I agree you should make an offer in writing perhaps apologising & explaining your mitigating circumstances (I assume having to steal from pri-mark, that there must be some mitigation involved?)....but make sure to copy the letter to Primarks customer services department

someone offered me some help via PM....a trainee lawyer....is this what you mean martin?

they (RLP) are probably being 'affected' by this here little website? these orwellian visions are scary....maybe i should hang in and 'fight the cause'? ha ha.... will you all put together and back my legal funds in the fight against them keeping my daughters history/hickup on file....? ('money talks' and very loudly to me at the mo.) i could maybe put my own neck on the line , but my daughter ruth:) must stay annonimous Does the CAG have a any 'fighting fund' to provide for legal costs/fees? If not, and If you all care so much, are you willing to donate to such a fund...i'll start, and as the main beneficiary of the 'save ruths reputation' campaign, i will be willing to donate as much as ten pounds.....how does that sound..

its been approved...

That is spot on. And this is I beleive where RLP needs thier arse kicking... the idea of stopping RLP doing what they do is not viable. Curtailing the amount they charge is definately viable and IMO the best approach... The 'sliding scale' of charges they work with are ludicrous-especially when aimed at minors. They tried to charge my daughter £137 for trying to mischeivously steal a can of spray ten worth £10, and knowing full well this charge would fall on the shoulders (via a civil court) of her parents. I wrote back to RLP (see my own thread) and offered them £60 and they refused. In the meantime the same letter of offer was copied to Boots' customer care and the Boots' legal team. Then yesterday I received this letter. By email and post 16 April 2009 Dear Mr xxxxxx Acceptance of Settlement Offer I write in response to your letter dated 1 April 2009. I have, today, met with our client (Boots the Chemist) to discuss your letter and offer of £60 in full and final settlement of our client’s claim against your daughter for damages as set out in our letter of 18 February 2009. Our client is entitled to claim damages to recover the losses they have suffered as a result of your daughter’s actions. This is entirely separate from and not dependant on criminal proceedings. Our client’s claim is compensatory as set out in the breakdown in our letter of 18 February 2009. We represent our client in accordance with our agreement with them. Consumer Credit Licences are granted by the Office of Fair Trading to regulate the provision of credit given to consumers pursuant to consumer credit agreements. We are not providing credit to consumers. Our client’s claim is for compensation for losses suffered. We do not therefore by law require a Consumer Credit Licence for this activity. Notwithstanding the above and as a gesture of good will our client has instructed us to accept your offer of £60 in settlement of our client’s claim provided this is paid within 21 days of the date of this letter. Yours sincerely J Jolley Company Solicitor RLP Limited But every case is different and will be treated differently. There is no point in pretending that RLP can be closed down, or in trying to argue that they should'nt exist. But they do need to be monitored more closely by an external authority to ensure they play fair. As devils advocate I could argue to a judge that RLP are doing a great job of dettering petty criminals from shoplifting. But we all know the truth is that many people shoplift because they are poor-not because they are evil, and to cripple them with the double whammy of 'being poor and having to pay rediculously high private penalties'- that puts a bad light on the companies they (RLP) serve? If thier charges could be capped to less than £50 for any item (returned undamaged ) with a value of £50 or less, £100 and under = £100 penalty. And these charges should be halved for minors..... Just an idea for Mr Boots and Mrs Argos to think about. Fair play.

I think its obvious that 'eye in the sky' has a conscience...or he wouldn't be so helpful.... It seems this forumn is a good way of reaching anyone with anything that really matters....politicians to grass roots and everyone else in between.....great stuff...and simple proof that the interweb definately ain't all bad....I hope this RLP campaign can make a difference (at least in the context of blackening the names of the children or other innocents!) In the meantime-can someone please confirm the legal implications for RLP in that they are trading without a CC licence-do they need one or not-and would the lack of this licence at any given time make any of its trading operations 'null & void' ...ermm.....in any way.. Anyone here know about this kind of stuff..?

UPDATE RLP - they want £137.50 I just want the whole thing to goa away. So on my daughters behalf I made a (without prejudice)offer of £60.00. (My daughter was asked to sign something without being given the chance to read it and I suspect it was some kind of admission of guilt-she was not given a copy of this document) So heres the last letter I sent: April 1st 2009 RLP Limited PO Box 5413 Nottingham Dear Mr Moorhouse REF: CR Number:10-09-50-04 I am disappointed that despite replying to my first email sent to you on the 9th of March, you have not yet responded to my second email sent on the 12th of March. This email contained an offer to pay yourselves 'without prejudice' the sum of £60. This whole situation has caused me and my whole family a lot of personal stress, and yet have totally ignored this correspondence and the offer therein. Why is this? Here is a hard copy of the email: As XXXXXXs father, I act as her Legal Guardian in this matter. Without Prejudice My daughter (16) and her friend were recently accused of attempting to steal a can of spray tan at your store in The Arndale Center, Manchester. The Police were involved and they decided that no further action was to be taken and thus, officially, the matter was at and end. We have, however, taken parental disciplinary measures. A few days later we received a demand from yourselves (RLP Ltd), on behalf of Boots, in the sum of £137.50. If we fail to pay this not inconsiderable amount, RLP have threatened civil action against my daughter - a minor. The tone and manner of this letter is extremely frightening and menacing. I believe the amount you are claiming to be excessive. And your latest communication highlights the fact that this amount could increase greatly if your demands are not met. Your whole approach in this matter reaks of extortion. I am in the construction industry and as the recession starts to bite my workload is evaporating along with my familys meagre budget. As such, we can hardly afford to meet any additional costs, but to avoid the stress of civil proceedings against our daughter (for a schoolgirl prank gone wrong!) I am now offering to pay Boots via yourselves £60. It is worth noting that this is £60 more than we can afford to pay you. Can you please confirm if this is acceptable. At the same time, can you please also confirm the following: (a) What percentage of these costs go to your clients? (b) Are you legally allowed to extort money from parents in this way without a consumer credit licence? Yours sincerely Mr XXXXX (On behalf of Miss XXXXXX) cc: Boots Customer Care PO Box 5300 Nottingham NG90 1AA Alliance Boots PLC Legal WF20, 1 Thane Road West, Nottingham NG90 1BS Here is RLPs nice response which I received today:(see attached pdf) RLP 3.pdf

