Woman puts $700 gifts into wrong car trunk

**Reba** · 12-19-2011, 08:44 AM

Oh no! Gifts are gone after mom of three puts $700 worth of Christmas presents in wrong car

Posted: 12/16/2011

YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) - An Ypsilanti mother of three can't blame the Grinch for stealing $700 worth of Christmas presents.

Linda Gipson gave them away accidentally by putting them into the trunk of a gray Ford Focus that looked just like hers.

It happened yesterday at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi in aisle ten outside Macy's at about 3:00 p.m. Halfway through her shopping spree, Linda dropped off some gifts.

Her key opened the trunk of the Focus that was parked in the same aisle where she parked hers. She didn't realize her mistake until she finished shopping an hour later. "I wanted to cry."

"I screamed don't tell me I put them in the wrong car." It was the second day in a row of bad luck. "I got laid off the day before, replacing the gifts won't be easy," Gipson said.

Linda is embarrassed but not too proud to plead with a Christmas angel.

"I'm hoping the other driver will have a heart and bring back the gifts." Linda knows it's possible the driver hasn't even noticed the gifts.

She's contacted Novi Police and security at Twelve Oaks. If you can help, please contact mall security because as Linda says "It's my kids' Christmas."

Oh no! Gifts are gone after mom of three puts $700 worth of Christmas presents in wrong car'

There's no way I could mix up my Jeep with another one.

rolling7 · 12-19-2011, 10:50 AM

I once stoped a fight in a parking lot over "car thief".
Here is now it played out.

A woman used her remote to open the doors and trunk of a car she thought was hers.
Along comes a second woman thinking get car was being stolen, neither women knew their plate numbers. Each thought the cat was hers. You guess it, this turn physical.
After I calm then down and got them to listen to me, they found that they both were able to open the same car from the individual remotes. I ask to borrow one and immediately started "clicking" through the lot. Sure enough, in a different row, a second car "beeped" and that was the second woman's car. Apologys all around. The code inside these remotes are reused and the odds of a person being in close approximate to two cars at once is in the millions but it can happen.

**Reba** · 12-19-2011, 11:05 AM

Scary!

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 11:09 AM

I can see how it would happen. People often mistake someone's car for their own. People have gotten into the car and tried to start without any success until they realize they are in the wrong car.

It's unfortunate about what happened.

Steel X · 12-19-2011, 11:12 AM

Didnt she even notice anything different INSIDE the car? like an unfamiliar item or some trash around the car or something?

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel X

Didnt she even notice anything different INSIDE the car? like an unfamiliar item or some trash around the car or something?

She put the gifts in the trunk.

kokonut · 12-19-2011, 11:18 AM

I've had that happened to me but it was the key to my van. This happened back in 2000 or 2001. Went shopping at a grocery store. I parked my van pretty close to the store the parking lot wasn't exactly full. I came, glanced up and saw my white van when I thought it was my van. Inserted my key into the door and unlocked it. I got in the driver seat. I was about to drive off when I noticed the front seat's content. I remember asking myself saying I don't remember that. And then looked around the back seats and saw more stuff. I was puzzled about all this. And then it dawned on me. I was in the wrong van! I got out. Locked the van. And saw my own van across the parking lot in another row. That's one of the weirdest thing that happened to me. I believe it. Those things do happen. Just that the odd would be sky high to have an exact same car with the same color parked on the same day in the same parking lot where your car key can open it and for you to not realize it's not yours. Heck, I should've won the state lottery with that kind of an odd.

**Reba** · 12-19-2011, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel X

Didnt she even notice anything different INSIDE the car? like an unfamiliar item or some trash around the car or something?

I keep a life-like "guard" rat in my trunk area. Anyone opening my hatch will be in for a surprise.

Steel X · 12-19-2011, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banjo

She put the gifts in the trunk.

I know but she should notice something different inside the car.

kokonut · 12-19-2011, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel X

I know but she should notice something different inside the car.

It's easy to say that but when you see a car that looks like yours, the same color and your key works in opening it you don't give a second thought.

