I’m asking this question at my brother’s. This is his account. My daughter should’ve graduated high school Saturday but her school refuses to give her her diploma because they are being unreasonable. This year they started a new program and “gave” her a laptop. Last week was finals. Lately, I’ve been short on money, I figured she wouldn’t need the laptop this summer, and I know that her college will be giving her one. So I sold the laptop. I hoped to get $3000 which would’ve come in handy to pay some bills, fix up my car, and have some left over. The pawnbroker told me that the laptop was only worth $200. I accepted it even though I was disappointed. When my daughter came home, she told me that the laptop actually belonged to her school and that they wanted it back by Friday. I had to wait till Thursday (payday) to get $200 but the laptop had already been sold. I went to my daughter’s school to pay the $200 but they told me that it was worth $1000. When I protested, they claimed they were doing me a favor by not filing theft charges. Today, my daughter’s crying hysterically because she didn’t get to graduate with her friends. Help. What should I do?
Tags: Brother, Pawnbroker, Theft Charges
I personally dont think they are, because anything given by a school always ends up having to be given back.
You are lucky you aren’t being charged with theft, BUT – they should still let her graduate, i mean they should let you pay it off or something.
I’m fairly certain withholding a diploma from a highschool like that is illegal.. Not letting her walk at graduation, now THAT would be in their power. You however, need mental help for pawning a laptop.
Go to the school and ask to see the contract stating that the school loaned her the computer. Any sort of agreement between a student and the educational facility should be documented in paper. If she signed an agreement with the school to return the computer at the end of the year, then I’m sorry to say that they are in the right. The best you can hope for is to create a payment plan to pay back the cost of the laptop. If no written agreement was made, then you should contact a lawyer and discuss options with them.
If this is a real story…u are horrible! Borrow some money from relatives…and you owe ur daughter a big one!
Sue the worthless people at the school. I would have no use for people that if I had a daughter, let her graduate with her class because of an honest mistake. By the way, all the schools laptops are only worth at the most $800 when they are new cause they are pieces of junk with a big battery.
Well, you should have though, what kind of school would “give” a laptop to a student?
Most schools now days are letting the kids barrow them for the year.
I think the school should let her graduate, because it isn’t her fault that you misunderstood (maybe?) and sold the laptop.
Wow, you really screwed up. No used laptop is worth 3000K, by any means. How does it feel to ***** up your daughters high school graduation? She will never forget how your ignorant decision has caused her to miss her only HS graduation. I hope you don’t plan on “helping” her with her college education, your aid is not helping.
omg why would you do such a thing?? what school “gives” laptops away? omg i cant believe you sold it, and no they are not being unreasonable, you should be charged with theft. are you sure you paid your bill or needed something eles? its disgusting you would do that to your child.
Oh boy. You are in a predicament.
You are going to have to come up with the money somehow because the school is right, they can file theft charges.
btw: You could have made more money off the computer by selling it on Craigs List or somewhere. Never go to a pawn shop. They rip you off!
Honestly, you are in the wrong for selling property that didn’t belong to you. However I don’t feel like it is fair that your daughter is having to suffer for a mistake that her mother made.
I don’t believe what I am reading- you are kidding, aren’t you?
If not – you should be in jail!
I seriously HOPE you are troll. If you arent a troll, you *are* lucky they arent filling charges, and they school has absolutely *every* right to demand payment before releasing her diploma.
Beyond that, you have no business doing anything with a pawn broker if you think a 1000$ laptop is only worth 200$.
Next time, get your drug money by selling your *own* possessions. I suggest you do sell something of *yours* to pay back the school.
The lap top computer was the school’s property. You should be so thankful that they don’t file charges! Stop your whining!
pay the money or replace the laptop
it was never yours so the school can press theft charges
i feel sorry for your daughter
I really dont know what to say but they do kinda have a right to do that. I live in SC and they wouldnt let me graduate if I didnt return library books or pay the fees(how much they were worth and late fees) for them (which was $65). There are others that also didnt get to graduate because they didnt pay for there band equipment and such things. They do have a right to do that but you really shouldve made sure they werent wanting it back before selling it. They are telling the truth when they say they are doing you a favor by not pressing charges for theft, trust me (Ive been there). I know you probably didnt know but schools are really aggravating. The only thing you really can do is talk to the school and explain the situation that you are in, thinking that it was given to your daughter and theres no way of getting it back…see if they will negotiate with you in order to let your daughter graduate. (maybe they will take less than that..maybe & hopefully) also, another thing you can do is go to the School District office if there is one for her school district and talk to them. Hmm… I really **** that happened
It is unfortunate that your daughter is being punished for your irresponsible behavior. Just because the pawn shop would only give you $200 for it does not mean that is all it was worth…how do you think pawnshops make money???? You owe the school $1,000. It is not uncommon for a student to be barred from the graduation ceremony due to outstanding debt. She will still get her diploma.
