so scared about TK Maxx :(

[emsipops]

Last week i did a really silly thing and changed the price on a pair of socks from £7 to about £3 and took a tiny free toy from what i think was a bottle of perfume in Tk Maxx. It was the most stupid thing to do, even although it was tiny, but i got stopped by rlp.

 

I was completely honest with them from the start as i was extremely upset about what i done and wanted to rectify the situation. I answered all of their questions even although they were being incredibly rude and nasty to me. They made me feel like a proper criminal and said my details would be available for any retailer to see. I told them who i was currently working for and signed what they asked me to.

 

Now im kicking myself though because only after leaving the shop did i realize that they had written that i had taken an item worth £25 when it was only the free toy- and i had signed the paper because i had been so scared :( also the police were not called at the time and the rlp men said that they were going to help me by not calling them- but i was asked to leave my job today because a police report had come through. Now im scared that its been made to sound more serious because the price of £25 was put on it.

 

Ive prepared myself for the rlp letter after reading everyones stories however what i am now terrified about is if there is a police report now made, does that mean that the police will now be coming after me? Its really killing me at the moment so much that i cant sleep- im so ashamed of what i did but i dont want the police to come after me over something so tiny.

 

Thanks in advice for any help

[rebel11]

Hi ems,

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available. The guys won't judge, just advise. It sounds like they have apportioned value to the 'free toy'.

 

What worries me is how, if the police weren't called, then a police report could be produced in hindsight. Also I really don't understand how the following came about,

 

'but i was asked to leave my job today because a police report had come through'. Can you explain in more detail what your

employer said and what happened.

[emsipops]

of course- a personnel manager asked me to speak to her so i agreed. she said that they had been informed by a police report that i had been involved in an incident so i explained everything. she said it was company policy that i would have to leave. i was confused because it seems to mean that tkmaxx had reported it after i had left speaking to the rlp men? i had told them where i was working because i felt i had to answer everything or i would get in even more trouble.

 

thanks so much for replying

[rebel11]

I don't think it was a police report. It was probably a report from instore security. As you gave your work details they might have contacted your employer. Did you have your staff uniform on? This is the first time I've read that they have asked for work details.

 

of course- a personnel manager asked me to speak to her so i agreed. she said that they had been informed by a police report that i had been involved in an incident so i explained everything. she said it was company policy that i would have to leave. i was confused because it seems to mean that tkmaxx had reported it after i had left speaking to the rlp men? i had told them where i was working because i felt i had to answer everything or i would get in even more trouble.

 

thanks so much for replying

[emsipops]

no i was in normal clothes so nothing identifiable to the compay i work for.

One of the men asked, ;so are you working just now?' and i said 'only part time over christmas' and he said 'could you tell us where that is please?' so i did. Then just before i left he said 'dont be surprised if the next time you are in work they approach you about this, you had better think of something to say' he also said so what are you studying at university and when i told him engineering he said 'well dont expect to be employed by any engineering companies with this on your record'

in terms of the company i work for, when the lady asked to speak to me she said that a police report had come through on monday (the incident was last saturday) and that she had wondered how they had known to send it to the company (so i had explained that i had told rpl where i worked) she did seem to make it clear that it was a police report... i did say to her that the police had not been called when i had been present. do you think the police will persue this?

 

the reason i say it was a police report is because she did say something about an incident number

Edited December 19, 2010 by emsipops
extra info

[rebel11]

What you could do is get information from TK Maxx and your employer under the data protection act. See what they have actually got. You could also see if any data is held by the police .You could also ask for any data they have on CCTV. I think this is a must.

 

I don't think the police will be involved.

 

no i was in normal clothes so nothing identifiable to the compay i work for.

One of the men asked, ;so are you working just now?' and i said 'only part time over christmas' and he said 'could you tell us where that is please?' so i did. Then just before i left he said 'dont be surprised if the next time you are in work they approach you about this, you had better think of something to say' he also said so what are you studying at university and when i told him engineering he said 'well dont expect to be employed by any engineering companies with this on your record'

in terms of the company i work for, when the lady asked to speak to me she said that a police report had come through on monday (the incident was last saturday) and that she had wondered how they had known to send it to the company (so i had explained that i had told rpl where i worked) she did seem to make it clear that it was a police report... i did say to her that the police had not been called when i had been present. do you think the police will persue this?

[emsipops]

Ok thank you for your help I will see about doing this. I believe that they must have CCTV as I had no awareness of any security following me and also I cannot dispute it as I was truthful and admitted everything I had done so whatever CCTV they have I cannot argue it. How do I go about finding out if the police have information? Is it an advice line I contact?

[rebel11]

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/crime.aspx

[andydd]

First of all I agree, shoplifting is pretty stupid thing to do, especilaly from TK Maxx, (or any store), you are aware they do have CCTV and security gaurds watching you ?. You are very likely to get caught and possibly ruin all your future prospects, ok..rant over..

 

Have a read of the thread below

 

ttp://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?237416-Civil-Recovery-the-CAB-report

 

The link to the CAB report is very interesting reading, especially when you see how many innocent people thay have targetted and the fact they dont appear to have ever taken court action.

