In the post below is a set of FAQ's sent by RLP to one alleged shoplifter and in my opinion it is full of misleading information. I have tried to respond in a factual way but if I am wrong, I would hope to be picked up on it. The post below could not have been made without the excellent assistance of Stu007. While it is my strong belief the above is factual, I am not legally trained however to go further, here are two opinion from Richard B Mawrey QC on behalf of RLP http://www.lossprevention.co.uk/pdf/RLP~opinion.pdf http://www.lossprevention.co.uk/pdf/Richard%20Mawrey%20QC%20Advice%202.pdf and also the claim from Citizens Advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/corporate/uncivil-recovery.pdf and the rebuttal from RLP http://www.lossprevention.co.uk/pdf/CAB%20Referral.pdf In the following links are threads related to the judgement mentioned above. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?356933-Oxford-Retail-Loss-Prevention-A-Retailer&p=3898857&viewfull=1#post3898857 This is the short judgement. If you feel like trawling through 150 pages, here is the full judgement on this thread. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?369114-Trial-transcript-A-Retailer-v-Ms-B-and-Ms-K-Oxford-County-Court-9-May-2012&p=4017030&viewfull=1#post4017030

Hi everyone My daughter who is 18 had a moment of stupidity in January and decided it would be ok to shoplift a mascara from Boots. She was accosted by the security guy on leaving the store, taken back inside, her details were taken was given the option of them either calling the police or agreeing to be contacted by RLP - she was terrified out of her wits as she suffers from acute anxiety problems, and agreed to the RLP route. The guard copied her student ID details and took her phone number and our address. They asked her to empty her bag which she did immediately and returned the mascara which was worth about £10. Since then she received three letters from RLP that I have already seen as standard on this group (and I am most grateful for all the advice I have already seen on here about similar incidents) I have told her not to reply. They first demanded £155.49 as a "contribution" towards Boots' losses - which as far as I can see do not exist. They also managed to spell her name completely wrongly although since they had her student ID photocopied I don't understand how! She has now received a 4th letter attached offering her a settlement of £108.84 - again, I have told her not to respond. Is this one of the letters you have already seen for something like this? Thanks very much for all your help.

Hello , I have read many different stories on here and so far , Ive learnt that I have to ignore them . What happened was I took something only worth £3 out of stupidity as I clearly can afford it. I got taken to the small room, I'm only 16 and didn't have ID with me so they made me write my name , date of birth and address down and checked if it was the same as what one of my siblings gave in. The police weren't called and they took my picture to stick up on their .."wall of fame " which I thought was stupid as I already wasn't feeling well and it seemed as if they were making a joke out of it . Anyway , they then gave me the RLP letter and let us go . I have already learnt to ignore their letters because I honestly think £100+ is too much to pay for something only £3 . What I am worried about is that will the letters come through with my name or my parents as I am only 16? They also asked for my phone number as well . I will just ignore all of their letters , but I am worried that they won't give up sending letters , and if they say that they will redirect the issue back to their client , does this mean they will contact boots and let them know about me not paying ? Surely boots will then have the right to get the police involved ? Also can I rest assured about this not getting noted down in any criminal records of mine ? Therefore I don't have to tick any boxes if I apply for jobs and get asked for my record ? Please help , not that I am worried sick as I'm not . But I still am anxious about the issue getting the polive involved for something so minor . It's also my first and last time shoplifting ... Thanks

I was caught shoplifting £27 worth of goods from a superdrug store. It was a moment of madness. EXTREMELY out of character and I'm deeply ashamed. I gave the goods back to the store and it was my first offence. The police were called and they did an identity check but that's it. I was handed a civil recovery form and told I am going to get a fine from RLP in the next few weeks. After reading various threads they all say to ignore the letters. As I am moving out of the address I gave in a few months is this still a wise thing to do? I'm tempted to just pay it and get it out the way even though I'm a full time uni student and will struggle to afford the amount. I'm extremely scared, if I ignore the letters will I get taken to court or will it affect my credit rating? Also am I on a database that employers can check? I'm graduating in a few months and this has scared me a lot. I want to be 100% sure I can ignore the letters as I am moving out in a few months. Please will someone give me some advice? Thank you

