Have you ever been falsely accused of anything?

[Kaytie]

Yes, of stealing several hundred dollars from my boss's key-locked safe. Not just me, the entire department. Management questioned us, owners questioned us, they had an investigator look into each of our finances and question us...Only our department, because who else would know about the cash?

Turns out, the night IT guy. No access to our part of the office at night. He set off the alarm called his supervisor, got the code to turn it off, and crawled through the ceiling to get into the locked office. One prosecuted, one demoted. No apology to any of the innocent.

 

[wenrob]

The one that has always bugged me.
When I was a Sophomore in high school my Honors English class spent a class period in the library working on research. My BFF and I were sitting on the floor near the resources we were using. At the end of class, we got up and headed to meet back up with our class/teacher. Our teacher accused us of cutting class since he "hadn't seen us since we arrived at the library". He assigned us Saturday school as a punishment for skipping class. Our parents were furious and went to the Dean of Discipline who despite that we had notes from our research that day decided to side with the lunatic teacher and enforce the Saturday school. Our parents supported us in not attending Saturday school and further supported us in the two day suspension for that transgression.

My friend from high school and I are friends to this day, she too remembers this episode and we have since discussed. We think it had to do with the teacher being a bit of a predator and we resisted his advances. This was in 1981 and inappropriate teachers were not uncommon in the high school setting.

Around that time period, our HS history teacher married a student the year after she graduated. It was a joking thing for kids, but to look back now.....

Definitely prevalent in the 80's. We had one coach get a girl pregnant and marry her. The other gym teacher constantly preyed on the girls in his classes. If you were brave enough to set him straight (I did) he would mostly leave you alone but he had many, many victims. We ALL told out parents about this guy but they blew us off. He was a teacher, we were "misunderstanding" him. It wasn't until something like 2007-2008 that he was arrested and put in prison. He's still rotting there now. This is one of the reasons my hackles go up when there's threads about a problem at school and one of the first responses is always, "well kids lie."

Augh, yes I have.

I worked as a maid at a "up-and-coming" hotel at the time. The hotel was going under huge renovations since a new company bought it and we had several higher ups coming in to oversee everything etc. And trust me, the whole place needed a makeover.

Anyway, I was put in charge of cleaning their rooms and one of the ladies claimed that I had taken a pair earrings. It all went down south from there. The whole thing was a mess. Giving her position in the company I was pretty much fired on the spot. They didn't even ask me about what happened, simply told me what I had supposedly done, and that I was now unemployed and that they were handing the matter over to the police.

Needless to say, I told them that they could kiss my rear end after that.

The hotel ended up going under the next year.

BTW: I received exactly one phone call from the police stating that they would follow up. Never heard from them again.

Maids, always the scapegoat eh? I feel you. We were fortunate that our supervisors backed us. It was so common for people to accuse us they pretty much just rolled their eyes. I'm glad you told them where to put it.

Ready for some disfunction?

My step son sent my hubby a nasty text on the day his my hubby's dad died. So, in protection of my hubby, I deleted it as he didn't need to see that crap. Long story short, I am the liar and he never sent the text. Back history, the step son is very angry and has sent nasty texts many times in the past so it was nothing new and not surprising expect he picked a day when my hubby was vulnerable.

Always, always keep a record. Years ago my SIL sent me a series of vile, nasty emails and messages. We didn't speak for years but periodically she'd go looking for a fight and send me another. I saved every single one. We have since made peace and while not friends by any stretch we get along alright. I still have them though. Back 'em up like I do all my other documents.

 

[NCDisneyMom]

My first "real" job was at a movie theatre. Since I was only 16 when I started there, I was naive and didn't realize how unethical the manager was, in some of the things she did. Her little kids would sit in the box office with us. She would take money out of the till to go buy her kids shoes or diapers.

One night, after getting home from work, she calls and accuses me of stealing from the safe. Needless to say, I did not steal anything. I was so upset on the phone that my Mom took the phone from me to ask all the right questions. My Mom quit for me, right there on the spot (again, she knew what she was doing, and there was no way I was going to go back).

I did have to go back to collect my last check and turn in my uniform, and had grown quite a backbone in those few days. I stood up to the manager and assured her that she had absolutely no evidence on me, and how do we know that SHE didn't take the money since she was always taking money for her kids? She had no answer, and I left with nothing else ever being said or done about it.

