Hi. I currently work for a cellular phone company in Atlanta, GA where I am a salesperson. A few days ago, a customer came in with a fraudulent gift card which he used to purchase several phones with. At the time of purchase, the customer’s card was approved/authorized, yet after a few days, we have yet to receive any money. My manager says that it’s a scam and that I got duped out of about $2,000. He is saying that I am fully responsibile for paying back each and every cent that was lost during my transaction. Is that true? He says even if I quit, my employer can come after me legally to make me pay the $2,000 back. Is there any truth to what he is saying? I’m sure there are laws to protect employees from these kinds of situations. I’m completely new to the cell phone industry and am unfamiliar with these types of scams, yet he is saying it’s still all my fault and that I’m still liable for it all.
I call BS. If you followed the company’s procedures, and processed the card as the company told you to, and it went through without problems on the till, it’s not you who is at fault. Otherwise, no employee working a till would every accept a credit card.
Of course, the company can say whatever they want. That does not mean it’s true. Some manager up the chain just doesn’t want to explain a $2,000 screw-up to his boss.
If they try to withhold your pay, call your local labor standards branch about it.
See this; however, keep in mind the quality and reliability of internet legal advice.
Unless you did something negligent or deliberately wrong, you should not be liable.
If you are liable, they would need a judgement against you in court to collect the debt.
But Georgia is an at-will state, so they can let you go anyway, any time.
As long as you followed procedure and guidelines and the transaction was approved ( a major + for you), liability can NOT be imputed to you, period!!!
Call these guys:
Atlanta Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
Address: 229 Peachtree Street, Suite 400, Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone:(404) 521-0777
Explain the situation.
Get a referral to an attorney. Ask how much an initial half-hour consult would cost.
You’ll probably get a very good answer for $30-50.
On edit:
By the way, I’m HIGHLY skeptical of his claims.
That loss looks like a cost of doing business.
Look for a new job, though. You’ll probably not get ahead in this company with this boss. Even if he discovers you don’t owe them shit, I doubt he’ll give you much opportunity going forward.
Look for a new job…
I second that. You’re new to the job and they’re already trying to screw you. Run away fast.
Dollars to donuts he’s going to lose this job real soon no matter what he does.
If I actually thought an employee WAS at fault for getting scammed for $2K I’d walk them out the back door in about 15 seconds.
As an employee, you’re generally acting as an agent of the employer. You do have some duties as an agent and could be held liable if you fail to perform those duties, or if your actions are outside your duties as an employee.
However, no law is going to uphold psychic knowledge of gift card fraud as one of your duties. To establish a liability here, the employer needs to show that you knew of the fraud, that a reasonable employee should have known, or that you circumvented some procedure that would have prevented the fraud. From your description, none of those things happened.
And I’ll agree that finding a new job is a good idea. They probably know you’re not liable, and are just using this as an excuse to get rid of you in a way that won’t impact their state unemployment rate (which rise if they lay you off). If you quit or if they assert criminal activity, then they’ve gotten rid of you without the extra taxes. Since the Christmas season is about to be over, this wouldn’t surprise me at all.
BTW, when this happened to me, they tried to get me to fill out forms admitting liability.
My lawyer had already advised me not to sign shit, or even TALK about it… and I listened.
I advise you to not say another word about it, or sign ANYTHING, without consulting one.
Also, check with the state bar association for any legal aid organizations that may be able to get you a lawyer for free.
I don’t work in an environment like this, but is it common for someone to purchase 2000 dollars worth of cell phone at one time, especially on a gift card? Did your employer have some sort of policy where large purchases made with gift cards needed to be verified somehow? That is the only situation where you could be held liable, if you did not folllow company policy.
Regardless, my scam alert would have been going off when someone came in to purchace a handful of phones with a gift card.
If you’re new to the business, how likely that you would know what’s “normal”? If the boss doesn’t have a policy to allow higher management to check transactions over, say, $1,000 then I’m sure the boss is busy explaining this shortcoming of the policy to his bosses.
I agree. Sign nothing, admit to nothing, agree to nothing that puts the blame on you. If they let you go(likely they will, and blame you to cover their butts) then at least you get paid up until they decide to. You’re getting screwed enough, don’t pay them $2000 for the privilege.
Under the assumption that mobile phones are sold with service plans, how can the scammer expect to get away with this? The phone should make it easy to track him/her down.
If I have a gift card, I can walk into another store and just pay cash for a phone, no contract.
You CAN buy phones without contracts at most stores, especially if you’re spending someone else’s money.