Hi, first-time poster. Firstly I was caught shoplifting at Tesco, unsure why I did it and I’m embarrassed. They have the goods and I was issued a £90 fine from the police at the time to which I have paid. Ive received about 6 letters from Jackie and RLP each time asking for money, filled with nonsensical legal jargon to which I have ignored. This has now been passed onto BPO who are apparently a debt agency (letter attached) who are requesting payment within 7 days. Ive read about people not sending a letter and people sending one to get these off my back, I just want to know the best course of action now as i do not want people turning up at my door etc. many thanks

Hi Everyone, Today I got caught taking an item for under £10 from Primark. ( I know what I did was wrong and have been beating myself up about it, do not have a criminal record and have never done anything like that before ). When I got to the exit, I was stopped and taken into a back room with male and female security guards. I said I was sorry and could pay for the item then but they would not let me, they asked me to write my name, address and date of birth on a sheet, which I did. I could not remember the last 2 letters of my postcode (probably from nerves) and told them I couldn't but the rest of the details were correct. They asked for proof of address which I didn't have. They searched all my other bags and asked me to check the clothes pockets I was wearing. They asked me to give them a phone number of someone who could confirm my address, I gave a friends number which the male called outside of the room, he came back and said my friend could not remember my exact address but remembered the road. None of us could get mobile signal in the room, as I tried to get my online banking up to prove my address and couldn't. The male threatened to call the police a number of times but they were not called. I was given a RLP headed letter saying I would receive a fine. Then escorted out. from reading past posts on similar things, I know I shouldn't pay these people. They definitely have no power? Just ignore and say that one liner I have read about? When should I send that after the first letter? I am in a line of work which requires enhanced CRB checks so this would be SO bad for me if anything would show up. Regards, Misery

I'm 25 from the UK. Just before Christmas I got really drunk and went out to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Whilst out, I decided to try my hand at shoplifting in Debenhams. I was caught. The police were called, but they took me home instead of to the police station (which was fortunate) after I told them that I live in supported living (kinda like a care home dealio) due to my Autism. They took me home and confirmed my story and said I will need to come for an interview. Long story short: the police cancelled the interview & dropped the charges after I signed up for an alcohol help/counselling service (I have a long, long history of doing idiotic things while drunk). I've been going to that every week since then. I think it also helped that this was my first time shoplifting (or being charged with anything) Now, almost a month later, I receive a letter from "RLP - The Civil Recovery Specialists since 1998" saying that Debenhams are threatening me with a civil lawsuit for my heinous crimes against humanity. I was instantly suspicious of this letter, however, as I haven't actually been charged or cautioned for anything yet, and the letter did say the shoplifting was 'alleged' -- so how can they threaten me with legal action for a crime that is only alleged? How can they take me to court if I've not been charged with any crime? Would this actually go to court if I ignored the letters? What should my response be? Thanks guys

Hello, I am not here to apologize for what I did, I already have and I am really ashamed. I am not from the UK, I was just visiting when this shameful action took place(By the way I am 20). You already know the whole story and I have read thousands of posts myself reassuring that the only thing I have to do is ignore them. The amount I was accused of shoplifting was rougly 20 pounds(the total receipt amount was more the 70 pounds), while the amount I am asked to pay is 130 (same old story). I am just here to make 100000000% sure that I won't be facing any consequences for not paying the amount. ANY, that means entering the country again, prosecution, courts, criminal record etc. No police involved, just a policeman standing by at the door. Typical procedure, copy of my driving licence, they theoretically took a photo of me and asked to write down name, address, postal code etc. Please don't judge, definitely the biggest mistake in my life. I am sorry for repeating the same thoughts as anyone has after receiving this letter. I am very willing to pay the amount if that means that they will be over with me but from what I have read they might be not. Sorry for my English. Please somebody just assure me once again that I won't be facing any legal matters apart from receiving a bunch of letters. Thank you in advance guys, I really appreciate your contribution.

