I have had Directv for almost 9 years and never had a problem with either Directv or their contracted installers until September 20, 2008.The installer worked for JP&D satellite installers out of Houston, Texas. I left the man alone in my bedroom while he was working on putting an additional cable in and discovered after he left that he had stolen $10 (a roll of quarters) that was on top of my dresser and also my P-11, 9mm hand gun out of the top drawer in the same dresser.
I reported the gun as stolen to the local sheriffs dept. and also notified Directv. It was like pulling teeth to get the name of the company and then where it was located from customer service of the JP&D company. After being told by both Directv and JP&D that they would see what they could do and return my call
I finally found out that there was nothing that either could or wanted to do. The man was questioned by the Oklahoma City office that he worked out of and he said "I don't know nuth'en about no $10 or gun." Did they expect him to say, "my bad, I'm sorry" ?The woman I talked to in Houston did not even know if the installers were bonded or not. She said "that's a good question" and that was that.
I am a 65 year old woman living alone in the boonies and I need my gun. I can't afford another gun since I live on SS disability and have no money.
We suggest getting in touch with the mustachioed man pictured above, the CEO of DirecTV.
PREVIOUSLY: DirecTV Installer Arrives, Poops, and Leaves, But Doesn't Install DirecTV
]]>@ZukeZuke: I doubt this, unless it includes weapons of government employees. (Even if guns were only used in criminal acts, I would still think they should be legal.)
]]>Thank you for bringing some sense into this discussion. Has anyone considered that the old lady could be lying, or crazy? We're ready to trounce all over this installer's rights based on an accusation?
]]>People in rural areas have guns because it often takes the county sheriff a LONG time to come to the rescue. Folks in rural areas have to basically depend on themselves & defend themselves.
]]>because the police cant go search a persons's home on just one unproveable allegation. Otherwise I could have some real fun with the neighbor I hate accross the street.
]]>@private1111: You are correct that if nobody had guns, the world would be less violent. But since the gun cannot be uninvented (and in fact, a crude firearm can be made with stuff found in many garages), and since banning guns does NOTHING to stop bad people from having them, some people feel it's a good idea to have a contingency plan in case it takes the police longer than 2 minutes to show up.
]]>Really bad things can happen if your electrolytes get far enough out of balance. With serious vomiting or diarrhea, you're losing electrolytes as well as fluids, so ideally you rehydrate with something with electrolytes in it.
(A nephrology website says losing too much sodium can lead to: "The first symptoms are fatigue, weakness, nausea, and headache. More severe cases cause confusion, seizure, coma, and death.")
]]>I find it odd that NOBODY is questioning the lack of evidence.
]]>Would be majorly off-topic to get into a big anti-gun debate, but all scientific studies on this topic show legitimate defensive uses of guns far exceed murders by gunshot, accidental injuries, and involuntary uses against the gun's owner. This, despite the fear-mongering by Sarah Brady and her ilk.
]]>@theblackdog: They obviously didn't care enough to pick up the ball in investigating the theft - she had to do all the legwork herself!
]]>@MightyDwarf56: Do the bikers do it to protect animals, or do they take animals as payment? I'm afraid only the former would fit into our business plan.
]]>@The_IT_Crone: that happened to me in my old place, I worked the night shift and woke up one day hearing voices outside my bedroom door. scared the bejeezes out of me. the landlord was having the house appraised, ass.
]]>Uh, we are entitled to have a gun.
We have this little document called "The Constitution of The United States of America", and it says that "The right to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT be infringed".
This was affirmed by the US Supreme Court in 2008.
]]>hillbilly americans and thier guns.... people like this old lady thinking they 'need' guns for protection are the whole problem. if nobody was allowed to have a gun your country wouldnt be so violent. look around the world, you people are one of the most violent nations and its all because you think your entitled to having a gun.
]]>@ludwigk:
In Texas, no, guns are not required to be registered or licensed.
]]>If this guy is smart he knows a fence and will just sell the gun. It may never be found again.
]]>If you don't believe me on this, ask the police while you're there if keeping loaded weapons near you to protect yourself is a good idea or not.
Without the gun in the situation, he has the decision to steal your stuff, or to not steal your stuff.
I know which situation I'd rather be in. And I doubt anyone will attack the elderly for any other reason than to steal stuff.
]]>I would so hire this guy. And run it alongside my company where when you get sick and feel too awful to go to the store, motherly women bring you chicken soup, dry toast, gatorade, and cold medicine
What is it with Mom's and gatorade? Seriously, my mom did that too when I was sick.
]]>Hopefully, if he has stolen it, and gets fired, he also gets jail time. He would not be around for a while. He would no longer be armed, and hopefully she would be again. And, the police would know who to question first in the event that anything untoward happens.
Somehow, in the back of my mind, I keep thinking that "bad guys should be dead guys, and, when they're more worried about their survival, they won't have as much time to be bad", but I'm funny like that.
]]>I would have gladly volunteered to menacingly stand in her living room wearing a side-arm glaring at the installer.
]]>What are you her accountant? Did she say she didn't have money for DirecTV? How do you know what she can and can't afford. Being able to pay $40 a month for some entertainment is far different than having to replace a gun that wasn't expected to go missing.
]]>Right now, it is one persons word against another.
]]>Well, she may have sent them a letter, or some sort of carrier pigeon...it didn't actually say she 'called' the cops...
]]>...would you get me something to drink?
]]>It's not a minor offense. He stole a weapon. If he is unstable, or has a history of violence, and he uses this gun on someone, that someone's family could sue DirectTV for not taking this situation seriously. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but for pete's sake, it's a weapon! Why is everyone shrugging it off?
