Anonymous wrote:Why shouldn't you pay for it? Or, why should your company have to pay for it? You were careless with it.

Totally this. Cant believe you had to come here and get justification. Which you arent going to get. Should never have been left in your vehicle.

Yes. Leaving valuables in plain sight was your mistake. You aren't in Kansas anymore Dorothy.

will you car insurance cover it?

Yes, standard policy in our workplace. You are responsible for securing and protecting the laptop if you bring it home. The property pass also says that you cannot leave work equipment visible inside a car and that it must be secured out of sight.

I'm sorry, but it was negligent and careless of you to leave it visible on a car seat in an urban area.

I was made to take an NIH online course (I don't work at nih) that stated that if I'm planning on leaving my laptop in the car unattended, it has to be placed in the trunk before leaving home/work and can't be placed in trunk upon my arrival to a non-home non-work location. So, that's even more strict... But, truly, I think you are responsible since you left it visible. It's pretty much common sense to secure valuables in your car. Would you ever leave your handbag visible?

If my DH and I want to go out to dinner, I seriously try to drive the damn thing home. I am so paranoid of this happening to me.

They might have insurance. They likely already depreciated the expense. If anything, I'd pay the unamortized cost only.

Who leaves valuables in clear sight? Yes, it would reasonable either you pay or your insurance.

That really sucks, OP. That said, why the hell would you leave it sitting in your car? I don't live in DC anymore, in fact a pretty rural area, and I STILL don't leave things in sight. Trunk or it goes with me - and even then I make sure it's in the trunk before I arrive at my destination because criminals will watch.

Why shouldn't you pay for it? Or, why should your company have to pay for it? You were careless with it.

My company required me to sign something when I was given a laptop that said if I left it in the car it would be secured in the trunk or out of sight.

That really sucks though

Yes. You shouldn't leave valuables out in your car.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It sucks, but it is fair/reasonable.

+1

Yes. It sucks, but it is fair/reasonable.

My car was broken into in downtown DC and my work laptop was stolen. The laptop was worth about $1k. When I told my boss, she asked if the laptop was visible from the outside (it was in a case, but the case was visible). She thinks it's my fault and is making me pay for the replacement. This was surprising to me. Does this seem fair/reasonable in this situation?