I was taken to a room for questioning, upon leaving a departmental store, for allegations of shoplifting. I had picked up several cosmetic tester samples from the stands, as often (for products apart from foundations), the staff do not give you free samples and it is difficult to get an accuracy of colour matching in lighting outside the store. I wish to emphasise that these were all tester products - they had been used already/ were not brand new. Some were also smaller than the standard product size. So it wouldn't be fair to equate them to the price of a brand new, full-size product, nor the theft of an actual product. Though, I do feel it was not the right course of action. Nevertheless, I was given an exclusion order from the store. When I was questioned, I was asked to put out all the Make-Up testers I had picked up, and I co-operated fully in returning these. Given they were for high-end brands, the total was estimated at around £200 (in any case, given they were opened, non-full size testers, this estimation is inaccurate in itself); I was told by the Store's Security Officers that this would affect the charge RLP would ask for. However, in the letter RLP wrote to me, they contradict the store staff - RLP are saying that due to all items being recovered, the £197 I owe is purely for the "substantial amount of time...in observing, apprehending, interviewing you..". I believe this is quite an extortionate amount in light of the circumstances, and the fact I was fully compliant. Moreover, when I was questioned by the Store staff, they asked for my University address (assuring no correspondence would be sent there), as well as home address. They may have confused University with University residence, but they did not make this clear. Eitherway, RLP addressed their charge letter to my University, who had to open it before redirecting it to me. This is infringing on my privacy, and I am now also concerned if this could affect my employability? I didn't receive any Police Order (it is a civil matter), but could future employers see this on an DBS (CRB) check or elsewhere? Does paying the fee clear my name from any databases? Should I dispute this case, or ask for a reduced settlement? Any advice would be much appreciated. This is really worrying me, and making it hard to focus on my work.

Hey, so im gonna try and not bore you all with unnecessary detail basicly i was caught shoplifting yesterday at tescos, it was not a mistake i knew i was doing it and i accept my wrong doings. They treated me fine and took down my details, i gave them back the products (a shampoo and conditioner) that total cost came to £8 something (which i was not asked to pay as i returned the products), i was not treated badly or wrong by them. I was informed that i would be getting a letter from the RLPicon with a fine of between £70-150 and i am banned from tesco for 3 months. I am 17 and live of benefits and have very little money, basicly over the last year i have been diagnosed with complex post traumatic stress disorder and have spent between 5-6 months in an inpatient unit due to me being highly suicidal and a self harmer (please do not express negative opinions towards this), the last incident was 2 months ago when i had to be treated from an overdose at my local hospital, now i am not making excuses or trying to say its not my fault as i knew what i was doing but at times i get a overwhelming erge to be reckless or self sabotaging acts one of which was this shoplifting. I am wondering when i get this fine and can not pay it where do i stand and what is the best thing for me to do? I can not tell anyone around me this is happened down to shame and anxiety.

I took £19 worth of products from boots, I have no idea why I didn't even need the items or particularly really want them but I took them. a security guard caught me and took me to a room with 3 other men. I had took the label of the products which they found and I gave them the two products back and apologized. They asked for my name, D.O.B, address and took a picture of me on a mobile phone? They gave me a letter 'notice of intended civil recovery' and banned me from the store. They did not contact the police and said they wouldn't and said they cannot tell anyone about it like my family (I'm 18). When will I get this letter? They told me I have 21 days to pay them and if I don't the price will go up. Thanks for any help and advice.

This is my first time posting so I apologise if I get something wrong or miss something out. I was working at Wilkinsons about a year ago and I was overpayed £120 in holiday pay before I left, I did not know at the time. A few months passed and I received a letter from wilkinsons asking for the amount. I rang them and explained that I had no money and was trying to get my benefits so I could actually have some money and would then be able to pay them once this was sorted. In september I managed to get my benefits and paid them what I was able to, which was £30 and would pay some more when I got my next benefit. They said that was fine and assured me that my details would not be passed on to a third party collection agency. My next benefit was sanctioned and I have been fighting with the DWP to get my JSA so I could clear this. Today I received a letter from RLP claiming they were acting on behalf of wilkos and I owe them a total £395. I have no idea where they have plucked this number from... Is it possible to just pay the original amount in full to the company to who the debt was originally owed? I want nothing to do with RLP and this is sending me sick with worry. Please any help would be greatly appreciated

