Vending machine theft of £10-store claims £1400.00

[Boiling cold]

Hello Can Anyone Help This Crook...i Use To Work In A Retail Store And I Got Caught From Taking Money From One Of The Vending Machines..apperntly They Fitted A Covert Camera Inside The Machine And This Is How They Found Out It Was Mei Admited To It Straight Away And Told Them What I Took Which Was Around £10 In Toatal Over About A Month Which I Was Doing It For, They Also Called The Cops, The Cops Arrested Me And Gave Me A Caution And Let Me Go On The Same Day.. The Retail Store Also Said They Were Going To Do A Civil Recovery On Me To Claim Costs, Fair Enough.... They Claim The Breaking Into The Vending Machines Has Been Going On For 3 Years, They Are Trying To Pin All Of This On To Me, I Told Them Ive Been Doing It For Around A Month And Im Sure Other People Are Taking Money Too Because The Door Of The Machine Is Left Open Sometimes And This Is How I Found Out That I Can Take Money Out, I Told Them I Dont Know Who The Actuall People Are...in The End They Did A Calulation Of Cost Which They Claim Is The Cost For Damages And Repairs For The Last 6 Months Which Came To £1400....(which I Signed The Papers And Agreed To Pay)£1400 Is The Cost For Damges And Repairs And Im Assuming They Still Will Add Cost Of Investgation And Cost Of Cctv To This Bill So I Will Double The Intial Figure And Say I Estimate I Owe The £3000 (which Maybe More I Dont Know)so What I Would Like To Know Is....(1) Can They Really Charge Me About £3000 When All I Took Was £10?(2) How Long Does It Take For The Letter To Arrive Asking For Payment Because Its Been Over 6 Months And No Word.... And Is There A Safe Period Of Time In Which If No Feedback Then Im In The Clear? I.e They Cant Sent Me A Letter After A Year Asking For Payment Or Can They? (how Long Should I Wait)(3) Can They Still Ask For Payment Even If There Was No Loss Of Buisness To The Actual Store Because The Vending Machines Belonged To A Third Party Compay And Not By The Store It Self, So Would The Vending Machine Company Have To Be A Member Of The Retail Loss Prevention Scheme Themselve (thus This May Be The Reason They Might Have Dropped The Case Beacuse I Have Not Heard From Them For Such A Long Time) Or Would This Not Matter Because They Could Claim Through The Compay I Was Working For, Who Is A Member Of The Retail Loss Prevetion??thanks Any Help Appreciated.

[Monty2007]

Hi, can you clarify what you actually signed and admitted? What action did the police take?

 

If you could post up any key docs - remove your personal details this will help.

[Boiling cold]

hi monty,, the paper i signed was the civil recovery form, which stated the cost would be £1400although in my investigation process i only admitted to taking around £10.The police gave me a caution, i admitted i stole around 10 quid and caused some criminal damage to the vending machines, they did decide this offence to be minor and i had no previous convictions and i was fully co-operating, that a caution would be justifiable.

[Monty2007]

I would sit tight and see what they come back with. If you have had a police caution then that should be the end of the polive involement. The ball is in their court.

[Boiling cold]

hi monty, yea the police side of it is over im not worried about that, they gave me a caution and thats it finished..what i would really like to know is how long do i wait for the civil recovery people to contact me?? dosent this process normally take a few weeks?? well its been over six months, does this mean they dropped the case?? surley there has to be a time frame, surely they cant contat me 2 years down the line asking for payment or can they??? and secondly can they really charge me around £3000 when i took £10??

[Monty2007]

Dear BC, I would not worry. They would have to prove that you stole that amount from them. You have admitted that you took 10 pounds and the damage, they would have to spend as much on the legal costs to prosecute so I don't think it is likely, if and when they contact you come back to the site. Feel free to PM me. I have a friend who is a criminal barrister and will call him for you and get an expert opinion.

 

Don't worry, there is no criminal prosecution which is worse!

[SirHumpy]

This sounds like Boots!?

 

Whoever owned the machine they may be liable to damages made to it by their own employee.

 

And I've heard civil recovery being issued for losses off the shop floor - the charges they are making will be what they claim to be the costs of the cctv, watching it, maintaining it and the time the people spent on the investigation (and maybe damages).

 

It doesnt sound like they are claiming all the money that was taken from you - I've seen them charge someone that was only proven to have stolen a £100 nearly £5000 in recovery - the majority is often for costs.

 

I'm assuming there is no delay with employment issues - you were sacked straight away - so no other things going on with the company - appeals etc? - if so sometimes the recovery process takes a while - but I think on this one you might be in the clear.

 

How old are you - because depending on your age (and how they went about it) that piece of paper you admitted guilt on might not be worth the paper its printed on and thats why you havent heard anything.

 

If you do you are entitled to request a full breakdown of charges