemom]

I had a neighbor taking the coupons from my Sunday paper every week! We're rural and I can't see the paper box from my house . Another neighbor saw the guy taking them one morning--he doesn't receive a paper! We moved out box and our carrier now drives to our house to deliver the paper Gotta give him a good tip for this!!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Then maybe they should put them on the BACK DOCK and not the TRASH CAN!
I have a feeling she was in cahootze with whoever was placing them on the trashcan....

If a store is not open 24 hours, it is routine to leave old papers outside for pickup and to drop the new papers. We normally don't place them on trash cans though, but sometimes lodge the papers behind a trash can for cover.

We do not use back docks in the middle of the night due to safety issues, many are completely dark and occupied by vagrants. There is less chance of theft in the front since it has better visibility. I personally was pulled over by a local cop who was seducing his girlfriend in his squad car behind a shopping center while I delivering a paper. He wanted to know why I was there at 4:00-once he saw my stack of papers, he was quick to apologize. I haven't been behind that shopping center since.

 

[ceecee]

We heard a paper carrier pulled all the free frozen lemonade coupons that were in the Sunday paper a few months ago and sold them on Ebay! I think she knew she was wrong as well simply because her husband was a look out!

 

[ameraumi]

This is a tough call.

I totally understand about the circulation part of it. The store agrees to accept a certain number of papers to sell. The store then has to turn over the money for sold papers plus unsold papers back to the Newspaper. If papers are missing, it is the stores responsibility to make up the difference (normally).

But in this case the papers were put in bags on top of the trash bins, making it basically trash.

Most stores around here keep the papers inside until someone from the Newspaper comes and pick up the unsold ones. I am sure from this point on the store in the article will be rethinking their policy.

 

[ssawka]

They said these were stacked outside on the trashcans therefore they should be fair game.Up here in NJ I worked at a Wawa and the paper reps would come inside the store to pick up what wasnt sold themselves,if this is an issue there they should do the same.

I would think that it would be illegal to go near the trash cans for the same reason that you are not allowed to dump your own personal trash in a store's dumpster.

 

[crisi]

Dumpster diving is still illegal in many jurisdictions. I know its a common practice for some, but just because its in the trash does not mean its legal to take it.

 

[delmar411]

Well I'm thinking that the newspaper has no case because anything put on or into a trash can is considered garbage and while it should be fair game, it really belongs to the garbage company in some places. And it's the grocery store that should have been pursuing this in the first place and changing their newspaper p/u procedures.

I don't really believe the spy's version of events TBH. And he probably scared the crud out of them...I'd drive off if some strange person was yelling at me in a deserted shopping center!

 

[sydneysmom]

I would think that it would be illegal to go near the trash cans for the same reason that you are not allowed to dump your own personal trash in a store's dumpster.

See, that's the first thing I thought of too. They're owned by the waste company and on the private property of the store. They're not for public "diving". because here's the other thing, if someone slipped or smashed their head on the dumpster, you KNOW they're going to sue the store AND the waste company. Even though they're not supposed to be going in their dumpsters.

Personally, I can't imagine doing that just so you can hoard groceries. Most people coupon to save money when combined w/ store sales. Most people don't buy 500 bottles of Maylox and BBQ sauce and stash them under their kids beds. I believe that this is also the same woman that got busted for coupon fraud....she was using the higher value coupons for lower value products, within the same company. If it is the same person, no I don't feel sorry for her at all. She makes a living off of scamming the system. These "extreme couponers" are giving couponing a bad name and making it more difficult for the average person to coupon with the intent on saving money for their family.....it's not a sport.

 

[ilovemk76]

Well I'm thinking that the newspaper has no case because anything put on or into a trash can is considered garbage and while it should be fair game, it really belongs to the garbage company in some places. And it's the grocery store that should have been pursuing this in the first place and changing their newspaper p/u procedures.

I don't really believe the spy's version of events TBH. And he probably scared the crud out of them...I'd drive off if some strange person was yelling at me in a deserted shopping center!

When you put your trash at the side of the road for pickup it is fair game because you do not own that property. It is part of the local right of way. If your cans are by your back door then they are your property and nobody can go in it. Dumpsters are not by the side of the road. You also cannot take your trash to a dumpster to get rid of. It is on private property.