I stole about £230 worth of stock from boots and was caught , taken to room in store , ID -pic taken etc and cctv burnt to disk, and then police called, ultimately leading to me being cautioned after saying I accept that it was me ( never been in trouble with the police before ) After about a week i received a letter from the dreaded RLP and were asking for £196.00 . What Im trying to deliberate is whether to just ignore it and see what happens or to pay . If it were a smaller amount of items stolen by me I would probably leave it but as it was a larger amount it may make for an easier case should I end up in court . Your recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Hi guy / gals, Was going to ask a Question about RLP but have done my research on here and seem to have received my answer. However, I will post for everyone's research. My step Daughter foolishly got caught shop lifting in Tesco's, she was skint and did not ask her mother for money. She has 4 kids, blah blah blah. She has paid her £80 fixed penalty to the Criminal Law system. So RLP and Tesco can charge for a security guards time, but the Police do not charge the step Daughter for their time and effort? Laughable really..... I am posting her letter and will keep the group informed of any further correspondence after sending "JACKIE" a one liner.... Cheers CAG. [ATTACH=CONFIG]49157[/ATTACH]

Hi all, I got into a bit of a scrape with Primark (don't laugh) yesterday (23rd October 2014) when I tried to shoplift a couple of shirts that came up to the cost of £26. I was escorted down to a detention room where I was spoken to and my provisional driving licence was photocopied and after a few words I was given a piece of paper stating what the costs of my anticipated 'fine' from this notorious company called RLP will cover. They saw other shirts that I had purchased from another branch along with the receipt which came to the total of £42.90, but that didn't stop them from telling me to expect a 'fine'. I was told that I should be getting this letter in three weeks. I've been doing a frantic amount of research between yesterday and today and from what I've gathered, they have no legal right to scare me into paying anything and all they make is empty threats. However I'm afraid that they may actually contact Primark again and I was told that I would be taken to court if I don't pay up to this RLP company, not to mention they have me on CCTV. However the goods were recovered before I left the store and they were in perfectly resaleable condition. The police weren't called and I wasn't made to sign anything. No additional details like a telephone number or my parents' contact details or anything were taken and I was allowed to go afterwards. I'm anxious they may also turn up unexpectedly to my house when I'm not there, and I do not want my family to know under any circumstances. I was told by a sympathetic security staff member that if I don't pay this fine immigration officers and border control across the EU will be notified and I will be stopped in airports regarding this, and that this will last for 5 years. I know I'm very much in the wrong and I did something stupid but I seriously don't have the money to spare and I don't want to go to court and risk a criminal record. In addition, in principle alone I believe like many others on here it is wrong to extort money from someone by playing on guilt, particularly as it seems I'm going to pay £137.50 for items that came up to £26 that were recovered in a perfectly resaleable condition, which of course the store will make money from anyway regardless of whether I pay the fine or not. Not to mention it would supposedly be 'covering the costs of past shoplifters'. As my parents are forever adamant on taking and opening my mail and get mad if I get a hold of it I have sent off my application for the Mail Collect service Royal Mail runs, so I can collect my mail from the sorting office without running the risk of them seeing it and getting myself into 100x more **** than I'm already in. I also wanted to know if this would show up on any kind of CRB/enhanced CRB check and do retailers regularly check RLP's so-called 'dishonesty register' when someone applies for a job? If so, how long would I be on there for? I'm 18 and I've never had one despite frantic applying. I definitely don't need this as a further setback. Do I ignore the letter when it comes or do I reply? And if so, how? I'm afraid to leave it but I also don't want to be out of pocket because of greedy capitalism on the part of RLP as I believe there is no basis to do so as the goods were recovered, the police weren't called and RLP is a private company with no legitimate connections to the criminal justice system. This was completely out of character for me and I definitely won't be doing it again. I'd lose my friends if they knew as well which is why I'm here looking for advice on what to do when the letter from RLP comes. I just want this over and done with. Please help!!! Thank you xx