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel X

I know but she should notice something different inside the car.

You can't see inside the car from the trunk. She only went back to her car to drop off the gifts. She went back to the mall after that. She didn't get inside the car at all until she was done shopping. It can happen to anyone. Nobody's perfect.

**Jiro** · 12-19-2011, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

It's easy to say that but when you see a car that looks like yours, the same color and your key works in opening it you don't give a second thought.

um... you're talking about OUTSIDE the car. He's talking about INSIDE the car.

so yes it's easy to tell something's wrong once you're inside the car.

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

It's easy to say that but when you see a car that looks like yours, the same color and your key works in opening it you don't give a second thought.

Right, and a car like Ford Focus is pretty common.

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiro

um... you're talking about OUTSIDE the car. He's talking about INSIDE the car.

so yes it's easy to tell something's wrong once you're inside the car.

Yes, but she didn't get inside the car until an hour later. By then, the car had already left.

kokonut · 12-19-2011, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banjo

Right, and a car like Ford Focus is pretty common.

Though not having a key that works on another same kind of car isn't quite that common at all when you have these events played out. Odds of that happening makes one think.

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

Though not having a key that works on another same kind of car isn't quite that common at all when you have these events played out. Odds of that happening makes one think.

I agree. Rotten luck, I guess especially after getting laid off the day before.

**Jiro** · 12-19-2011, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

Though not having a key that works on another same kind of car isn't quite that common at all when you have these events played out. Odds of that happening makes one think.

this kind of thing is old news. it's easily fixable. manufacturer will simply have to increase the probability.

**KristinaB** · 12-19-2011, 11:58 AM

I have a Mercury Sable and we found that my remote will open a Ford Focus in our neighborhood.

Luckily for me, I have such distinctive stuff in my trunk, that if I don't see that, then I know I have the wrong car. Also, before using remote, I make sure I see a specific small dent and my license plate. Yes, I know my plate number. I also know the plate number for our Expedition and Explorer. Only the Sable and the Expedition have remotes.

**Jiro** · 12-19-2011, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KristinaB

I have a Mercury Sable and we found that my remote will open a Ford Focus in our neighborhood.

Luckily for me, I have such distinctive stuff in my trunk, that if I don't see that, then I know I have the wrong car. Also, before using remote, I make sure I see a specific small dent and my license plate. Yes, I know my plate number. I also know the plate number for our Expedition and Explorer. Only the Sable and the Expedition have remotes.

not surprising. Ford owns Mercury (now discontinued). shame that Ford skimps on cost to ensure that probability is very low that one key will work with other car.

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiro

Ford owned Mercury (now discontinued)

Ah, that would explain it.

**sequoias** · 12-19-2011, 01:34 PM

Wirelessly posted (sent from a smartphone. )

Damn. That happened to me before.

I have accidently went to the wrong car and realized its not my car cuz its locked and different inside the car. Don't ya hate when that happens? I even ended up with wrong rental car at work. Some of them look the same.

Babyblue · 12-19-2011, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banjo

I can see how it would happen. People often mistake someone's car for their own. People have gotten into the car and tried to start without any success until they realize they are in the wrong car.

It's unfortunate about what happened.

I have done that before.

I put the groceries in the trunk... the keys unlocked the trunk. Then went around and unlocked the door. It was when I sat in the car when I realized it was not mine. It smelled different and I did not have air freshener hanging off my mirror. I looked around and was like OMG!! I got out of the car quickly and unloaded my groceries and went to my car. Without any incident.

**Cheetah** · 12-19-2011, 02:54 PM

How many people drive around with a remote just looking for a car it will unlock??? Scary. People used to do that with garage door openers.

Beach girl · 12-19-2011, 05:38 PM

Happened to me when I was a kid of about 12 or so. I was grocery shopping with my mom and got bored. (It was one of those major shopping trips she did every so often.) She gave me the keys and said to go back to the car and wait for her.

