Hello chaps, I am afraid I got myself in a situation. I will skip the emotional stuff and try to be factual. I managed to develop an online shopping addiction, which resulted in high volume of returns to the stores hence security started watching me. I was detained on exiting a TKMaxx store on allegations of a theft (worth 35 quid) and fraud for replacing price tags on 2 items. Never had incidents or a CR before. I was given a 12-months store ban and the police was called to take details but still waiting for a voluntary interview date. I was told that the theft was not too bad, but the fraud bit is more serious. I am still deliberating between admitting and denying but a solicitor said it all depends on evidence, which will only be known at the police station. However, there is an additional problem with returning the existing purchases. I still have a number of items (receipts in date) to be returned as well as a few internet orders still unopened. I usually return the orders to a store, which is free. Returning by post will cost me quite a lot but I am not prohibited from doing so. However, I am trying to work out how on earth do I get refund for items bought in stores if I am not allowed to enter the stores? My OH is refusing to get involved fearing to be seen as a co-offender and I am too embarrassed to ask friends. Any idea what can I do??? We are talking a substantial sum here, not pennies, so letting it go is not an option for me. If I change my appearance and go into a different store, will my credit card get flagged up during transactions and I will be detained, or will the till get a call from security asking to put aside all returned merchandise for later inspection? In any case, there will be a breach of a ban, and that in itself is another offence? What on earth do I do???

Hi everyone, On the 3rd of April I made a stupid mistake of attempting to shoplift for the first time from TKMAXX. I was with my 15 y/old friend and as we were walking around the shop I saw a few items that I wanted but could justify paying for. I didn't take anything out of packaging as the items I saw were already just loose and not in packaging. The My friend pulled a bar-code off an item and stuck it in my bag. I went to the till and paid for a couple of items and then as I was leaving the store a man grabbed me and told me to follow him to the back of the store. We followed him and were taken into a small room through the back of the shop. In the room there was a man who I believe to have been the security guard and the Store Manager. I was asked to remove every single item from my handbag, my jacket pockets and my shopping bags. When removing all the items I was asked for receipts, which I didn't have as I don't carry receipts with me. The security guard told us that he had watched me walk around the whole store through CCTV and remove items from packaging (which I didn't do, my friend did), testing items and putting them in my pocket. During the time held in the room I was asked for ID and my full name, address, date of birth and a contact number. This was all written down on a scrap piece of paper. (The friend I was with didn't get asked for any personal details) Whilst this was going on the Store Manager asked another staff member to go and collect that packaging that I "ripped apart". The The staff member came back and they totalled up the cost of all items being around £50. The Store Manager told me they were going to get the police but then changed their mind and said as their shift was going to end soon they couldn't be bothered waiting around and wasting anymore of their time. I was told that we would need to sign a form that confirms that we will not enter the premises again, they never brought us the form and we were allowed to leave the store. When leaving the Store Manager said that we were lucky that no further action would be taken. Now today the 13th I have just received a letter through the door from the "Retail Loss Prevention Limited" asking for a fixed contribution to all of the losses in sum of £150.00. In the letter it explains that a court proceeding is a last resort. I am wondering if I need to pay this £150 and if I don't what will happen??? Thank you!

Hey, A friend of mine went to a TKMAXX store earlier and got the label of a cheaper pair of shoes and attached it to a more expensive pair of shoes and managed to get away with it on the til and left the store. This friend of mine is now extremely paranoid and he said he would like to return the product to the shop but fears of getting prosecuted. I would like some advice to give my friend as this person is extremely distressed right now.

Hi Everyone Hi want to get some help for a close friend of mine who will I suspect follow this thread as a guest, i hope! I have posted this as result of the monthly CAG email article about civil recovery, great news btw! Anyway.... Brief synopsis: 2 years ago, TKMAxx, swapped price tags, caught, taken in a room and police called (?), they both went out of the room twice throughout the discussison, let off (we think), unsure if cautioned, could have been PCSO. Banned, they took her mobile number and debit card details [removed] and RLP have been paid something like £250!!! My friend needs to have an enhanced CRB check done for something and is obviously very worried. This was a one off incident totally not in character for them in a moment at a time of great stress. I have given my friend the chat about not being paranoid now about being followed and they have have probably forgotten about it now, etc. So, as result of this article and bunch of the threads in this section where I have this new eye opening knowledge!. Firstly, we are trying to find out from the police exactly what happened at the time and what was "archived" and what may come out on a CRB check, this will hopefully let us know if it was a PCSO and they went over the 30 mins detainment, the details if any. What can we do, if anything, about the £250 that was paid to RLP? Does anyone here have any accurate info about whether this can be charged back from her debit card (after 2 years)? Does anyone have any accurate knowledge of enhanced CRB checks and what might be on it as result of this. I know this may be difficult to comment on now as we need more info and the memory is a blur for my friend and details sketchy of what was exactly said at the time? Last thought, £250 for nothing taken, speechless!!!! Thanks Steve