The real justice occurred about a month later. I immediately got another job at another store in the same shopping center, as a cashier. The "front end manager" was just a college kid, himself, so I told him about what had happened. Lo and behold, on one of my first days solo on a register, she comes in and gets in a longer line (purposely avoiding me). Mr. "front end manager" knows who she is, so says to her "Ma'am, there's a shorter line right here". She refuses to come over, and he said "She's super fast and will get you out of here in a jiffy!". The look on her face was PRICELESS!!!

 

[tvguy]

Yup. I had no photographer available and there was a 3 alarm fire a few blocks from the station so I borrowed a photographer's camera and went over to get video. I left a note on it letting him know I used it.
Next day, I get called in and told I might be fired because I had damaged the camera. It was a $40,000 camera, and in those days they had tubes not chips in them. One of the $3,000 tubes had a burn in it.
A burn happens when you point a tube camera at a very bright light, such as the sun, for a long time. The repair guy estimated the camera had been point at the sun for at least a couple of hours. He went to my boss and asked how it was possible that I had done that damage since I used the camera for less than an hour.....at 2 A.M. Repair guy pointed out that photographer had a hatchback car with a huge back window, and that the photographer had probably forgotten to turn off the camera and put the lens cap on and left it in the car in the sun while he was inside the building. That photographer never apologized.

 

[low-key]

when Im accused I pretty much did it, but still such a relief to know thats all they got

 

[cruiser21]

I've been falsely accused of being a lot things by people on these boards. Does that count?

 

[mamacatnv]

when Im accused I pretty much did it, but still such a relief to know thats all they got

I've been falsely accused of being a lot things by people on these boards. Does that count?

 

[Kellykins1218]

Indirectly. I had asked the manager at Payless, who had been there for several years and waited on me many times, to get a pair of shoes down from top stock for me to try on. When I was done, I was able to put them on a shelf in that size. A few weeks later I stopped in again & as I was looking around the manager came over and and said "After you left last time I couldn't find those shoes anywhere." I told her that I put them away and she said "I looked everywhere and they were gone." She just kept staring at me. It totally floored me. She didn't come right out and say it but there was no doubt that she was accusing me AND she stayed at the end of the aisle watching me the whole time. I was ticked! If I was ever dumb enough to risk going to jail, it wouldn't be for a pair of friggen $19.99 Payless specials. I went home and called corporate which got me an apology and a very nice gift card.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Once I was falsely accused of having a good fashion sense, but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

 

[Annadesu]

There's countless incidents of my mother accusing me of things when I was younger... We would be here all day. So I'll skip those. lol

Two bigger ones that come to mind:

1) When I was in school, we were told to read a short story and then go to the teacher's desk for a worksheet about it. I went up, and she told me to go read the story again because "You can't be done yet, my best reader isn't done yet!". I read it AGAIN, and then went back up, and was still denied. At this point, I just took the sheet and told her "I'm not reading it a third time because you're in a bad mood". I was sent to the principal, who attempted to FORCE me to admit I hadn't read the sheet. I stood my ground. They threatened me with loss of playtime, detention, etc. I told them to bite me. My mother was called. She came over, got my side of the story, and told them "I know she reads good because I taught her how to do it, not you morons" and took me home. There was some sort of phone call, meeting, etc. after that which I was not invited to, but they eventually dropped it and it was never mentioned again.

2) My first job was at a Wendy's, for two weeks. 1 week in I was accused of stealing money. I told them I hadn't. She said "nobody here would steal, and you're new' to which I replied "Maybe someone's stealing because they know you'll blame the new person?" I got fired. LOL I then proceeded to work at Taco Bell for 3.5 years and was an assistant manager there. So yeah.

 

[design_mom]

Two times come to mind.

One time, in high school, I was sick (strep throat involving a trip to the doctor) on the day of a group project presentation. I honestly did most of the work for the project, but wasn’t there to present. After I was back, I went to the teacher and asked when I could make up the presentation. He accused me of not doing the work and skipping school to avoid the presentation. I was shocked because I was a very conscientious student (and I had a doctor's note, too). I firmly believe he knew I didn’t cheat. He just liked to throw his weight/authority around. He kept hounding me, and suggesting that he ought to give me a zero for the whole project. I finally said “If you'd like to accuse me of cheating, let's go down to the principal's office. You can make it official." At that point, he backed off. I still can’t believe I said that to a teacher, but he was being awful and simply denying it wasn't working.

Another time, also in high school, a friend’s parents suddenly started being very cold to me. I didn’t understand why. I'd thought they liked me. I later found out that my friend’s parents had smelled smoke in her car. My friend told them I had smoked in it, when really SHE had smoked in her own car. I’ve never smoked a day in my life.