First of all, and as most people say, I'm really embarassed of what happened but for me has been a lesson that I will never forget. The 25th of september me and a friend of mine were in the Primark of Oxford Street and we decuded to steal a few number of items because everybody told us that was really easy. When we were about to exit the store, two guards were waiting for us and started to shout us. We were obliged to go to a dark and close room on the ground floor, and we were there for ablut 1 hour & half. It was an awful experience. First of all, they started to say that they were going to call the police, and made us to show all of our bags. They started to intimidate and make us feel really bad. They said that we were caught because we acted very nerviously, and that we had a guard spying on us. They asked for our ID, our data and were really worried about where we were living, going to the internet to verify that our residence actually existed. That's because we are french and we are havun an exchange program here, in december we will go back to France (furthermore, they started to say that all french were thieves). In total, I stoled 40£ and my friend 55£, they had a ticket of all the clothes that we tried to steal. After that, the guards were all the time laughing and asking questions as if we had boyfriend. They said that they wanted ti date us someday. I had the worst time of my life, feeling unprotected and coherted of my freedom. They said that they were going to make us a "favour" and not to call the police, and that we were going to receive a letter in 3 weeks. Also, they said that if we decided to not pay the police would be able to knock on our door. Yesterday (18th October) I received a letter asking to pay 260£ in total (my friend and I). They say they require a respone within 21 days from the date of the letter (7th October!!!! I really don't have time to collect so much money!. I don't kow what is the best that we can do. I know the quantity is not disproportionate, but I just don't have the money. My questions are: 1) the fact that I received the letter and not my friend makes me more responsible if I ignore the correspondence? 2) are they going to take me to court if I am in another country at the time? 3) will they use my french address on my ID to continue harrassing me with letter? 4) will it affect to my possibilities to find work in uk? The letter says that probably yes 5) what is beter, ignoring or answering? Thank you in advance for reading it, I hope I can fix this problem soon...

Hi, I was in TK Maxx a few months ago and a button came off a shirt that I was looking at. I kept the button with me forgetting that I had it. On my way out the security guy stopped me and took me into another room. He said I'd done it on purpose and that I'd be banned from the store (on paper, but he said that I wasn't 'really' banned). I offered to pay for the shirt which was 15 but he said no. The guy never took my ID just asked for my name and address and banned me from the store (even though I had just spent over 100 on products), no police were involved. Now, I keep getting letters from RLP saying that I owe them 69.99 for damages and that it was criminal damage. On the letters they have spelled my first name wrong. Question - what do I do about these letters? I feel like it is completely out of order as I didn't actually do anything wrong apart from pick up a fault shirt.

I am extremely ashamed of my actions but on 23rd August 2014 I was caught stealing from Primark (Goods worth around £59). I am 21 years of age. I have never stolen anything and have never been in any trouble with the law. Yesterday I received a letter from RLP and they have asked for ‘A fixed contrition to all the losses is therefore sought in the sum of £130’. The £130 will apparently settle the claim and I have 21 days to pay. I think it is worth explaining the details of the incident: Once I walked out with the goods, a security guard stopped me and asked me to walk with him to the detention rooms downstairs. On arrival another man asked me if I had stolen the items and out of fear and regret; I told the truth about everything. Things got progressively worse. The man asked me about my ethnic background and I told him and he called a third security man into the room saying he was from the same country as me and said ‘Here’s one of your cousins’ to the man. Later another comment ‘Teach your wife a lesson’. This security man was then sent to calculate the cost of the goods. As I had other shopping with me (Matalan and Poundshop) the receipt of these goods were also looked at which was all fine. My Matalan shopping included baby clothes and Poundland shopping had baby wipes which were for my niece who was staying over at my house and the security man said to me ‘your child would be ashamed’. The security guard also had me empty the contents of my handbag which included a novel I was reading and another sarcastic remark was made ‘so beauty and brains, but you still want to steal’. A female security member (of European background) was also present who was taking my details from my provisional license and she made a comment ‘If this happened to me in your country, my hands would have been chopped off’ I am not even from the middle east so making such a remark was uncalled for. On my arrival at the detention room, there was already a girl there who only had one security member in the room with her. My point is that at one time there were probably at least 4-5 security members in the room. My letter from RLP states that I am covering the losses of Primark’s business and their security loss. Security clearly had no reason to have that many people in a small room and all they were doing is bullying, patronising, intimidating and making racial remarks at me! My questions are: Should I be paying RLP the outstand settlement of £130? (I have read many threads saying to not pay RLP a penny but I am very confused as my number one priority is to get them off my back and never have to deal with this again). If I do pay the £130, will RLP be seeking more money from me? (the letter is titles ‘Letter before claim’ so I am wondering if this will follow with another letter asking for more money). If I don’t pay, will debt collectors harass me? Will my credit history or rating be affected? Could I be summoned to court or go to jail? Do you think a visit to Citizens Advice would help? I am extremely stressed out and feel as though this is affecting my everyday life. Please help with any advice and anything I can do moving forward. The experience has left me humiliated and distressed. I would be happy to send a photo of the letter I was sent from RLP to make clearer the settlement issue. I feel like I do not fully understand it. Thanks.