Hello everyone yesterday out of stupidity and mostly boredom if i'm completely honest I attempted to shoplift a pair of £15 headphones from Tkmaxx, this is my first time ever shoplifting. Once being caught I was asked to come back into the store halfway down the street, upon entering some little room in side the shop I was searched and my bag and proof of my age, i showed him my provisional , being a bit nervous and realized how silly it was of me to do this I said to the man sorry etc and for wasting his time. Until he goes on to tell me i'm going to be getting a fine from the so called "RLP" and would have to pay 'debt' for losses , administrative costs ,investigation costs and time wasting which I believe is an absolute joke, especially after doing a bit of research these fines can be up to £190! The headphones were returned to the shop in pristine condition, i'm not bothered if they get the police involved all they will do is give me a caution for such a petty mistake. Does the RLP have any sort of legal right, or are they just preying on the vulnerable to make a profit, as I am certainly not going to pay that fine, is there any way I can get around it or send them a letter back to end this. Although this happened just yesterday I will keep everyone updated when I get the letter from the RLP Thanks for reading

My girlfriend have seen a watched and she tried it ,i take it from the box and she was puting on her hand while we are speaking about a jacket that we have seen to go and try it, we forget about that watch on her hand, they came 2 muscle retail prevent they ask me to go with them , i said that i will go and i ask them why they are using force on my girlfirned and on me not, because it not fair to take somebody with force, i was cooperate, i was telling that we wanted to go and see a jacket and we forget about the watch and we gonna pay for the watch, they didn't want to let us to pay for watch, they wanted to call the police i said to them i will leave the building, while i was taking my girlfriend by the hand they jump on me and starting to hit me and put the force on my head, hands everywhere ,i was trying to get up and i was again put down while one of rtp they put they knees on me and leg, i don't know it exactly, this was happin in the security room., they call the police and the police was showing the video ,i give my details, they take all my details. the price of watch was 14.99 pounds and they said that i am gonna pay a fine and ban from tk maxx everywhere. what do you believe that i must do ?! i don't want to have a record for my crb and police told me under act 3 or something like this they have the legal right the protect them and use force, they scream on me and i was spealing louder, i said if they have something with me let go outside and settle down but as long they live my girlfriend, because they used force and also she have a surgery on her and she is very sensitive

yesterday i get caught for stealing lenses, i have no intention of doing that, i just want to make sure that the sunglases is the genuine one,.. some of website say that the sunglases is genuine when the lenses is plastic. .but i forget to put it back where it belongs because im gonna back home and have some discuss with my brother before going back to tkmaxx to purchase the sunglases.. but i know the only matter is i get caught stealing. .i feel so ashamed because i were there with my sister. .i dont know what to do since they said rlp letter will be at my home later and i have to pay them as what state on that letter ..i dont work and dont have any income. .i cant sleep since last night wandering what has happened ..i get my lesson and wont do that again. .can you help me please?

I swapped the tags in TKMaxx yesterday (30/11). it's the first time I did something like this so don't know what happens next and would be grateful for help. . Got banned for a year from all TKMaxx stores in UK and due to a crime prevention system they operate also from all the shops in the Birmingham city centre. I was told it's the city centre only, but the leaflet seems to say otherwise, I'd appreciate if someone had the same experience and could advise, please. When asked if it means I'll have a criminal record now, the guard assured me it had nothing to do with the police and the only reason my name and address were passed to the officer already present (there were some police officers already, detaining two men) was to confirm my address as I had no such confirmation on me. Was told the store's solicitors will be in touch asking for a fine, which might be between £50 and £100 and if that's not affordable, I will need to let them know. I checked the leaflet after finding this forum, it is RLP . I wanted to pay, but not sure I should anymore? I wouldn't be able to pay it all or all in one go, so I would have to speak/write to RLP . I am very scared of another debt collector and also of possible court prosecution, don't know what I should do? I've been looking for a job for a while, RLP says they're allowed to share my record with potential employers. Does it mean I can only apply for positions open to people with criminal record? Or abroad (or maybe this doesn't make a difference as they'd check even from overseas)? I'm also scared it may count as another fraud, so would like for this mistake to be rectified. Thank you.

