Yes, most lawyers will give you a free consultation so no harm in doing so. Might want to see a couple of them just to be sure you get one who wants to really get it back and get this drama over with rather than dragging it out for years to drum up business.
If you go , make sure your well prepared with conversations you have had with both the Building owners & people involved , including the Security Guard & Law Enforcement . Try to remember what you said , their responses & a time line . Also any written correspondence .
This has been reported in the forum at least a couple times where someones drone was taken.
In one case they owner fly from his apt. balcony.. He landed on the ground 3 stories below. Went to get it and the P3 was gone.
He still had the live feed coming back to his tablet and was able to follow the person to their apartment. They refused to give it back. The owner called cops.
The cop told the people they had 24hrs to turn the P3 over to a neutral party like the building attendant or face charges. The guy got his P3 back.
Your drone has been stolen.
What is the name of this company. Maybe we can boycott them.
In one case they owner fly from his apt. balcony.. He landed on the ground 3 stories below. Went to get it and the P3 was gone.
He still had the live feed coming back to his tablet and was able to follow the person to their apartment. They refused to give it back. The owner called cops.
The cop told the people they had 24hrs to turn the P3 over to a neutral party like the building attendant or face charges. The guy got his P3 back.
Your drone has been stolen.
What is the name of this company. Maybe we can boycott them.
I would advise against naming anyone until speaking with an attorney. You may end up doing more harm than good.
UPDATE: 09/24/2016 (Demand letter sent and response received)
So I sent a 'pre-suit demand' (attached) and it worked! Took me a couple hours to research this but if anyone needs some verbiage and runs into a similar problem in FL heres a fairly good template for you!
I got a call back 30 min after sending it on Friday. They pushed for $400 and I told them not happening and that I would see them in court. They then asked for some time to think about it and called me back 10 min later offering to give it back for $250 now. Apparently they have looked at the SD footage too which is a whole nother' issue. I really don't want to pay them anything but I'm exhausted from this.
Will update soon with footage.
So I sent a 'pre-suit demand' (attached) and it worked! Took me a couple hours to research this but if anyone needs some verbiage and runs into a similar problem in FL heres a fairly good template for you!
I got a call back 30 min after sending it on Friday. They pushed for $400 and I told them not happening and that I would see them in court. They then asked for some time to think about it and called me back 10 min later offering to give it back for $250 now. Apparently they have looked at the SD footage too which is a whole nother' issue. I really don't want to pay them anything but I'm exhausted from this.Will update soon with footage.
I wouldn't pay em a **** cent, 250 bucks !
I don't know about in the USA but in Canada that's called a Ransom!
I don't know about in the USA but in Canada that's called a Ransom!
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I think a court would agree that's some variety of ransom/blackmail/extortion. If they want to recover costs to retrieve it or for the "damage" that's one thing, but they need to go through the court as well, not hold onto the property.
Cut your losses, take the $250 as settlement and get the heck out of dodge. Are you 107 or 333? If not you can't claim loss of income without exposing yourself to counters from them or someone reporting you to FAA for flying commercially (if you aren't certified yet)
They tucked tail, count your blessings and move on. Great letter, use that momentum to get back what's yours without incurring legal fees
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They tucked tail, count your blessings and move on. Great letter, use that momentum to get back what's yours without incurring legal fees
Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
While I agree to cut your losses & get your Drone back . I think the building management has causes all the trouble in this situation & I believe if not for their attitude & the fact they were , in a way , black mailing you or trying to extort money from you . They should be the ones paying you for all the trouble & hardship they have caused you .
It would have been so easy for them to just ask for some compensation to get it back & give it back to you upon payment , not to mention a man lost his job because of these Prick's .
Just not right , IMO
It would have been so easy for them to just ask for some compensation to get it back & give it back to you upon payment , not to mention a man lost his job because of these Prick's .
Just not right , IMO
I would not pay a cent to get your P3 back.
It has been in the hands of the enemy for 3 weeks now.
Given that we have some idea of what they are like with the refusal to return the P3 and the unjust firing of the guard.
I would not put it past them to have made certain that what you get back is worthless.
It has been in the hands of the enemy for 3 weeks now.
Given that we have some idea of what they are like with the refusal to return the P3 and the unjust firing of the guard.
I would not put it past them to have made certain that what you get back is worthless.
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Good point! Make sure it works before you hand over the money
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That would be hard to do since he did crash on their building. Good chance it needed repairs anyway.
I'd still press criminal charges. Show this to the officer. Again them wanting you to reimburse them is separate (civil).
Chapter 705 Section 102 - 2011 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate
705.102 Reporting lost or abandoned property.—
(1) Whenever any person finds any lost or abandoned property, such person shall report the description and location of the property to a law enforcement officer.
(4) Any person who unlawfully appropriates such lost or abandoned property to his or her own use or refuses to deliver such property when required commits theft as defined in s. 812.014, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
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Chapter 705 Section 102 - 2011 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate
705.102 Reporting lost or abandoned property.—
(1) Whenever any person finds any lost or abandoned property, such person shall report the description and location of the property to a law enforcement officer.
(4) Any person who unlawfully appropriates such lost or abandoned property to his or her own use or refuses to deliver such property when required commits theft as defined in s. 812.014, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
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Thank you for that, Steve. It inspired me to push further.. I took time to write a final response and it worked! I got the drone back today, without paying a dime. I signed the waiver and got the drone back. Will be uploading the video in a bit. Here is the final email that I sent:
Video coming soon. Thanks for all the replies!
Wow....would REEEALY like to know which company this is so I can be *certain* to never do business with them. This goes far beyond any kind of "drone rights" issue - this is about being corporate jerks who think they're untouchable. Are you? Or do you need business to stay afloat? Because they'll never get a bit of mine if I find out who they are.