]]>@corinthos: I bought one of those chain locks for my door that you can lock and unlock from the outside. The landlord can look in and see that my stuff is still there, but since the chain is up it looks like someone is home and they won't go in. I didn't give management a key to it, either.
]]>@Eyebrows McGee: Aight. Our business shall be called Motherburly Enterprises.
]]>One time (at band camp...ha,anyway.) I was visiting my fiancé who, at the time, lived in Florida. When he would leave for classes I would always triple lock the door because I'm paranoid...anyway one day I heard someone outside trying to unlock the door and then proceed to try and break the door open (at least that's what it sounded like...) Fortunately they gave up after a few tries, but I was freaked out. Later we found out it was an apartment complex worker who was trying to show someone the apartment. I guess they hadn't marked it as occupied or they did the same thing the apartment manager you talked about did...If it hadn't been for all the locks on the door, they would've found me in my pj's and reeeeeeeeeeaally angry. Sigh.
]]>Second, the guy is in a suit - doesn't strike me much as homeless. But even so, how does that make him any better or worse at the job, or effect the company in anyway?
]]>1) a woman
2) her age
3) her income status
4) she owed a gun
5) the gun was not locked up
Whaaaaaaat bout the fact that DirectTV installers steal and DirectTV doesn't give a chit??
]]>The guy with the bizarre moustache is the CEO of DirecTV?
No wonder it sounds like such a pathetic company -- their CEO looks like a whack job!
It reminds me of those phone company ads where their CEO is out wandering the streets of NYC after dark in what looks like a beat-up overcoat. The guy looks homeless -- and given the economy, maybe by now even he is...
Back to the story here, though, I would think DirecTV and their local installers need to keep an eye on the alleged gun thief. If he's a thief, he's sure to rip something off from another customer and when the customer complains -- one hopes the guy will then at last be out of a job, with a black mark on his record.
One hopes...
]]>That has always freaked me out. You never know when you'll get some low-life maintenance guy who just happens to have access to your apartment via his spare keys.
When I was living in Chicago I went to look at an apartment and they actually let me into someone elses' apartment to check it out. I was sketched out like crazy because I didn't want to go into this persons' place; I would feel violated myself! I stood at the doorway and kind of like peaked inside and the apartment manager started opening up closets and what not. Thanks but no thanks, I don't need people I extra especially do not know (as if the apt manager is bad enough) looking through my closets.
Find the gun, and you've got yourself a complaint, but until then, for all we know she could have misplaced them.
]]>If you're home alone at night and scared, take the gun out of the safe.
If managing the security of your guns is too much of a hassle for you, then you probably shouldn't have them in the first place.
]]>This is exactly the kind of person who's gun ends up being used against them after a break-in, and exactly the kind of person who should not own a gun.
]]>If she needs a gun for protection she might want to have it at arms length when allowing strangers into her home. After all, isn't the purpose of the gun to protect you from strangers?
]]>Did this 65 year old woman really write "my bad, I'm sorry" in her letter? Or did Alex add that in for a larf?
]]>"Um, has she called the cops?!"
I reported the gun as stolen to the local sheriffs dept.
That line of the article might answer the question. ; )
]]>On the first day of DirectTV, my installer said to me...
]]>TV - Opiate of the masses.
]]>I think lessemm might be hinting at the 3rd bullet point which states "Make certain that firearms in the home are not casually accessible to anyone...".
Regardless of keeping it safe from a child, you shouldn't let your gun be casually accessible to a personal you wouldn't trust with your life.
]]>OTA = Over The Air
]]>And, I'm a responsible gun nut, I have low recoil limited penetration rounds in the shotgun, so it won't hit my neighbors (can't go through two walls, ect.).
]]>Need I say this is far beyond poor service and this lug belongs in jail? I am wondering how he managed to mill around the house and find the gun in the first place. She states that she "lives alone and I need my gun" but it sounds like she needs more support for her safety and well being than an unsecured gun in the house. (I am a hand gun owner as well)
Hopefully this dirt bag will be picked up by the local law and she will get her gat back, post haste.
Side note here. Several articles in the last days about satellite installation and installers being shoddy, careless and, apparently, dangerous. I bought the equipment at Circuit City several years ago and installed it myself. No problems then or since with reception or workmanship.
]]>@loueloui: 7-inch mustache!
]]>I caught one of my maintenance men on webcam stealing xbox 360 games and putting the cases back. After me arguing with my land lord 3 times about them coming in while I'm not there. Got him arrested and now they have a notice not to come in. I wouldn't trust a contractor either.
]]>@unobservant: Sounds better than plan "b", which would be using cars.com.
]]>@EtoilePB: I'd like to be a fly on the wall when the cops show up at her door and arrest her for a string of armed robberies.
]]>@InfiniTrent: The burly man is licensed, bonded, and insured, and he provides you with a copy of his ID upon entry. He will also help you buy a car and/or various electronics. He may even pretend to be the older brother living with you when you go out on a blind date.
Sucks that this niche needs to be filled, but what can you do... besides having a backup gun.
]]>@lessemm:
Safe and secure? Are you advocating locking it up? What good does that do when someone breaks into your house? Ask them to hold on why you go open your safe to get your firearm?
]]>Here is some decent advise about what to do before/if your gun is stolen:
Not to place any blame on this poor woman, but I hope anyone reading this story will take it as a reminder to store your firearms in a safe and secure manner.
]]>Every body now..
10 Dollars in quarters,
9 millimeter,
8 hours of labor?
Someone else wanna pick this up?
]]>Someone should start a business where they have burly men come to old ladies' houses and follow contractors around while they do stuff. That would be awesome. Just sayin'.
]]>