Hi can some people give me advice please I’m really scared

today I went into primark and tag changed a pair of boots and my daughter out 2 things in the pram

now as I walked out security stopped me and took me to a room where the manager came in

he didn’t show me I’d, no cameras in the room, no recordings were taken, no copies of the incident report, no police was involved

they took my provisional license and photocopied it and said that I would receive a fine

I’m a single mum of 2 and worried I won’t be able to afford the fine what can I do???

Hi and welcome to CAG

First of all, stop stealing! we will help as much as we can but if you continue to steal then it makes us look like fools.

Now, don't worry about this 'fine'. It is nothing of the sort. Security staff should know this but some of them are wannabe police and think they have some power. Nah!

what you will receive is a letter from RLP full of weasly words that will make you think that this charge is valid. IT IS NOT!

Primark got the goods back so there is no loss. You will be made to believe that the charge is for security costs. It's not

All you need to do is ignore RLP totally. They can do nothing to you - ever!

What you do need to do is get help finding out why you steal in the first place. Your GP may be able to assist with that.

Relax try and keep calm.

No police involvement is a good thing, any fine that might come through the post can be IGNORED, it is legally unenforceable.

Are you under your Dr for any treatment at all?

Is this normal behaviour?

I would just like to add – as gently as possible – that even though your two-year-old daughter may have put something in the pram the fact that you changed pricetags on an item completely undermines the fact that the other items were taken by accident and innocently by your daughter.

I'm afraid that if it had gone to court then I would think the view would have been taken that you had been lying about all of the items and the magistrates would have been much tougher on you.

Clearly you had a fright and you have probably been lucky enough to escape without much consequence. However you should take heed of the advice not to do it again. Especially if you have a two-year-old daughter who is going to look up to you as being the most important and influential figure in her life. Think how shocked and desperate your daughter would feel if she grew up to discover that her mother had a record for stealing.

Its not a fine..

Ignore rlp letters

Stop stealing!!

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it literally was my first time I never done these things I won’t be doing that again

Swhat will happen if I ignore the rlp and I get debt people involved as it’s under my mums address.

I know I feel awful for doing it I won’t be doing it again

I’m just scared cause the the letter will go my mums address as that what was on my provisional

I really don’t want no debt collectors nothing near me or my mums

debt collectors are powerless and they 99% of the time never appear

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS.

Hi Loopylass.

You will find the people here are very helpful and try not to judge - we all make silly decisions at some point.

Swapping prices on items is actually seen as more serious than shoplifting, because it is actually fraud - and should it have gone to court - it would have been dealt with as such. So please, if you ever have those gremlins tempting you to do it again, don’t.

BankFodder is absolutely correct in what he says. The fact you didn’t realise your daughter put some items in the pram would have been negated by your offence. Also, and I say this with respect, it is your responsibility as to what your daughter does. If your child was to pick something up whilst shopping, all they need to do is see you on CCTV looking at your daughter just once for a second (which I’m sure you would do at some point whilst you are shopping) and that’s game set and match. So without presuming to tell you how to do your job as a parent, please keep an eye on her whilst shopping from now on, now you know she has a penchant for grabbing stuff, to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

With regards the ‘fine’ - take note of what everybody here and in the hundreds of other threads are saying. Firstly it’s not a fine. Us security and Loss Prevention staff have NO powers to issue fines. A letter will come from RLP. And like everybody else says, ignore them. They will eventually send it to a debt collector, who you can also ignore. They prey on the fear to pay up. I’ve not known a case where RLP or a debt collector have legally enforced this debt in nearly 15 years.

If your mum doesn’t open your post then I would stick to the ignore them advice everybody is giving. However if you are genuinely worried about your mum finding out I would simply send their letter back with “not at this address” written over the envelope. I don’t recommend having ANY sort of contact with RLP - but this may be the safest way to try to stop the letters from going to your mothers. Certainly don’t phone them - this will make them believe they have you on the hook.

Please take the advice from the kind members here about seeking help for why you’ve made this decision, particularly if this is becoming a regular thing - remember we aren’t judging you - and see your GP.

Take care.

LPG