Hello everyone, i've basically been taking chocolate from tesco at the self checkout over the past few months (paying for most) but taking a few on the side...I have an eating disorder which I am getting help for but this is just a manifestation of that :/

Anyway I was stopped by security today, and they found I had not paid for £20 worth of chocolate but had bought everything else.

The police were not involved, but Ive been banned from the shop and security took my club card details and said they would be sending me a fine in the next 4-6 weeks, which if i did not pay i would be taken to court with. I am happy to pay this fine I just really don't want this to turn into anything more!!!

I asked if I could pay there and then but they said no...i feel they will see from my clubcard details i have shopped there a lot and assume I have been doing this along time because of this factor and now I am terrified the police will come after me!

Can anyone please advise me on what is likely to happen!! will this all just go away after the fine....im soooo nervous!!!

many thanks!

Well it wont be a fie, only a court can hand down a fine. It will be a demand from a private company that has no interest in anything but will try and scare you into paying them noney for nothing-the store doesnt get this back.

The person dealing with this has made an assumption of previous guilt of the same offence, you know whether this is the case but they dont. It was not their place to do so either, they could have asked you if this was the first time you had misused the self check facility and then based their actions on your response but they didnt. This also means that the police wont be getting involved, it was dealt with by the store and they ave missed their chance to take the matter further should they now change their mind.

What to expect? A demand for £140 from a company called RLP, a misnomer as they dotn prevent anything , they just send bills to people whiose names have been passed to them regardless of any loss or lack of one and thus without any reason for you to pay them. They will claim that the money is to pay for security costs but this isnt true, they will say that it pays compensation for recovery of other losses caused by you and other people they have on their naughty list. This is again an imaginary claim, they have no authority to make such decisions on innocence or guilt and for the bulk of people whose names get passed on the goods are recovered in saleable condition so no loss actually caused by this event.

in short, they rely on your guilty feelings to get you to pay them to make this go away. It wont change anything whether you pay them or not so our advice is to learn your lesson from this, keep away from the store and dont waset your time and money with RLP, it wont make any difference to anything you are feeling and wont change the store's position

Thank you for your quick response!!! I explained to the security guard about my eating disorder and that it is only ever food i want.....it gets worse with stress and its been a horrible week (im a paramedic).

I had the money to pay and i could not explain why i didn't!

Now im terrified they will look at my club card and look at the cctv and maybe want the police to persue it!

The manager said i was not a normal case and he'd only give me a 3 month ban (i wont be returning) but can he change his mind and review the situation?

Also do you by any chance know how long the fine take to come roughly? or if i can change the address it comes to? ...i just feel sick about all of this!!

He said 4 to 6 weeks in a tesco confidential envolpe but Ive heard otherwise on these sites and now im worried

Its not a fine, you do not pay it and you do not need to worry about it. if the police were not involved that is the end of the matter, put any letter you receive from them asking for money straight in the bin.

Police won't get involved for £20 of chocolate. Especially when the company have already dealt with you and washed their hands of the matter.

Police won't get involved for £20 of chocolate. Especially when the company have already dealt with you and washed their hands of the matter.

Will club transactions be looked at?

Can staff do that?

Might do. But very doubtful. they prob wanted the card so they could block it. After all, they banned you, so they would want to remove any rewards gained.

Like i said. Its over and done with now.

Might do. But very doubtful. they prob wanted the card so they could block it. After all, they banned you, so they would want to remove any rewards gained.

 

Like i said. Its over and done with now.

Thank you guys !!! Really appreciate the lack of judgement and support!I really hope you're all right!!

Is there anyway I cam re direct the RLP to my other address of I email them?

Is there anyway I cam re direct the RLP to my other address of I email them?

Please don't contact them. This is new to you, but it isn't to us. RLP are not part of the law enforcement system, they can't do anything to you.

HB

Hi and welcome from me.

You should be aware that RLP no longer act for Tesco (unless they have a dual contract). DWF have been acting for Tesco recently but the advice is still the same.

If you want them to send their begging letters to a different address, you will have to contact them. If you decide to do this please head any letter/email with:

"I acknowledge no sum to you nor to any company you claim to represent."

This tells them that you will not bend over for them.

After that, ignore them. Tesco can scan your clucard details as much as they like. It won't prove anything.

You won't be taken to court. Nobody has since 2012 when a retailer tried it on in court and lost-badly.

As you are already getting help, I feel you should mention this to them as you may need a bit more help than you are getting at the moment.

You must stop as well. You could end up in court on a criminal charge and that will damage your job prospects and it makes us look silly.

Thank you so much for making me feel better!!!.

...I'm an idiot for doing it in the first place and putting my career on the line but we all do silly things!!

I was just terrified of the police suddenly knocking on my door! I

l just deal with the DWF now hopefully!

Thank you for your advice!!

The police wont become involved. You can take a big breath of relief now. But you NEED to make sure you dont do it again. As well as a possible criminal record, you will be jeopardising your career.

Just follow advice already given DWF have no power to demand anything ignore them.

I just wanted to say I also suffer from an eating disorder and have run into similar (well, much worse) trouble because of this, and I sympathise completely. You were cleary not acting rationally when you did this. I know how terrifying being caught is. Please try to be gentle with yourself and not worry, it will all be fine. & yes do make sure you get some extra support for your ED if you can. xx