What are my rights when a pawn shop gets my laptop stolen?

Question

I pondered my laptop almost a month ago and just today when I went to go get it I found out it was stolen that same day as soon as I walked out the door the worker left it on the counter and taped my password on a sticky note onto my laptop and someone walked off with it they actually found the guy and knew him. They called him to bring it back he said he would but that was a month ago so obviously he s not interested in bringing it back. All my information and private documents including my tax information stupidly was on that computer. They filed a police report and have it on video where the man stole my computer as soon as I walked out the door. Since then I have changed my password on as many things as I could but after almost a whole month I m not sure if it even matters at this point. The employee was negligent and left my laptop out after I took a loan on it and they never contacted me in any kind of way to let me know or give me a heads up to protect my Identity or Bank information.

Answer 1

Sue in small claims court for $800 you don't need a lawyer.

Answer 2

You can not sue due to the binding contract you made with them that they are not responsible for lost or stolen property. Good luck!

Answer 3

You sue the pawn shop for replacement of your computer and/or the full cost of it and all and any financial loss to you............ they have insurance cover and know full well what they have to do.



Who stole it once they have it in their possession is their issue, not yours, the pawn shop are the ones you target

Answer 4

You pawned a laptop using it as security for a 200$ loan



So if you now repaid the 200 you would normally get your own one back , but that cant happen cos its gone



BUT if they replaced it with one exactly the same then you would be in the same position as if you got your own one back (apart from the files on it)

The loss of the files is largely your own fault - you should have created backup copies as this is ALWAYS recommended

The loss of personal info is also partly your own fault - partly cos you should have backup copies AND that it should have been encrypted to prevent access (there is a lot of free encryption software available)



Nothing can be done about the files, but whats the problem with accepting the replacement if you can carry out some testing on it professionally at their expense?-

That together with some compensation for the lost files and you repaying the loan(which is what you would have to pay to get your own one back) is the best you could expect (or maybe them just writing off the loan)



what you AINT gonna get is a new one when you only got a loan of 200$ with the old one as security (as 200$ is what they think its value was)

Answer 5

At MOST, they would be liable for the amount you could have sold the laptop for at the time.

That said, not even the most INCOMPETENT pawn shop would HAVE your password to tape on the laptop.

It is also ABSURD to believe they actually know who stole it, and he hasn't be ARRESTED.

Your story is BAD fiction. IF any of your story were true, YOU were negligent for leaving the counter before the laptop was secured, ESPECIALLY if there was anyone else present so it was POSSIBLE for it to be stolen.

Answer 6

More than likely the extent that the pawn shop is liable would be for the value of the laptop when you brought it in. That doesn't mean the value of a brand new laptop, nor does it mean the value that they were willing to loan against it. You can likely check on ebay to see what kind of price people are selling those laptops for. They cannot force you to accept one of their laptops as compensation. If you and the pawn shop are not able to come to terms, then you'll have to go through the legal system to seek remedy.



The harm caused by someone getting your password is the consequence of giving out your password. You're supposed to keep that kind of stuff a secret. That you gave out your password is on you and you will have to deal with it.

Answer 7

They did not 'get your laptop stolen' moron as they didn't plan on it happening. Grow up and realize that sht like that happens and it is NOT the businesses fault! You sound as if you're only 7 years old, IF THAT!

Answer 8

i think you should talk to a lawyer about it, maybe you can sue them for doing that

Answer 9

They're responsible for the loss as it was in their care when it was stolen. I recommend contacting a lawyer, but, unfortunately, if you're pawning stuff that may not be financially feasible. Whether their responsible for the cost of a replacement computer or for the amount of the loan depends on state civil law.

Answer 10

The pawn shop which is a chain company has no interest in replacing my laptop with a new one of the exact same kind but instead offered me one of equal or lesser value then the one I brought in which doesn't really make sense because retail value still in stores is about $800. But they will only give me pawn shop value for it towards another laptop. They offered to replace it with a used version of the same kind from another pawn shop but I don't think it's a good idea to accept it since I'm not sure what could be wrong with it. And I still don't feel that solve the issue of my personal information being stolen and files that I will never get back. Also they still want me to pay off the loan which was about $200 after all of this. What are my rights when it comes to something like this?