I put another sticker on top of a house ornament at tkmaxx then got that and a couple of other correctly priced items to the till. Assistant noticed and removed said sticker I paid correct price for all and left They did not say anything to me at all but kept the other sticker and were eyeing up their colleague Will they review cctv and I get in trouble? What could happen please help I will go to another branch and return everything later. I am quite panicking. Again I paid all as I should. Please help Help me

To briefly explain the situation, at the time of the incident I was 16 and tried to shoplift items which combined to a total of £50. I was brought to the back of the store and was detained for around 30 minutes (most of this time was spent waiting for police officers to turn up and take action). I signed a year ban agreement, and my passport that I happened to have was scanned and I gave them my general details in order to avoid being accused of a lack of cooperation Police arrived and decided to not arrest me or escort me to my house. I was escorted of the premises and was let to go with a slap on the wrist and I thought this was the end of it These events occurred on the 26th of November 2015 5 months later (yes FIVE months later) I received a letter from RLP saying I need to pay "associated security and administration costs", totalling at £149.50. I have read through the many forums but haven't seen enough to know whether or not I should pay or try and tackle the situation. What I mainly see is "ignore" or write them a one line letter If possible could somebody please write something word for word that could be sent or a step by step plan of action. What legal action could be taken against me? Can RLP sue me or take me to court? Will ignoring them actually make the problem go away? Anything would help but I don't want to risk my fine increasing as I am unemployed and my parents are not willing to pay such a substantial amount of money. Thank you very much

Like mentioned in title I was caught shoplifting at TK Maxx. Long story short. The police was called and I was taken to their small room for a search. TK got all their stuff back. The police gave me a warning and I had to sign the paper saying that I am willing to give my personal details to the store so they can send me the letter from RLP. Their job ended there. I was told by the store manager to wait for the letter from RLP and so it came a few days ago. They want me to pay 270 pounds. In general Im not from UK. I am an exchange student going back home by the end of jan. In the paper (notice given by tk maxx) only my current uk address has been written down. They also have my full name and date of birth. My question is : What may happen if I just ignore the letter. Can Tk max obtain more details regarding my persona from the police in order to take me to court? Is it possible this can chase me back to my country (personally I dont think they will want to)? If you need any extra info, just ask. Could really use some advice. Cheers

I have been taken to the police station after being arrested in Tkmaxx 3 weeks ago by the offence “fraud by false representation”. I have been realised after receiving a simple caution, saying that ‘…committed fraud in that you dishonestly made a false representation, namely swapping price labels, intending to make a gain, namely returning goods for cash, for yourself...’ On the day of the incident, after I returned my purchase and left the till, two security guards approached and asked me to go with them. I didn’t even asked why as I was one of their regular customer for a several years, knowing almost each staff and been offered few times an extra discount from the managers or the supervisors for my loyalty. I have been taken to the security room. Firstly they accused me by shoplifting and when I refused this offence, they started to talk about my previous refunds on which they accused me with false representation. I didn’t deny. I said that the returning items are all bought from Tkmaxx but as they were past the 28 day refund policy (unworn/unused items from the past season), I swapped the barcodes with the new items that I bought this season. I do not say that I am innocent as I admit that I foolishly swapped the barcodes, but I didn’t steal anything or returned any items that doesn’t belonged to Tkmaxx. After this long conversation they said they don’t believe me, that I lie and I do the refunds to make a gain. Although I repeat saying they must have the CCTV record and they are able to check it, they interrupt me by saying that they never sold such items. They also add that they need to call the police as this is a case for them. I may say that I was happy to see the police as I thought it would be an opportunity to explain myself. The surprise came out to end my hope at the moment when the police officers asked me to turn back in order to handcuff me and held in custody. I just wanted to die at the moment. 42 years old, never been arrested, didn’t even get any single traffic fine, now taken to the police station for a crime. I was extremely embarrassed, ashamed, stressed, astonished and mostly, worried about my children. At the police station, I was now hardly hearing and trying to understand what was going on when the police officer asked me if I wish to contact my embassy (as am not British) and my solicitor. I was so frightened and felt under pressure as I wasn’t sure where this story was going on and if I might ever see my children again. After I saw the duty solicitor and being interrogated by the police officers, I was free to go with a simple caution and have been warned do not go again to Tkmaxx I paid visit to my job to talk to my manager three days after being arrested and to explain openly the incident. I said I could resign and leave the company willingly if they want to. She said "no need, we know you" She was upset for me and encourage me to get legal advice to clear my name. A week later I received a letter from RLP in which they are asking me to pay £417.47 (£219.97 for the losses and £197.50 for the contribution) I visited the duty solicitor to to get legal advice, he told me to pay this amount. I was googling and trying to get more info about this issue and payed an other visit to the CAB. At CAB they told me to pay this amount in order do not be taking to the court. I called RLP to ask the breakdown and why I will be charged for such amount as Tkmaxx still kept the 3 items they I returned? (the items I returned are not even taken by the police for evidence) I told them that I will contact them later as I will get legal advice. Long story short, can you please tell me * if I really have to pay this amount? *what will happen if I do not pay? can the Debt collector bring me a bailiff? *Can Tkmaxx take me to the court for this unpaid sum? *Can I be found guilty and jailed as I already get a simple caution? thanks for reading and help...

