Four days after a break-in at Web Source, which left businessman Lincoln Maharaj holding a $250,000 tab for stolen clothing, cosmetics and electronic items, he stuck to his promise to reimburse customers by the end of the week.
Signing the last of the cheques at his office in Trincity on Friday, the Web Source CEO commended his staff for their tireless work in contacting affected customers and ensuring invoices were prepared and ready for payment.
Maharaj said 164 cheques were prepared for distribution to affected customers.
Maharaj said, “We will be contacting the customers to come in because there is a document to sign to close this case off.”
He also said some of the items that were anonymously returned were not in pristine condition and he surmised that some persons may have attempted to dupe lawmen into believing it was part of the stolen loot.
Admitting he still had not yet viewed the footage from the night of the robbery in its entirety, Maharaj said, “I am so passionate about customers’ cargo that I feel as if they stole my cargo. I felt as if they were in my home and they violated my sanctuary.
“I feel that the customers who lost their stuff may have felt the same and even the stuff that was returned like clothing, we are going to donate it to charity.”
Maharaj said only three of the ten to 15 packages that were returned were in decent condition to be handed over to the customers.
Displaying a reluctance to do so, however, he said, “I don’t think even a customer would want something that was stolen and taken to the home of the criminal, and then...it violates everything.”
He assuring they had already increased security measures but was unable to say exactly how procedures and protocols would changed.
“It happened once, it won’t happen again. We learn very quickly as a company.”
Maharaj said they decided to reimburse all customers regardless of whether they had insurance or not.
He explained, “They chose us to be their provider. It would be unfortunate for them...they didn’t want their package to be stolen. I sure as hell didn’t want their package to be stolen and it would be unfortunate for them to lose because somebody decided to come and break in.”
A total of 150 packages containing clothing, cosmetics and electronic items, estimated to be worth TT$250,000, were stolen from Web Source on November 14.
Eight men broke into the company’s Trincity compound and cut their way into the main office and warehouse using bolt cutters and blow torches. They later stole two of the company’s vans, which they used to load and transport the stolen packages.
The two vehicles were recovered in the Laventille area hours after.
