Pickering woman says pickpockets are allegedly targeting seniors at Value Village

A cherished weekly mother-daughter date turned into a distressing and costly ordeal for a Pickering woman, who is calling on Value Village to do more to protect its customers.

Stephanie Stavros and her mother meet every week to spend time together and catch up, and thrifting is their favourite inexpensive activity. With Value Village offering a 30 per cent discount for seniors on Tuesdays, “it became a routine and just a reason to see each other on Tuesdays,” she told CityNews.

“[My mother] is 74, she’s retired, and we just want to hang out and go do something … it makes a pretty fun outing with some good deals,” she said.

“I’m a designer. I love finding little unique finds at the thrift store. I love finding old records, and we have such a great time.”

All that changed on November 3, when Stavros says her phone was stolen out of her coat pocket at a Value Village in Ajax.

“My mom, right now she’s walking with a cane. So I usually take her arm in a parking lot. I got a text message from my sister. I looked at it, and then I wanted to take my mom’s arm. So I put my phone in my pocket, took my mom’s arm, and walked into the store,” she said.

“Within five minutes of being in the store, all of a sudden I looked around and where’s my cell phone? My cell phone’s gone.”

Stavros went to inform an employee and soon found out she wasn’t the only one missing something valuable.

“This older woman comes up to me and she’s in tears, and she’s like, ‘I lost my phone as well.’ Another lady comes up at the same time and says, ‘my wallet’s gone.’ And so we’re thinking, this can’t be a coincidence,” she said.

They alerted the manager and Stavros says her reaction was both surprising and disappointing.

“Unfortunately, although the manager was very kind, [she was] in a way apathetic, because this is normal for Tuesdays, her answer to us was, ‘it’s a Tuesday.'”

When Stavros asked the manager to check the security cameras, she was told there are “blackout zones” all over the store that the cameras did not cover.

“So she said ‘I’ve been asking for additional cameras for additional security,’ and she’s not received it … every single Tuesday she sees seniors losing their belongings,” said Stavros.

“For it to be something that’s kind of a chronic issue in one location with the most vulnerable people feels neglectful by the company to not address.”

When she posted about her experience on Instagram, Stavros says she was inundated with responses from other Value Village shoppers telling her they had the same experience at that location and others across Ontario.

“What I heard from the people in my community online is that I’m absolutely not alone. And that made it more of an issue. People in Ancaster said, ‘oh, that happened to me.’ People in Oakville said ‘that happened to me.’ I had two friends that in the last month, their moms had lost her cell phones at Value Village,” she said.

“When I called the police, they were unaware this was an issue and they did mention, ‘you know what, maybe we need to come in here on Tuesdays.”

Durham Regional Police confirmed with CityNews that Stavros’ complaint was only one of two they had received regarding theft of a cell phone at the Ajax Value Village, with the other one occurring in May. There were no thefts reported in 2023, “however, in 2022, there were multiple incidents of cell phone/other item thefts (pickpockets) from that Value Village location,” they said.

“I don’t know why they haven’t been in the loop … I also find that surprising as a corporation, why aren’t they being involved with the local crime prevention? Why aren’t they notifying the police that, ‘Hey, I know there’s a lot going on in the world right now, but we do have an ongoing issue.'”

Value Village told CityNews they are not aware of a trend specific to senior discount days at their stores, but are saddened to hear of the incidents and working to learn more about them.

“Our stores are equipped with a variety of safety and security measures, including surveillance systems, staff protocols and regular reviews to adapt to evolving circumstances. In cases of theft or safety concerns, we follow strict procedures that involve escalating incidents internally and working directly with local law enforcement to enhance our approach as needed,” they said in a statement.

“We encourage anyone affected to report incidents to our store managers and local law enforcement. Customer safety is our top priority, and we remain committed to maintaining a welcoming shopping experience for everyone.”

Stavros agrees that responsibility for the issue does not lie solely with Value Village.

“You can’t fix the crime rates, that’s not up to Valley Village to fix … “[but when the manager] said ‘well, it’s Tuesday,’ I thought, where are the warning signs? What is put into place to protect the people in the store right now if you know there’s a known issue while at the same time inviting the most vulnerable demographic into the store. What are you putting in place to protect these people?” she said.

“I understand that it’s not great for the image for a store to say, ‘Hey, be careful it’s not safe in here.’ But we’re talking about seniors here. And we’re not selling luxury items. We’re selling used goods that are given to Value Village from the community. Their entire business model is about community collaboration. So to not protect the most vulnerable, I feel, is criminal.”

She added that she feels bad for the employees working at the Ajax Value Village as well.

“These employees are witnessing the seniors come in and are heartbroken when they’re losing their belongings. A cell phone is not an easy thing to afford for a senior … they’re not [at Value Village] for fun. A lot of people are there because [they’re struggling]. Inflation’s at the highest it’s been in 30 years, and our seniors are being hit the hardest. It’s really sad because [thrifting]is not a choice for a lot of people,” she said.

Stavros says she lost more than just her cell phone that day as the weekly thrifting trips with her mother will now likely be a thing of the past.

“I don’t think we’re going to be going back anytime soon,” she said.

“We simply don’t feel safe being there anymore.”