Hi, I am in trouble. Today, i have returned two items to TKmaxx with the swapped tags. (middle age crises) Thereturned items bought from TKmax earlier, but i din't like them but miss the time for the return. Today I have noticed that the cashier took my details. I know that i went red in the face, as i cannot lie. Reading the forum, i seen that i should expect the knock on the door from police. What shall i do? shall i go the shop and admit that i did something very stupid? Please help Thank you

(Didn't know where to post this, it spans retail and legal, and CAG tutorial suggested Welcome page) I was accused by TKMaxx of retail fraud: buying two similar items and returning the lower price item for the price of the higher priced item, Although I did not deliberately do this, they say they have evidence that I did this on 8 items on 2 visits to the shop. My view is that they cannot prove it; but I have to go to court and the cost of a solicitor to represent me is about £400 which I can hardly afford and will likely be more than any fine. If I plead not guilty I can go to Crown Court and may have to pay a contribution to costs which I am informed could be around £4000. Which I definitely can't afford and I can't afford to take the risk of that. I don't qualify for legal aid. So basically I am stuck with pleading guilty to fraud, living with a criminal record, and trying to find ways of mitigating my punishment. Not what I expected of British justice and this could happen to almost anyone, easily. a few more facts. The alleged offences were 2 months ago (and 2 months before I was charged) and I can't remember some of the items nevermind how much I paid , or how much I received in refund. I think that if TKM had a strong case they would have reported it earlier and that they waited to ambush me in the shop to try to get me to admit it immediately. TKMaxx are alleging about £100 in fraud but actually, that doesn't take into account the money I paid for the lower-priced item. My actual 'gain', if there was one, will be less than £5 per item. Hardly worth committing a crime. The police have all receipts so I can't use them to check any facts or refresh my memory. I'm not sure if I should mention in court that the figures quoted are wrong by about an order of magnitude. I bought probably 200 items and returned over 100, and it could be that this volume led TKM to think I must be up to something. In fact, I had been waiting for sale time to buy stuff for me, friends and family. So making 8 ' mistakes' isn't a high proportion TXMaxx receipts (unlike comparable retailers eg Next) do not itemise individual items. They only say "Boys shoes", "Handbag" etc. and people pick the red sale stickers off the tickets so they can see the original price so the prices often fall off.. TKM say they have CCTV but I doubt that it shows how much I paid for the disputed items and how much I received in refund - ie no proof. Neither can they proove that I deliberately commited fraud - only that they suspect it on 8 occasions and therefore there is no smoke without fire. I think the CCTV is purely used an a bullying tactic because I don't dispute that I went to the shop and returned stuff, Checking on the Net, TKMaxx have been targets for refund fraud or ticket swapping since at least 2006 because of their lax processes. They have not changed these processes and closed this loophole so they are at least partly responsible for their own misfortune if people take advantage of it. OK so when I have a hundred items to return (unwanted by friends) and some don't have price tags attached, it is likely that I connected the wrong ones in some case. There may be occasions when I got a lower refund than I paid, I don't know. Sometimes I had to guess which prive went with the purchases and this is how the 'fraud' happens. I always give my correct name and address to the shop, which I wouldn't do if I knew I was commiting fraud. Also, TKMaxx have some items in bags which they say are the items I returned. I doubt they could prove that because I don't remember them being pu aside when I returned them. Someone must have dashed out of the security office and collected them, or gone through the receipts and found similar items. I doubt there is an unbroken evidence chain. Oh and I have the usual letter from RLP (see many other threads) which I will take CAG advice and ignore. Any advice welcomed and let this be a warning that it could happned to anyone who shops at TKMaxx.