It appears that there is trouble in Coupon World. For those of you who have been watching the Extreme Couponing show, you will recall that a couple of episode featured women who go dumpster diving for coupon inserts.
In case you didn’t know, coupon inserts that are not sold MUST be returned to the publishing company that makes them. This is the newspapers and publishing companies’ agreements – nationwide. It does not matter what a store employee tells you –you are not allowed to take the extra inserts that are waiting to be picked up.
You should also keep in mind that generally speaking, dumpsters are on private property and you have the same rights to protect your property interests as you would with someone trespassing/ damaging any other portion of your property. If the dumpster is on property owned by the overall store/ complex owner they have a right to protect their property.
It appears that Jamie VanSickler, 34, was not aware of this fact and she arrested for taking 185 Sunday editions of the local paper off of the curb of a Harps grocery store in Springdale Arkansas.
VanSickler released the following statement through her attorney Friday afternoon:
"While I was shopping at Harps one night, I noticed that the employees were putting out bags of old newspapers on top of and in their trash can. Assuming they were being thrown out with the trash, I asked the employees whether I could take some of the newspapers because I wanted the coupons. I was told by employees at Harps that they put out the old newspapers each Sunday at closing time, and that I was welcome to take some."
VanSicker's attorney, Alanna Fairrell said in a statement Friday that "Mrs. VanSickler is shocked and embarrassed by the whole situation, since she obtained permission from Harps prior to taking any newspapers, and she was just trying to save some money. She is also very disappointed that the newspaper went public with this story and has decided to press charges against her although she offered to pay for the newspapers she took."
Dumpsters are a dumping ground for all kinds of waste. They are unsanitary; hold rotting, stinky garbage and they attract flies, mice, rats, and other pests. Before you take a leap in your local dumpster or recycling bin, you may just want to consider whether or not it’s worth the “price” you’ll pay for those "FREE" coupons. It's just not worth it.
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