Just because you were low on money you were wrong in taking your daughters laptop and selling it for money you thought could help you out. Your daughter didn’t get to graduate,i am going to assume that she didn’t get her diploma either. I don’t blame the school one bit for the actions that they were going to take against you because look what you made your daughter miss out on.For the rest of her life this story will stay with her because it kept her from graduating with her Senior Class!
How could you possible pawn an item of your child’s like that in the first place?!? To pay of YOUR bills, and fix YOUR car?! Was it worth it??
they’re holding her accountable for your actions. you really screwed up. why would you think that was a good idea? where do you think she got the thing from in the first place? didn’t you know it was the schools? and why would you just sell the laptop and not wait until you got paid the next week?
you SHOULD tell the school it’s your fault and that your daughter needs her diploma and offer to sign a contract saying you’ll pay them back for the laptop.
wow! the school is most definately not unreasonable, you shouldn’t have stolen school prop., period!
First of all, schools never GIVE their students any of the equipment. Everyone should know that, and how could you do that to your daughter! She is probably going to **** you the rest of her life cause your bonehead mistake made her miss her ONLY high school graduation, so all summer she is going to hear her classmates talk about how great it was which is only going to make her resent you more. How are you going to live with this? Btw, NO laptop is worth 3000 dollars, especially ones from a school.
The school did not giver her a laptop, period. There is not enough funding anywhere where a high school can provide a student a laptop to keep.
As for the money issue, a pawn broker never pays the value (actually they pay well below the value) of something, if they did, they’d have no business. Pawn brokers cater to desperate people or people who want whatever they can get for an item they don’t want anymore.
Also, laptops haven’t averaged at 3000 bucks in years, but yes, they are still worth more than 200.
Added~
Just to correct another poster, they can legally withhold her diploma until the balance is paid in full to the school. All other districts and universities do the same when either equipment/books are still outstanding or money is owed.
Also, if she’s going to college next fall, the school can withhold her final transcripts from the university.
You need to apologize to your daughter. The school’s policy on this is not any different than any others.
No they aren’t unreasonable.
You have to be the dumbest person alive. What school can afford to give laptops away!? Clearly she would need to give it back. You are the biggest IDIOT of all time.
No I don’t think this is unreasonable. It’s their property. It’s like a text book. You don’t keep a text book. And I don’t blame your daughter at all for being upset with you. And of course after you use something it goes down a bit, but the school paid 1,000 for it so they want 1,000 in return because they’ll have to buy another $1,000 laptop to replace the one you foolishly sold.
Anything the school gives electronically is considered their property. You can not assume a laptop was just “given”……..that is very ignorant to think to say the least. At the same time, it was not yours to sell. That is what a job and savings is for.
Pawn shops only give 1/4 of the value. Rarely do they give half or full value. Pawn shops are suppose to hold up to 30 days, but depends on where you live and the laws.
You also can’t assume the school will accept the value you sold it as. You have to pay the difference. They have government (as government funded if in USA) retail receipts and pricing you CAN NOT protest against.
They do have a right to file theft and selling private property.
You should pay for the laptop, apologize to your daughter and leave things that is not yours, alone!
They are not being unreasonable. They are following their own policies. Some schools won’t let you graduate if you haven’t turned in your text books, others deny you graduation if you owe them money for late library books, and other petty things. While it seems unfair to the hard working student, it’s the only way the schools can keep their supplies and prevent people from stealing them. What you did was break the law, and while your daughter should not be punished for your mistake, that’s the way the school choose to handle it. I suggest you find friends, family, or whoever to borrow the money from, pay the school the money so your daughter can be “done with high school” and get on with her life.
what were you thinking?!
good job on ruining a huge moment in your daughters life; one she’ll never get back.