 

[wenrob]

I just remembered one. I sold Tupperware and the way it worked was Tupperware billed you for the product. It was advised that you deposit your customers cash into your checking and write a check to Tupperware. So collect money for orders, deposit and then write a check to Tupperware. The exceptions were checks and credit cards. Those could be applied directly to the order. However, many people still dropped off cash, back then it took longer for deposits to go through and people didn't want to be out of the funds. If you could not make it into the office by noon Saturday you could just drop your order through the mail slot so that's what I did. I get a call Monday morning saying I never dropped my order off. We go back and forth a bit and I drive down there.

The conversation went something like this:

"You did NOT turn in your order."
"I did, dropped it right on the pile with the others."
"The order was NEVER turned in."
"It was, did you go through the junk mail?"
"We did NOT receive a CHECK from you. You did NOT place an order."
"What are you trying to say?"
*Raised eyebrow and pointed look*

Essentially she was accusing me of running with my customers cash. I was beyond furious. Fortunately the only other check was from my grandmother so it only cost me about $15 to cancel the checks. I picked up that order at the end of the week and then told them to kiss my, well, you know.

I never did find out what happened to that order. My guess is someone was looking for cash and when they didn't find it just tossed it. BTW if you're ever considering selling Tupperware it is NOT your business no matter what they tell you. Probably one of the worst experiences of my life.

 

[cruiser21]

I find people on this board are nice as long as you agree with them. Polite discourse does not exist in the Disboard world.

 

[earfulofmagic]

The one time that stands out in my memory was this. Not because it was the worst, but because it was so absurd.

In senior year of college, there were maybe 11 or 12 classmates in my department and on some Thursday nights we would all get together, go up to one of the bars up the hill, and drink and talk about our theses. It was more of a cocktail hour than anything, because AFAIK the most anyone ever had was three beers over as many hours.

So one night we're at this bar for maybe 1.5-2 hrs, and some of us are going to head back down the hill and get back to work. I have had exactly one weak ginger drop cocktail. My debit card (my only source of money -- didn't have a credit card or carry cash back then) was with my tab. I went to settle up but the bartender who had started my tab had gone off shift (and home) and the current bartender INSISTED that if the previous bartender had my card to start a tab, then he would never have taken it away from the bar.

She not-so-subtly accused me of being drunk and trying to stiff them. !!! Over a $5 cocktail !!! She just would not accept that maybe he slipped the card into his jeans and forgot, and she wouldn't call him either. (It was only 11 then, and he had just left to go home.) After some uncomfortable words where I maintained my stance that I absolutely gave this guy my card, she takes my number and says she will call tomorrow when he comes back on his next shift (this was my suggestion, not hers) and I just leave. Mind you, I am sober, worried, and slightly panicking because my debit card had been stolen the year before.

Next day at 1 PM: I get a call during class, and after class lets out I check the voicemail. Sure enough, guess where my card was?! My boyfriend drives me up the hill between classes. Both bartenders are there. Dude bartender who took my card home doesn't even acknowledge my existence or what happened. The female bartender is still being rude with me like it's my fault that they lost my goddamn card. I get my card, pay for this stupid cocktail and tip, and never return.

The false accusation of being 1) drunk 2) dishonest and trying to squirm my way out of a $5 bar tab and 3) somehow inconveniencing *them* just pissed me off. That bar (and its attached restaurant) were known for being rude and just generally having bad service, but I had never experienced more than standoffish bartenders until then.

 

[wenrob]

The one time that stands out in my memory was this. Not because it was the worst, but because it was so absurd.

In senior year of college, there were maybe 11 or 12 classmates in my department and on some Thursday nights we would all get together, go up to one of the bars up the hill, and drink and talk about our theses. It was more of a cocktail hour than anything, because AFAIK the most anyone ever had was three beers over as many hours.

So one night we're at this bar for maybe 1.5-2 hrs, and some of us are going to head back down the hill and get back to work. I have had exactly one weak ginger drop cocktail. My debit card (my only source of money -- didn't have a credit card or carry cash back then) was with my tab. I went to settle up but the bartender who had started my tab had gone off shift (and home) and the current bartender INSISTED that if the previous bartender had my card to start a tab, then he would never have taken it away from the bar.

She not-so-subtly accused me of being drunk and trying to stiff them. !!! Over a $5 cocktail !!! She just would not accept that maybe he slipped the card into his jeans and forgot, and she wouldn't call him either. (It was only 11 then, and he had just left to go home.) After some uncomfortable words where I maintained my stance that I absolutely gave this guy my card, she takes my number and says she will call tomorrow when he comes back on his next shift (this was my suggestion, not hers) and I just leave. Mind you, I am sober, worried, and slightly panicking because my debit card had been stolen the year before.

