My mother-in-law and I went to do some shopping to b&q on 21/12/2018. Since my mother-in-law was very old she was unable to carry either trolley or buggy.

I was using Buggy to carry my shopping. During shopping I left the jacket in the buggy on top of the stuff since it is hot in the store. After couple of hours, my 2 month old baby started crying and I was in a rush to leave the store since I need to feed her. So I bought the items on top of the buggy which were £80.00, however I completely forgot about the stuff under the buggy.

As soon as we passed the checkout security and the staff came running and stopped us. Until they pointed out we haven’t realized that there is still some stuff left with us which were not paid. I said sorry and I was in a rush to go home to feed my baby. Then they replied they were watching us from the CCTV and speculated that I deliberately was covering the stuff with my jacket and they said I was trying to cover up the theft using my baby.

The total cost of the items which are not paid are £103.00. It was nightmare as my baby was crying and I need to wait until the police arrived. Once the police arrived, after long discussions they made me sign community resolution considering it as the lowest level offence. I signed at the end because I am on VISA and got scared when they said if I don’t sign they will arrest me.

Now the CRS are back of me sending letters to pay £230.00 or else they will send me court notice and then I will be end paying for the magistrate fees as well. They gave me up to 25/01/2019 to pay the cost for the damages.

The store kept the items with them which are in good condition and not at all opened.

I was worried what’s gonna happen to me if I don't pay the CRS. Are they gonna send me a court notice which will affect my VISA.

Any help will be really appreciated.

I have also attached the pdf of the letter sent by CRS

Many Thanks in Advance.

CRS.pdf

Hi and welcome to CAG. I have to go out shortly so this answer will have to do for now.

Completely ignore CRS. They have no power to do anything. Others will explain better than me for now.

civil claim so wont be criminal so I don't know where you got magitrates from?

read it carefully

theres nothing at all they can do to you, says may if but etc everywhere.

browse a few threads in this very forum about the likes of RLP and DWF.

you'll soon get the idea.

bottom line is as above just ignore everything.

and money you might be tempted to pay wont be seen by B&Q anyway

just go straight into either CRS's pocket for drinks later free on your

or

be used to fund their scary letters to other people they try and mug.

and this cant ever hurt your VISA either.

forget it happened

get on with your baby.

far more important than these fleecing muppets.

dx

As above - completely ignore CRS - they will make all kinds of threats but it is extremely unlikely that it will go any further than threats. It is not a criminal matter at all, so they would have to sue in the civil court which would cost far more than they could hope to recover - and even if it did go that far they would need to prove that you deliberately intended to steal rather than this being a genuine mistake. Of course the CR order relies on an admission of guilt in order to be issued, but as above this remains a civil matter and will not involve the police any further

The CR order remains a private agreement between you and B&Q - the police have no powers to enforce it. The CR is not a criminal conviction so would not go on a criminal record although it might be stored as 'local information'.

Hi again,

I agree with my esteemed colleagues regarding CRS. They are the minnows in the very small field of civil recovery companies. The two biggest are RLP and DWF and the advice for all of them is to ignore,

CRS can do nothing to you-ever. ONLY B&Q can but they don't bother because it would cost them more than they could recover from a shoplifter.

I have been reading around DBS checks and from the answers I have seen, Community Resolutions are not stored on the Police National Computer but as Sidewinder stated, they will keep it as Local Information. Whether or not this is included in an Enhanced DBS check is up to the Chief Constable of the local force. I have found nothing regarding shoplifter/police action/Visa issues.

If it is disclosed when renewing a visa or getting leave to remain, it would be best to be honest, remorseful and understanding of the issues surrounding this incident.

You may not like what I say here but I have to say that 'forgetting' over £100 of stuff, I do find that hard to believe I'm afraid. IF it truly was an accident, I apologise but if you are trying to minimise your actions, you must accept this to be able to move on.

Thank you for your suggestions. Apologies for the delayed response. I was busy with my baby taking her to the hospital for the last 2 days. After reading your replies and going through other forums and threads I got better understanding and confidence. I am bit relieved now.

I will keep you guys updated.