We had a cranberry-red station wagon at the time. I went back to the parking lot, opened the car, plopped down on the front seat, put the key in the ignition to turn on the radio. Closed my eyes for a couple seconds listening to the music; realized the car smelled funny. Opened my eyes and realized the seats looked odd (it was at night, so I hadn't noticed the seats from outside), realized I was sitting in someone else's car!

Got out of there in a hurry and looked around for ours - and found it one aisle over, facing the car I was in.

Major "oops!" I was so glad I got out of there before the right owner came along.

You would think it would be more rare these days, with the rolling codes and all that, but I can see how it might happen.

**deafskeptic** · 12-19-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banjo

I can see how it would happen. People often mistake someone's car for their own. People have gotten into the car and tried to start without any success until they realize they are in the wrong car.

It's unfortunate about what happened.

Yeah I've done that.. I got out before anyone saw me.. i was wondering why my car looked a bit different from the inside than I remembered..

whatdidyousay! · 12-19-2011, 07:43 PM

How can a car key open two difference cars?? I did not think this could happen!

**Banjo** · 12-19-2011, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatdidyousay!

How can a car key open two difference cars?? I did not think this could happen!

It can.

**KristinaB** · 12-19-2011, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatdidyousay!

How can a car key open two difference cars?? I did not think this could happen!

It's not the key. It's the remote that unlocks the doors and trunk.

However, we did have an interesting thing happen. We had a old Ford F150 (1979) and the key for that truck would work on the old Dodge Prospector truck we got. That was a little freaky to say the least.

**Jiro** · 12-19-2011, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatdidyousay!

How can a car key open two difference cars?? I did not think this could happen!

because it's impossible to make unlimited numbers of different combinations. For example - a key has 4 digits (from 0 to 9). how many different keys can you make with just 4 digits and what is the chance that your key will work in other car?

0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 2
..... so on

the answer is - 10,000 different keys.... which means 1 in 10,000... which means there is 0.01% of chance that your key would work in another car. Car manufacturer can simply increase the digit or ensure that for every 10,000 cars, it should not be shipped to same area. For example - 10,000 cars go to East Coast and other 10,000 cars will go to West Coast.

Steel X · 12-19-2011, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiro

um... you're talking about OUTSIDE the car. He's talking about INSIDE the car.

so yes it's easy to tell something's wrong once you're inside the car.

Yeah that's what I'm saying.

12-19-2011, 08:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
Reba Granny Terp Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: South Carolina Posts: 39,531	Woman puts $700 gifts into wrong car trunk Oh no! Gifts are gone after mom of three puts $700 worth of Christmas presents in wrong car Posted: 12/16/2011 YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) - An Ypsilanti mother of three can't blame the Grinch for stealing $700 worth of Christmas presents. Linda Gipson gave them away accidentally by putting them into the trunk of a gray Ford Focus that looked just like hers. It happened yesterday at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi in aisle ten outside Macy's at about 3:00 p.m. Halfway through her shopping spree, Linda dropped off some gifts. Her key opened the trunk of the Focus that was parked in the same aisle where she parked hers. She didn't realize her mistake until she finished shopping an hour later. "I wanted to cry." "I screamed don't tell me I put them in the wrong car." It was the second day in a row of bad luck. "I got laid off the day before, replacing the gifts won't be easy," Gipson said. Linda is embarrassed but not too proud to plead with a Christmas angel. "I'm hoping the other driver will have a heart and bring back the gifts." Linda knows it's possible the driver hasn't even noticed the gifts. She's contacted Novi Police and security at Twelve Oaks. If you can help, please contact mall security because as Linda says "It's my kids' Christmas." Oh no! Gifts are gone after mom of three puts $700 worth of Christmas presents in wrong car' There's no way I could mix up my Jeep with another one.

