I am a 16 year old who unfortunately made the wrong decision of my life a few days ago and I need everyone's advice .

On the 31 of January 2018 I was caught sneaking two items into my bag on Wednesday that has not been paid for

I was about to leave

I was called the security and

they were shouting and being rude

told me to fill out a form which I did.

I stayed respectful and remorseful the whole process

they continued to be rude

they called my mother and took my details

BUT DID NOT INVOLVE THE POLICE

said I will receive a small fine

Reading others people stories

I know it would be a big fine

I don’t want to pay this fine as they searched my bag which they have no right to as they are not actual police and decided not to involve them

I offered to pay and they refused.

Please HELP ME.

They said I should receive a letter within 3-4 weeks of £100 point and if o refuse to pay I will have a criminal record.

I regret my wrongful actions but I can’t afford this fine but don’t want a criminal record.

PLEASE HELP ME !!

i am going the same situation but i shoplifted eyelashes and a body spray that cost less than 10 pounds and they say i will recieve a fine of 100 pounds or more. but if i ignore it they, may continue to send letters.

you will not receive a fine at all,

only courts can order fines to be made

(your post on another thread as well as this one).

You should read a lot more of the threads in this section and hopefully you will then better understand what has actually happened ,

what will actually happen and more importantly what wont happen.

You will not get a criminal record,

what you will get is a begging letter dressed up in fancy words that have no place in the justice system.

the store have made their decision on this, they are doing nothing.

The police wont become involved and the only people who get rich out of this is the company that sends out the letters.

They rely on your ignorance and feelings of guilt t get you to pay up,

they have no powers to do anything regardless of what they insinuate.

As for the security guards overreaching themselves,

it is too late to argue about that,

likewise their rudenss unless you have a witness to all of this.

It will be he said she said otherwise so best thing to do is accept you were wrong and learn that lesson but also learn about the other part of this as detailed above, namely this is the end of it as far as anyone who counts is concerned.

Get on with the rest of your life and resist temptation.

Hello there.

I've started a new thread for you.

Following your PM to me, I suggest you copy and paste the message onto this thread so that people can advise you.

HB

i am going through a similar situation made a dumb mistake of shoplifting and i got caught the let me off but took my details police were not involve. did you pay your fine and what happen after that. PLEASE HELP I AM SACRED I AM ONLY 16

Threads merged, I see you've posted up the message that you PMd me.

For what it's worth, we don't advise by PM here. As long as you keep this anonymous, it's fine to receive advice on the thread.

HB

Hi SS.

You have your own thread, it's best to ask your questions on there.

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?484659-Primark-fine-help!!

HB

they didn't use the word FINE

they didn't say you'll bet a criminal record if you don't pay RLP either..

forget you did it

bin the letters

the last bit is your are under 16

there all and bugger they can do to you anyway.

unfortunately the security guard did he physically told me he would let me go cause he took my ID but i would get a fine within 3-4 weeks

he did not use the word fine ...

thank you so much for your advice i am only young and made a stupid mistake of shoplifting which i never did before

i am sacred i will receive multiple letters after that and I dont want my parents to become stressed over my actions.

well they know already as they phoned your mum..

the letters will be addressed to you.

you simply bin them..

they will come from RLP.

dx

I swear he said " you will be issued with a fine of £100 or less" he even issued me with a letter of what is going to take place.

hello? they cannot fine you only a court - they will not go near a court, use the begging letter as paper towels in the bathroom

lesson learned?

As others pointed out, one of the most important thing to do now is to learn a lesson.

Do not do it again.

There's nothing they can do to make you pay anything, but don't do this again because next time you could be unlucky and they get the police involved.

With regards to rudeness and searching your bag, would you have preferred that the police did that?

No.

Remember that being rude is not illegal, it makes things unpleasant, but it's not illegal.

So the security guard didn't do anything wrong and should you decide to complain to Primark, your view will be that of a shoplifter.

Would you treat with courtesy someone who tried to steal from your house?

Again, learn the lesson and move on.

Hi,

Please have a read of this link

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?448994-RLP-FAQ-s.-What-do-they-mean-Reviewed-September-2015&p=4762870&viewfull=1#post4762870

This explains to the best of my knowledge what they really mean.

Primark security will always state a 'fine' where in truth it is an invoice for some security costs etc. The ONLY way that Primark can recover any costs from you is via the county courts but they would get back far less than the costs to take court action, hence they don't bother. They use a company called RLP who will send out cleverly worded letters to make you think this charge is valid when in fact it isn't.

I'm happy that your mum knows about this so you can share this thread with her. DO NOT fall for the guff spouted by RLP as it bears little relation to the facts. It goes without saying that we will help as much as we can so long as this is your one and only time of stupidity and you won't do it again.

One other thing that has occurred to me. As the poster is 16, where was the appropriate adult? This does not mean the security staff as they are not there for the benefit of the minor. I doubt very much that any CCTV of the search is available. Also, if a signature was taken, this means very little either.

loool hahaa thanks

thank you all so much

you truly made my situation better and i solemnly swear that i will ever commit a wrong full act such as shoplifting again

but i want to share the letter that they gave me when the incident took place .

read carefully (see in attachments)

thank you i have learned my lesson TRUST ME

RLP Handout.pdf

Thank you for the letter, SS.

Could I just mention gently that posting in block capitals means shouting, which maybe isn't what you meant.