On 28th July I was falsely accused of shoplifting by a very intimidating security guard at Tesco. I was marched into an office at the rear of the store and the duty manager called. I was accused of concealing a mascara under my bag in my trolley. I explained that I had place it there to stop it falling out and that I had had a long emotionally hot draining day at training and was not concentrating. They then found a birthday card and a pack of pens and some spot cream that I had also forgotten about - having paid for the rest of my shopping I offered to pay immediately and explained my lack of focus. I was told that I had already had the opportunity to pay and they had cctv to prove I had concealed the mascara. As the items were less than £10 they said that they would not involve the police. I (stupidly ?) supplied my name and address and was issued a life time ban from all stores in the UK. I received a letter from RLP saying I owe £147.50 for this "act of wrong doing". Having not read this forum at the time I replied by email stating that I would not pay as this was a genuine mistake and that I had offered to pay for the items on 2 occasions. I have now received a 2nd letter saying that I now owe £90 and that if I had paid for the items after being apprehended it would not be a deterrant to me doing this again!! 1. Should I just ignore this after stating my innocence and mistake? 2. Can I be arrested for trespass if I enter any Tesco store and petrol station ( yes I asked them this at the time! was in shock) ? Many thanks in advance - wish I had read this forum before emailing them!

Hello everyone, I have already read quite a lot of things here, and I have seen that everyone is trying to help as best as they can, and I was just amazed by that. I'd like to apologize if there are some things that you don't understand, I am french, just trying to do my best. two days ago I stole 3items from Primark in Picadilly with my boyfriend. I know how bad it is, and how I should have thought about that before doing that stupid thing. It was the first time I ever steal and same for my boyfriend. We are both 16. Even though, we bought some stuffs (3items) the security obviously got us. I have the Algerian/dutch nationality so he used to be like 'if you can't talk to me in Arabic, than I will only let your boyfriend leave'. we gave our ID, gave the items that we have stolen, they took a picture, and then he asked us our email address saying that if our parents aren't checking on it, then we're lucky because they won't know about it. No police were called, and as we were alone in England, he let us leave without a 18 year old person. Now, I have different questions: Would it be a letter? Or could it be an email as well? I know that what we've done was so so wrong, and we'll just never do it again. But the thing is, my parents just CANT know at all. I should have think about that before, right. Also I read that we don't have to pay the fine etc, but if we pay it, would they only send one letter? I know that I shouldn't pay for that, but I'd just like to think about something else, because I feel so ashamed and guilty about it even if I deserve it. Thank you to all the people trying to help me, thank you a lot..

Hi everyone I'm wondering where I stand with RLP. In Tesco myself and a friend were taken to the holding room by Tesco security for concealing items. We are both 20. We were told that only I would receive a fine as the items (adding up to around £15) were only in my bag, and not my friend's as well. However today (almost 3 weeks later) we have both received a fine letter adding up to £188.75, even though Tesco told us my friend wouldn't have one, and gave their word that she wouldn't because she was just an associate. On the day of the incident, Tesco called the police in but they decided not to prosecute us or give us a criminal record or anything on our CRB/DBS because we have never done it before, and we are not wanted by the police for anything else. Tesco decided that we couldn't pay for the items on the day and that I would instead receive a fine from RLP. Does anyone have a similar experience or can they tell me if the police can be involved again seeing as they've already been called? Has this gone from a criminal to a civil issue now or is there still the possibility of being arrested for this incident or having a mark on my CRB? Thanks in advance Edit: I confessed to concealing the items as we had been seen on CCTV and my friend confessed to knowing I had done it/being an associate. There is no breakdown on the letter for what the £188.75 fine is for, i.e. security time, damaged goods, etc.