12-19-2011, 11:18 AM	#7 (permalink)
kokonut Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 15,348	I've had that happened to me but it was the key to my van. This happened back in 2000 or 2001. Went shopping at a grocery store. I parked my van pretty close to the store the parking lot wasn't exactly full. I came, glanced up and saw my white van when I thought it was my van. Inserted my key into the door and unlocked it. I got in the driver seat. I was about to drive off when I noticed the front seat's content. I remember asking myself saying I don't remember that. And then looked around the back seats and saw more stuff. I was puzzled about all this. And then it dawned on me. I was in the wrong van! I got out. Locked the van. And saw my own van across the parking lot in another row. That's one of the weirdest thing that happened to me. I believe it. Those things do happen. Just that the odd would be sky high to have an exact same car with the same color parked on the same day in the same parking lot where your car key can open it and for you to not realize it's not yours. Heck, I should've won the state lottery with that kind of an odd. Beach girl likes this. __________________ Before AD. After AD. "Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." -Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice "... turns out they are telling the truth."

12-19-2011, 11:58 AM	#18 (permalink)
KristinaB New SDIT Deacon Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Land of the backstroke Posts: 13,856	I have a Mercury Sable and we found that my remote will open a Ford Focus in our neighborhood. Luckily for me, I have such distinctive stuff in my trunk, that if I don't see that, then I know I have the wrong car. Also, before using remote, I make sure I see a specific small dent and my license plate. Yes, I know my plate number. I also know the plate number for our Expedition and Explorer. Only the Sable and the Expedition have remotes. __________________ Taking life one day at a time.

12-19-2011, 02:54 PM	#23 (permalink)
Cheetah Cheetah Consulting-Closed Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,694	How many people drive around with a remote just looking for a car it will unlock??? Scary. People used to do that with garage door openers. Babyblue likes this.

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12-19-2011, 10:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
rolling7 Banned Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 3,340	I once stoped a fight in a parking lot over "car thief". Here is now it played out. A woman used her remote to open the doors and trunk of a car she thought was hers. Along comes a second woman thinking get car was being stolen, neither women knew their plate numbers. Each thought the cat was hers. You guess it, this turn physical. After I calm then down and got them to listen to me, they found that they both were able to open the same car from the individual remotes. I ask to borrow one and immediately started "clicking" through the lot. Sure enough, in a different row, a second car "beeped" and that was the second woman's car. Apologys all around. The code inside these remotes are reused and the odds of a person being in close approximate to two cars at once is in the millions but it can happen.

12-19-2011, 11:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
Reba Granny Terp Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: South Carolina Posts: 39,531	Scary!

12-19-2011, 11:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
Banjo Expelled Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 11,650	I can see how it would happen. People often mistake someone's car for their own. People have gotten into the car and tried to start without any success until they realize they are in the wrong car. It's unfortunate about what happened.

12-19-2011, 11:12 AM	#5 (permalink)
Steel X Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Carolinas/Rochester, NY. Posts: 13,837	Didnt she even notice anything different INSIDE the car? like an unfamiliar item or some trash around the car or something?

12-19-2011, 01:34 PM	#21 (permalink)
sequoias Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Iowa, wind generation capital Posts: 21,948	Wirelessly posted (sent from a smartphone. ) Damn. That happened to me before. I have accidently went to the wrong car and realized its not my car cuz its locked and different inside the car. Don't ya hate when that happens? I even ended up with wrong rental car at work. Some of them look the same.

12-19-2011, 05:38 PM	#24 (permalink)
Beach girl Registered User Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: northern Virginia in winter; NC in summer Posts: 3,760	Happened to me when I was a kid of about 12 or so. I was grocery shopping with my mom and got bored. (It was one of those major shopping trips she did every so often.) She gave me the keys and said to go back to the car and wait for her. We had a cranberry-red station wagon at the time. I went back to the parking lot, opened the car, plopped down on the front seat, put the key in the ignition to turn on the radio. Closed my eyes for a couple seconds listening to the music; realized the car smelled funny. Opened my eyes and realized the seats looked odd (it was at night, so I hadn't noticed the seats from outside), realized I was sitting in someone else's car! Got out of there in a hurry and looked around for ours - and found it one aisle over, facing the car I was in. Major "oops!" I was so glad I got out of there before the right owner came along. You would think it would be more rare these days, with the rolling codes and all that, but I can see how it might happen.

12-19-2011, 07:43 PM	#26 (permalink)
whatdidyousay! Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 8,860	How can a car key open two difference cars?? I did not think this could happen!