People Will Do Anything For a Buck

[happyvac]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two black shoppers have sued Toys "R" Us saying they were subjected to racial discrimination and unjustified scrutiny at a store in New York.
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Patricia Drayton and Valerie Kirk said in the lawsuit that the store in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, discriminated against them by asking them to show their sales receipts. The suit was filed in Manhattan Federal Court on Tuesday.
Drayton said in the lawsuit that she was stopped by a security guard at the door of the store and asked to show her receipt. After refusing to do so, she was made to wait while the employee checked with a cashier to see if she had purchased the merchandise, the lawsuit said.
According to court documents, Kirk was told by a man working at the story that Toys "R" Us's policy required that she show her receipt to him prior to leaving the story. Kirk said in the suit that she refused to comply and was banned from shopping there.
The lawsuit said black shoppers are subjected to compulsory inspection of their sales receipts while white shoppers are not.
The women are asking the court to give the suit class action status to represent all black shoppers who have been subjected to the same procedures by Toys "R" Us.
Metro One, which provides loss prevention services to retail stores, and several people employed by the two companies are also being sued by the women.
They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages of at least $200 million each on behalf of the class.
Representatives for Toys "R" Us and Metro One were not available for comment.
Toys "R" Us, the country's second-largest toy retailer, is owned by a consortium that includes Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Vornado Realty Trust.
The company still reports its financial performance because some of its bonds are publicly traded.
(Additional reporting by Justin Grant)

 

[renogaw]

hopefully this will be thrown out like that guy who sued for 54mil for the ruind pants.

 

[bronco300]

rediculous

 

[rabbit_72]

When I was about 15, I got thrown out of a Toy R Us, along with some friends by a big, black woman wearing a pink sweatshirt (yes, I clearly remember) all because we were taking the tricycles for a test drive! Hey, the little kids can do it, why can't I?? So I would call this a case of AGE and RACE discrimination!!

 

[nicetry]

This might well fall under the racial profiling umbrella, and if the women can prove that only blacks or the at least the majority of shoppers asked to show receipts are black or minority, they have a good chance of winning something.
The requested damages, however, are absurd.

 

[jennythebugg]

Originally Posted by nicetry
This might well fall under the racial profiling umbrella, and if the women can prove that only blacks or the at least the majority of shoppers asked to show receipts are black or minority, they have a good chance of winning something.
The requested damages, however, are absurd.
i agree with nicetry the amount is ridiculous, but the claim may be justified... but why are other companies being brought into it , and i don't think they should be able to seek class action unless there more people involved ...but they won't involve more people cause with them i'm guessing its all about the benjamins

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by nicetry
This might well fall under the racial profiling umbrella, and if the women can prove that only blacks or the at least the majority of shoppers asked to show receipts are black or minority, they have a good chance of winning something.
The requested damages, however, are absurd.

black or minoruty so your saying black or white

 

[nicetry]

Originally Posted by reefreak29
black or minoruty so your saying black or white
No, I'm saying black or other minority peoples (Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern). Profiling is not limited to any specific race/ethnicity.

 

[pontius]

I have to show my receipt to "security guards" all the time and I'm as white as rice. I'm not sure sure if I've ever had to show it in Toys R Us because I rarely go to Toys R Us.
if this was a case where only black people have to show their receipts, maybe it's a valid suit (though the amount is silly). but if it's a case where most people have to show their receipts and these 2 women just think they should be above having to do the same as everybody else, too bad.

 

[jmick]

I've never had to show a receipt at a Toys R Us but then again the majority of the people who shop at the store near me are white...if they have this as a policy at a store where the majority of the shoppers are black then that is a problem and is discrimination and she has a right to be angry.

 

[petjunkie]

$200 million dollars!!!! That seems a little excessive to me, personally I would have wanted maybe an apology? Although why didn't they just show their receipts, if they really paid for it who cares? I think stuff like this should be thrown out as silly, like that robber who won money after he broke his leg stealing unsafely.

 

[appaloosa1]

whats so hard about showing someone your receipt?

 

[ric maniac]

i think they are dishonest people for 2 reasons and i think no one should even pay attention to this crap:
1. they proabably stole the items and didnt want to show the reciepts so 2. they made a big deal out of it to gain more money.

 

[reefforbrains]

It is indeed thier policy to check reciepts. The suit will be tossed but with so much publicity I am sure they will get an offer and then take the money and run.
Some good news is that when cases are filed, they are public record. So by process of elimination when a dirtbag keep trying to go after "deep Pokets" of a larger corp and think about the $$$'s in thier eyes.
They can get slammed for liable and deflamation when a person pokes the wrong tiger with a stick, the past will catch up with them in a big way.
The two hopefully will be countersued......
JMO

 

[reefforbrains]

Some from the board know me and my past. I have been blessed/cursed to be around big corp.s for a while now. I have testified and represented companies I have managed several times for all sorts of goofyness.
Always ends the same...The "poor innocent victim that we did sooooo wrong" has a pattern of devious behavior and false accusations that span the gammit of stupidity against other companies where they have tried to fabricate or twist things that had not happened. Without credibility you have no case...
The victim winds up making an arse of themself in court as if it were a Jerry Springer episode.
Yes some people get caught up in a legitimate mess at times. When its legitimate no one questions it. You can see the victims position from a distance and you genuinly want to make it right for them. Not just throwing money at it to make it go away, but to actually solve the situation if you have slighted someone.
No one fights them or thier plight once they are made aware of it at the higher level within a given company.

 

[reefraff]

My sister worked for a retail chain back in the 90's that got beat up over a memo that was sent out to their stores warning about a group of black people that were going from store to store pulling return scams. A couple of black employees saw it as a get rich quick scheme. They got nothing but it did cause a lot of hastles for the store from a PR standpoint.
You wouldn't believe the stories she has about the things people will do.

 

[jennythebugg]

there are too many unscrupulous people nowadays , we used to have a freind that would brag about her loot she got while shoplifting of all things!

 

[pbienkiewi]

Just think of the fish tank/tanks I could get for $200 million dollars.. go to the Local Fish Stores and say...... I will take ALL of those and ALL of those and Take ALL of those. Well sir how long has your tank been established, what kind of lighting do you have. I have nothing but the very best. Hummm.... did you say, Electrical bill........ I don't know I payed them a monster lump sum. Made out a check with 5 or 6 zero's on it.

 

[rabbit_72]

I don't remember where this story takes place, but if it is in an area with higher crime rates, then it makes sense for a retailer to check receipts. Wal-Mart used to do it all the time to ever last customer who left the store. They marked your receipt with a highlighter so if you brought the item back for whatever reason, they could tell you actually paid for it. Where I work, we don't give cash back on a returned item unless you have a receipt. Most places have that policy. With the amout of retail theft going on, it is only reasonable to show the receipt when asked for it.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by reefraff
My sister worked for a retail chain back in the 90's that got beat up over a memo that was sent out to their stores warning about a group of black people that were going from store to store pulling return scams. A couple of black employees saw it as a get rich quick scheme. They got nothing but it did cause a lot of hastles for the store from a PR standpoint.
You wouldn't believe the stories she has about the things people will do.
This is not racist.. I worked in Sam's Club as a teenager and I'd see white and black people doing this all the time. It is okay to give a description of the group or person involved, but if you describe the suspect as only being of a particular race with no other info.. this is wrong. This is racial profiling!