HB

thank you for that upload too

we've not seen that before

I've removed the caps too for you

stay safe

thank you for that upload too

we've not seen that before

I've removed the caps too for you

 

stay safe

I have seen it before. You would think that RLP would have changed the format by now but hey, amateurs will have amateurish template letters.

The 'threat' of legal action bears no relation to the truth. No retailer has taken court action since 2012 after a case where RLP and the retailer got together, sued a couple of teenagers and lost-badly. While not a 'landmark' case, it would be persuasive if any other retailer tried it on.

Remember, all a store can claim is their actual losses, not the inflated sum claimed by RLP.

1. The store got the goods back-no loss there

2. The store security is part and parcel of the store costs which every paying customer pays at the till so- No loss there

3. If a member of store staff not related to security assisted security staff, they were diverted from their usual job, then there could be a claim for the amount of time diverted-less than one hour? Minimum wage?

4 Admin fees can only be claimed where there is reasonable grounds and they must be factual, not made up. How long would it take to print a template letter with your details on? 5 minutes tops. Divide that by the hourly wage and it adds up to not a lot.

Can you see where this is going? No real loss and the fact that it would cost Primark at least £75 to begin court action, it just ain't worth it.

ok. shouting is not my intention i am only emphasising my point. Anyway any further advice about this letter, will be much appreciated

I have seen it before. You would think that RLP would have changed the format by now but hey, amateurs will have amateurish template letters.

 

The 'threat' of legal action bears no relation to the truth. No retailer has taken court action since 2012 after a case where RLP and the retailer got together, sued a couple of teenagers and lost-badly. While not a 'landmark' case, it would be persuasive if any other retailer tried it on.

 

Remember, all a store can claim is their actual losses, not the inflated sum claimed by RLP.

 

1. The store got the goods back-no loss there

2. The store security is part and parcel of the store costs which every paying customer pays at the till so- No loss there

3. If a member of store staff not related to security assisted security staff, they were diverted from their usual job, then there could be a claim for the amount of time diverted-less than one hour? Minimum wage?

4 Admin fees can only be claimed where there is reasonable grounds and they must be factual, not made up. How long would it take to print a template letter with your details on? 5 minutes tops. Divide that by the hourly wage and it adds up to not a lot.

 

Can you see where this is going? No real loss and the fact that it would cost Primark at least £75 to begin court action, it just ain't worth it.

Thank you. for all your advice i honestly appreciate it. keep doing what you do.

the phoyostat letter you were given contains a load of scary words that dont actually apply to you because there was no loss ( for exaple if you had opened the packet of an item then they couldnt sell it so a loss would occur but that loss would be waht they paid for it not what they sell it for so law very specific).

The other scary words are just downright unture and RLP know it but they sell a story to the stores and security contractos that is very different to the truth so the people who nabbed you may well think it is true.

As already said, it is best to learn form this and ignore any letters you may get and dont feel anguished about your treatment at the store even though part of that was wrong. The people need further training but that wont happen as a result of a complaint.

It's about time I updated the facts surrounding those leaflets so:

Losses

Goods not recovered/ not fit for resale

Goods/ packaging damaged/destroyed

Cash stolen/pecuniary advantage

Fraudulent act/price swapping

Services taken without remuneration

Criminal damage.

On this section most of what they are saying is true however, none of it applies to you as they got the goods back in re-saleable condition. If the goods were damaged then all they could claim for is the cost to them of the goods, not necessarily the retail price the shopper pays as theoretically they could buy the same item at the same cost price and then up the price to make the profit on the goods.

Investigation costs

Staff and management time to observe, apprehend and detain suspects.

Investigation into the offence

Reviewing CCTV/Till data

Producing witness statements

Preparing evidence and writing reports.

The only part that could be claimed for in this section is producing witness statements but ONLY where a member of staff NOT associated with security is diverted to give a witness statement and then only the exact amount of time diverted. Imagine that a shelf filler is on £9 per hour and the witness statement takes 30 minutes. Only £4.50 could be claimed.

All other costs in this section is covered by store base costs and which are factored into the price people pay at the till.

Security costs.

CCTV system and operator time

Reproducing images for evidence

Electronic security devices

Maintenance of security devices.

All of this is based on if a company intends to take court action but as we know, no cases have been taken since 2012. CCTV, operator time is already included in the store base costs; as is reproducing images for evidence.

Security devices ( those silly tags they place on some items) are store costs, not security costs. Store security staff are employed to patrol the store, use CCTV, prevent and detect theft so these costs are factored into the store base costs.

Administrative costs

Data processing and case reviews

Mileage

Photocopy/postage/telephone calls

Legal fees and court costs.

This entire section is laughable. If RLP think they can charge you to send you letters, the reverse must also be true. If you sent them a letter, what about YOUR administrative costs?

Data processing and mileage could be claimed at the court but that lies with the judge, not the store AND only if your actions were deemed unreasonable by the judge. RLP cannot claim any legal fees or costs as they would not be party to any legal action. That is down to the store and IF they use the legal services offered by RLP.

All shoplifting cases would be in the small claims court where costs are fixed but as we know that the chance of a court case against you is zero, this is nothing to worry about.

A while ago I actually contacted Primark about there security but all they did was to pass the matter onto RLP who blustered about what they could do. I'll see if I can find the post.