One local boutique owner says her store was broken into last night, and it's the fourth time one of her locations has been broken into in just over a year.
Olenka Stepchuk owns Fashion United in area’s like Westboro and in the Byward Market.
Speaking to CFRA, Stepchuk says, thieves damaging her stores are a drain on everything she has.
“Those three break-ins cost us maybe a good thirty to fifty thousand in retail value, but I don’t get that. I get maybe a third of it, because they don’t give me my retail value.”
The businesswoman claims another added cost not taken into consideration is shipping, saying the handbags aren't cheap.
She says thieves are not just taking money but business as well, and insurance doesn’t just pick up all the costs.
“You have to remember what exactly got stolen. So you hope that you’re not making a mistake, and you know, getting all the information correct to the insurance company. And then it takes a really long time to get your money back. And for every claim your insurance goes up, up, up. So our insurance is thousands of dollars.”
This time Stepchuck says a rock was taken to a window to access cash.
But most notably, her store in Westboro last summer, pictured, saw thieves ram a truck it into the window to steal designer handbags.