Next day at 1 PM: I get a call during class, and after class lets out I check the voicemail. Sure enough, guess where my card was?! My boyfriend drives me up the hill between classes. Both bartenders are there. Dude bartender who took my card home doesn't even acknowledge my existence or what happened. The female bartender is still being rude with me like it's my fault that they lost my goddamn card. I get my card, pay for this stupid cocktail and tip, and never return.

The false accusation of being 1) drunk 2) dishonest and trying to squirm my way out of a $5 bar tab and 3) somehow inconveniencing *them* just pissed me off. That bar (and its attached restaurant) were known for being rude and just generally having bad service, but I had never experienced more than standoffish bartenders until then.

Why did you tip? I'm a generous tipper but I wouldn't have tipped after being accused of being a thief and a liar.

 

[Nickunited]

Once tried to break up a bar fight - one guy came at me - i defended and he called the cops- i got arrested and accused of assault

Had to go through court and everything before it was proven he had no case - sadly....to this day, i have to answer YES if asked about arrests

 

[lovin'fl]

One I just thought of was about 12 years ago when DS was about 8. We had some activities that spanned well through our regular dinner time. So I had he and his 6 year old twin sisters sit at table right after school to do homework. The plan was for me to make and give them dinner while they did homework since we'd be out until bedtime pretty much. Wanted to get everything done before leaving.

DS was very rigid and structure loving kid and he didn't take deviations well. Typically he came home from school and had a snack and free time for a bit before doing homework. So he started to insist on snack and refused to do homework. I refused his snack as I was hoping to be about to give him dinner.

He began a meltdown. I grabbed his arm and whispered sternly in his ear to knock it off and get started on his homework. He got up and ran out the door and down the street in hysterics. I calmly got my keys and shoes and planned to go pick him up in car. We lived in a neighborhood where houses were spread out on large 1-3 acre lots with long driveways. As he was running, a neighbor pulled up beside him and asked if everything was okay. He proceeded to tell her "no, my mom is beating me". That neighbor happened to be a Dean at a fancy private school and she believed him and went immediately to another neighbor to ask if they should call police.

Luckily that other neighbor was a close enough friend to know me, and DS, well enough to know it wasn't true and reassured her. I, meanwhile, got DS and took him inside...he continued his antics and didn't get homework done before we left nor did I have time to make dinner. Other neighbor later told me what he had said to Dean neighbor. Boy, did that kid give me some gray hairs.

 

[BrianL]

I was in sixth grade, and the big, scary nun accused me of cheating during a test when I asked for a pencil from a friend who sat next to me. She wouldn't listen to our denials, collected both of our papers, and made us retake the test later in the day, sitting far apart from each other. We both got 100%.
Take that, Sister Josephine!

Nuns are scary! In 1st grade I had been sent by the teacher to drop off something or other at the office. The school had very recently instituted hall passes, something we hadn't had before. The teacher never gave me one nor mentioned it at all. At any rate, Sister Grace stops me in the hall and asks for the pass. When I didn't have it she proceeded to yell at me for what felt like a long time. I mean, just berating a 6 year old for probably about 10 minutes, and I was freaking out! Then she takes me back to the teacher who was wondering what took me so long. The Sister tells her that she caught me sneaking in the halls. The teacher was like, "I know. I sent him." And that was it. The Sister walked out without a word.

I never got in any real trouble about it, but it's still upsetting to me. Fortunately for us, the nun was only around for that school year and then went to a different school. We did run afoul of her a couple of years later at an Christmas event that brought all of the elementary schools in the Diocese together. She yelled at us for something or other then too, but it was a large group of kids and I didn't feel singled out.

 

[E&Cmom]

When I was in my 20s I was going to work for a night shift and this over zealous jerk of transit security accused me of not paying my metro (subway) fare and ducking under the turnstill. I am short but this was ridiculous! Of course no one else was around at the time. Her was arguing that he had seen me do it which never happened. Luckily, his partner noticed I had my transit pass in my hand. Jerk didn't even really apologize.

 

[earfulofmagic]

Why did you tip? I'm a generous tipper but I wouldn't have tipped after being accused of being a thief and a liar.

I wouldn't tip now either. At the time, though, I was perhaps eager to show I was honestly not trying to get out of paying. When they returned my card, instead of just leaving, I asked "Can I pay my tab now?" and was a little surprised they didn't offer to waive it for all the trouble. I've always tipped no matter what, too, so that was probably part of it.

Now I would have no problem speaking to a manager, not that a manger in that particular place would've cared