A local man who always looks forward to giving out plenty of candy to Trick or Treaters ran into an issue earlier this month when his 100-pound, $5,000+ candy shipment was stolen off his front steps.
For about the last five years, Mike Wade says he’s ordered enough candy to give out “five handfuls” to each child in his community on Halloween. The Hubbard County man said he has buckets and buckets of candy on hand to give plenty of candy to each child who visits, but this year’s candy order went awry. He typically orders in bulk from big retailers, but he said that this year’s massive Amazon order, which was supposed to arrive sometime before October 11, never made it to his possession.
Wade noted that he had to take several day-long trips away from his home, but his delivery was never on his front porch when he arrived home during that stretch. He knew something was off when he received an email from Amazon saying that his candy had been delivered and a picture of the box on his doorstep to prove it, but the picture was the closest he came to actually getting his candy. After calling Amazon, the representative told him that the box must have been stolen after it was delivered.
“So, I called the number and I said, ‘It says my candy’s been delivered, but I didn’t get the candy,’” Wade told the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. “They said, ‘Yeah, it was delivered. Because it was so much we had to send it in a special van.’”
Since Amazon had proof the package was delivered, they didn’t cover the cost of the delivery. Wade opened a possible theft case with UPS, but after an investigation, they too said they wouldn’t be covering the cost of the delivery.
Wade decided not to file a police report, and after talking with his credit card company, he was relieved to learn that they would be able to refund the money. He’s still waiting on that money to hit his account, but he went ahead and ordered another large shipment of candy. He anticipates having enough candy to maintain business as usual at his house on Friday, but he’s perplexed as to why someone would steal candy that he intended to give away.
“Everybody knows around here that I get that candy every year,” he said. “That candy is for the kids. They’re not stealing from me. They’re stealing from the kids.”
We’re glad that it worked out for Mike in the end, and we’re getting to that time of year when it pays to keep an eye on your deliveries so that you can avoid becoming a victim of theft. Conversely, if you end up in trouble and need legal help in the greater Twin Cities area, connect with Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277