Well I can certainly understand the idea of it being a punishment for extreme bad behaviour....but for missing registration (not late for class) too many times? I wonder just how many children up and down the land are having thier hearts broke cos they struggle to rise early: Peg Dawson is a psychologist on the staff of Seacoast Mental Health Center in Portsmouth, NH, and is a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists and the immediate past president of the International School Psychology Association. “Counseling 101” is provided by the National Association of School Psychologists (www.nasponline.org). Heres an extract from that document: adolescents begin to experience a sleep-phase delay in their biological clock (i.e., circadian rhythms) and develop a natural tendency to fall asleep later in the evening and wake up later in the morning. Even adolescents who are sleep deprived tend to feel alert in the evening, making it more difficult for them to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Sleep is triggered by the release of melatonin, a natural body hormone. Toward dawn, melatonin shuts off as the hormone cortisol increases, signaling the individual to wake up. The pattern and timing of melatonin secretion makes it hard for adolescents to fall asleep and wake up at the times necessary to get enough restful sleep. Schools with start times before 8:30 a.m. place students at a disadvantage in terms of arousal and alertness, not only for early morning classes but also throughout the day because adolescents’ biological rhythms are out of sync with typical school routines. Disturbances and Disorders In addition to “normal” sleep deprivation, sleep disorders can have serious consequences for children and adolescents. Although some sleep disturbances are mild, fairly common, and relatively easy to treat, others may be more stubborn or an indication of potential physical problems that could have long-term consequences if left untreated. Among adolescents, the most common sleep disorder is delayed sleep-phase syndrome, which affects an estimated 7% of the adolescent population. It can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can mimic the typical sleep patterns of adolescents. The person’s sleep, or circadian, rhythm is interrupted, making it difficult to fall asleep at a reasonable hour (sleep onset may be delayed until 2:00 to 4:00 a.m.) and wake up in the morning. Treatment may include light therapy (exposure to bright light in the morning), chronotherapy (gradually advancing the adolescent’s sleep schedule one hour per night until a normal routine is achieved), a consistent sleep schedule, and a short-course of sedative medication to help achieve a new schedule. It some cases, it may be necessary to adjust an adolescent’s school day to a later start. Not rocket science is it?

but its managed to annoy me quiet a lot...: put simply my A* student daughter has been told she can't attend her end of school prom because she was late more than the allowed amount of times... she came home in hysterics.....and was told this today on the friday she is about to break up....which means no recourse for two weeks..... this looming debacle will just put a bitter end to an otherwise happy and fruitfull secondry school time...... i cant help but wonder if this is some sort of 'beadles about april fools' wind up.... i mean is'nt ' 'the prom' now regarded as a marker/highpoint of your memoirs.....along with all the other familiar highlights....like marraige....or your 18th birthday? what kind of mental scar are they trying to give my daughter for missing registration too many times? I have proud end of school prom photo's of my two other daughters.... I have a set of pictures 2/3rds full now.....celebrating my offsprings end of basic scholarship....i guess i may as well scribble 'late again' over my last daughters blank caption....(XXXXXX) thanks for listening....that feels much better..

Who are you trying to fool mr shanty.....is he smiling:erm no....is he glaring menacingly at the camera....oh yes indeed. My comments about this image were an aside to my post....Only a fool would consider them to be a reason for helping with a campaign. Before you come on here ****ing me off- i suggest you read into all of the RLP posts and find out what all the fuss is about (XXXXX)

I think you will find that all the letters sent to minors by RLP are addressed to the minors themselves....including the one that i opened! god only knows how many parents up and down the land can't understand why thier children are suddenly trying to raise money (via ebay...odd jobs...shoplifting )

gee there is a scary analogy of witness's being afraid of being 'affected' by the villaneous if they dare to 'grass'... this whole RLP scenario is maybe the beginning of something much more powerful (we'll save the 'dark and sinister:eek:' adjectives for mr moorhouse himself ) lets not do anything too hastily..... the narrative of our problem grows more interesting in as much as none of th OPs are willing to speak out against RLP for fear of being marked X as a reprisal?... as an aside...i wonder if they are choosy about just who they send these letters to? I mean...i just wonder if they target home owners....am i making sense here?.... Gee...i reckon if we tried hard enough....we could make a pretty good guess at exactly how they operate and what motivates them..... i would imagine it would be much easier to make a case about an enemy who's owners'/shareholders ideals we fully understand and can pull to pieces in a court? ON A MUCH DEEPER LEVEL: The end game here is a polarisation of society....and the same 'gated community' attitudes that signify failure... (sorry about the bold speech-irresistably theraputic....and erm....true?)

Anyway- now we have the daily mail readership confirmed as being firmly on board- can we focus on the job in hand....

ooh dear- i guess that was a bit rude... I have now amended my post .... erm...sorry

This is without doubt the best RLP 'story' I have come across and would certainly be the one shining example that the media and politicians should get to hear about? (Anonimously -of course)