Last week on Thursday me and a friend went to Primark. She asked me to get a sticker off another shoe which was 14 pound I got it off the shoe and passed it to her. She took the sticker of the shoes that where 20 pound and stuck the sticker ontop of the shoe and paid for them. When we was on the way out a women in no uniform and no badge came up to my friend grabbed her and dragged her a side. She had a terrible attitude and told her to put her phone away and told her to come with her. The security guard who was in uniform asked me if I wanted to come with her so I followed. We were told to wait in a room in primark for around a hour while the women who dragged my friend by the arm was calling us fat and names to someone outside the room. My friend asked her what was happening as we had been waiting in the room for a long time and she told us we where being prosecuted and the police where on their way. 10 minutes to the shops closing time 2 PSCO's came in and started ripping into us calling us **** and saying I am sly because I do acting and told us we are being given a civil recovery and if we don't pay it the PSCO themselves will kick our doors down and take items out of our house at the same value and when my friend said she can't do that only bailiffs can she started getting defensive saying she can do it herself. I haven't recieved the letter about the civil recovery yet but what do I do when I get it?! When my friend went out to get a refund on her card for the 16pound for the shoes he flirted with her and then told her we are probably looking at 130pound?! I am 17 with no income!!

Hi, I've been reading a lot of threads here similar to mine so didn't know if there was any point in me posting but in the end thought it was best to because I don't know what to do. Last month I did a really stupid thing and tried to shoplift groceries from Tesco. It was nearly £200 worth. I was caught, arrested, held in a cell overnight and the next day I was cautioned. I'd never done anything like that before and I'll never do it again, I don't know what I was thinking. I just want to forget about it because I'm ashamed it ever happened but about a week afterwards I got a letter from RLP saying I owe Tesco £197.50. I don't have that kind of money so at the time I was terrified but since then I discovered CAG and after reading up on RLP I've decided to ignore the letter, and any more letters they decide to send. Only thing is, today I got an e-mail from a solicitor company called Buchanan Clark and Wells saying they've been trying to contact me and I need to speak to them urgently. They've given me a reference number to quote but I'm scared of what they're going to say. If I do phone them I'll have to do it outside as I'm 19 and still live at home so I'm trying to hide all this from my Mum and her partner. I know it's completely my own fault but Tesco banned me from the entire retail center the Tesco's store was part of as well, apparently indefinitely, which is really stressing me out as it's practically next door and it's getting harder and harder to make up excuses not to go there... and it's only been a few weeks, let alone however long the ban is for.

Hi I'm hoping someone can put my mind at rest. I was accused of shoplifting from tkmaxx a short time ago after I accidentally left the store still holding an item due to being harassed with kids and thinking of other things I had to buy whilst out and about. I was approached in the store next door buying groceries and was still holding the item in my hand with my handbag, ( I'd been holding it so long I completely forgot I had hold of it). I followed the security man back to the store of my own free will and offered to pay for the item but they refused. Once in store, I was spoken to like a piece of **** , when I in fact hold a very good good in the public sector and pay for everything I own. They called the police who were there 5 minutes and were happy to let me go without any further action whatsoever. I received a letter asking me for over £180 and giving me a chance to state my side of events. I wrote back explaining it was genuine human error and that I would have been straight back anyway as soon as I'd realised as I'm an honest person. I sent it recorded delivery too. I then got another letter stating they have a different version if events and will only accept a small reduction to £150. By this point I had found this forum and just ignored it. A few days ago I receive another letter saying I have never responded and they won't go away . Then the day after, I got another saying they will share my private data with companies which will affect my crb record etc. can they do this legally? The police were happy to leave it. Can I deny them the right to use my data in hhis way? Also, if I continue to ignore them and the DCA get involved, how does this affect my credit rating? I have an excellent credit record and don't want searches and entries from a DCA on my record as we are looking to buy a bigger home next year.?

Hi there, friend of mine is also enduring several threatening letters from RLP. Incident arose at TK Max which police attended but took no further. At that point, it was mentioned that some civil recovery would happen. Total value being chased is £50 - value of items in question on the day - less than £10 Two letters sent in reply asking for evidence on which RLP will rely and denying any contract with RLP and liability. Latest reply, RLP have provided a description of their understanding of events at TK Max and carefully word the involvement of the police that they took the civil claim into consideration. RLP are referring to an admission of guilt at the time and justifying the civil claim. In the latest letter they say their client will be entitled to issue a claim in the county court and the £50 currently claimed will jump due to fees. Read plenty on this site - how likely is it that this will go to court and what sums / fees are possible worse case. If my friend signed something - I dont know this - at the time, would this be used in a civil case at court? Also the letters seen are unpleasant, latest letter mentions tortious actions. Any advice would be appreciated. Not sure whether to advise my friend just to pay the £50 or keep going with not paying. Thanks