Salon Refusing to Return Personal Items After Quitting... What Can We Do?

My GF used to work as a manager at a hair salon, but recently quit. There was a situation where $500 went missing, but the owners of the salon said they believed two other workers took it. My GF found a new salon to work at, but realized she left a $500 blow dryer behind at the old salon. When she tried to get it back, the owners told her they wouldn’t return it until she paid them the $500 that went missing. She’s never been accused of taking the money, and we have documentation proving it. Is this theft on the salon’s part? Should we go to small claims or involve the police? We’re in IN.

It sounds like it’s a civil matter with the missing money, but you should try calling the police to explain that they’re holding her personal belongings hostage over someone else’s actions. Hopefully, they can get the owner to return the blow dryer.

@Vail
Yeah, my GF has texts proving the blow dryer is hers, and the salon straight up said they’ll give it back once she pays for the missing money. She even has documents from the owner stating that two other workers took the money. It’s just ridiculous.

@Sterling
If that’s the case, your GF should definitely reach out to the police or file in small claims if needed. This sounds like a straight-up case of them holding her stuff ransom.

If she has proof of ownership (like a receipt or even the text messages you mentioned), she could try getting the police to help her retrieve her property. If that doesn’t work, small claims court might be your next step. It’s annoying, but it should work.

@Arlo
Yeah, we’ve got text messages where they admitted the blow dryer is hers and said they’d only give it back after she pays for the stolen money. We’ll look into both options. Thanks for the advice!

@Sterling
You’re welcome! Hope you can get it sorted without too much hassle.

Sounds like a small claims court issue. You could sue them for the blow dryer if they refuse to give it back.

Ash said:
Sounds like a small claims court issue. You could sue them for the blow dryer if they refuse to give it back.

Yeah, seems like it’s heading that way. Thanks!

You can file in small claims under ‘conversion,’ which is the civil term for theft. In some states, there are penalties for this kind of thing too.

Vanya said:
You can file in small claims under ‘conversion,’ which is the civil term for theft. In some states, there are penalties for this kind of thing too.

I didn’t know that! Thanks for the info. We’ll look into it.

Sounds like you should definitely file a claim in small claims court. It’s not a huge amount of money, so it might be your best bet.

Benn said:
Sounds like you should definitely file a claim in small claims court. It’s not a huge amount of money, so it might be your best bet.

Yeah, seems like the only option if they keep holding out. Thanks for the suggestion!