 

Its at... http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/unr...ands_final.pdf

 

Andy

[emsipops]

andy i do honestly realize my mistakes and believe me it is haunting me. To be honest dont feel any need to retrieve cctv as i am not disputing anything that happened (apart from the value of the item i suppose) my main fear is that there is an ongoing investigation or something taking place because of the shock of hearing about the police report? do you think if anything regarding the police were to happen it would have taken place at hte time? i want to fix everything which has happened as soon as i can but im scared to think that more surprises could be sprung on me such as further police action or something. please dont say it will ruin all my future prospects i hope thats an exageration

[Surfer01]

If the security company sent a report to your current employer then they are in serious breach of the Data Protection Act especially if a a direct result of the report you lost your job. They could lose their licence to operate and also have to pay a fine in addiotn to compensation. I don't condone shoplifting but neither do I condone illegal practices.

[rebel11]

Hi emis

 

As long as you learn from it, you'll be fine, just remember honesty will never have any come backs, dishonesty always has come backs. Your job now is damage limitation. So best foot forward, Surfer01 has raised an interesting point.

 

andy i do honestly realize my mistakes and believe me it is haunting me. To be honest dont feel any need to retrieve cctv as i am not disputing anything that happened (apart from the value of the item i suppose) my main fear is that there is an ongoing investigation or something taking place because of the shock of hearing about the police report? do you think if anything regarding the police were to happen it would have taken place at hte time? i want to fix everything which has happened as soon as i can but im scared to think that more surprises could be sprung on me such as further police action or something. please dont say it will ruin all my future prospects i hope thats an exageration

[eyeinthesky]

Hi, lets see if I can answer some of your comments here. The reason they have said you took an item valued at £20 is, I assume, because the value of the original perfume item, with the "free" toy, was £20, correct? They got that back, so would have been able to sell that item for £20, unless you greatly damaged the package. The value of the theft was still the total value of the item.

 

Your employer did not receive a police report, no way! What is much more likely is that your local shopsafe / shopwatch / townlink scheme has a secure website where photos and incident reports are submitted, so that they can be seen by all members of the scheme. They may even have been alerted by security at TKMaxx, that there was an incident of particular interest to them. Of course, it could have been sent directly by TKMaxx.

 

On the subject of the Data Protection Act, this covers the processing and sharing of data, and I'm sorry to tell you that the prevention and detection of crime are legitimate reasons.

 

On a more positive note, the police were not called to deal with the incident, so there will be no police action.

[Surfer01]

You may be right but if the data has a direct detrimental effect on you such as losing your job although there wa no criminal charge, then the security company have breached your rights because NO crime occured. There is no crime logged on the police database so they had no right to pass on the information.

 

This leads to the next question, when is a crime actually a crime otherwise 90% of the population would be locked up?

[rebel11]

It's what the HR person said, she said it was a 'Police report', that worries me, which it clearly wasn't. And the implication that it's actually been registered anywhere. The details are important in light of the CAB Report.

[emsipops]

thanks so much to everyone for replying

eyeinthesky you are right about the product, it was a tiny keyring that went with the perfume but (knowing tkmaxx) the box was actually open- i didnt cause any damage. it was just scary being told i had taken something of considerably more value than i really had.

im really confused as to why i was told it was a police report- a connection between retailers would be a considerably more plausable reason for them knowing - i had a conversation with the lady in personnel and said that no police had been called when i was there but she just went onto say that the report had been recieved on the monday. i told her that as far as i had been aware it was being dealt with by TK Maxx (through rlp obviously) and she said that they must have reported it then.

oh well- maybe i can worry a little less and wait to see what rlp have to say about it.

[andydd]

If no Police were called then there really is nothing to be worried about, the worst that could happen is you could be banned from TK Maxx..big deal !..and that you could be hassled by RLP (or a similar company) but if you read the CAB report you'll see that despite threats there has never been any court action, in any event that would be a CIVIL claim totally unconnected with any CRIMINAL action.

 

Obviously things like a criminal record or caution can in certain circumstances affect future employment prospects, some jobs ask for CRB checks, etc although these are still a minority.

 

You may have been told a load of rubbish by TK Maxx, again, if you read the CAB report you'll see many instances of wrong/illegal information being given out by the stores invlolved/solicitors who represent them, etc.

 

Could you clarify the bit about you were asked to leave your job because of a police report ?..This sounds very strange. !

 

Andy

[emsipops]

Um im not really sure what more I can say about the work situation- she said that they had been made aware when a police report had been received by them on Monday. She mentioned a incident number as well. Perhaps the police had been informed of the banning order? The copy I received of it at the time of the incident does say that it may be passed onto the police. I did tell her that the police had not been involved and that it was being dealt with through the shop but she just said 'well a police report did arrive on Monday' this means rlp told them where I work if this is the case not nice.

She did however say that retailers are linked so perhaps it was an rlp report of some sort and not the police? Whatever it was she said that the same procedure applied and that I would have to leave employment with them.

[andydd]

Um im not really sure what more I can say about the work situation- she said that they had been made aware when a police report had been received by them on Monday. She mentioned a incident number as well. Perhaps the police had been informed of the banning order? The copy I received of it at the time of the incident does say that it may be passed onto the police. I did tell her that the police had not been involved and that it was being dealt with through the shop but she just said 'well a police report did arrive on Monday' this means rlp told them where I work if this is the case not nice.

She did however say that retailers are linked so perhaps it was an rlp report of some sort and not the police? Whatever it was she said that the same procedure applied and that I would have to leave employment with them.

 

This is a bit confusing. Something doesnt add up. There can be two outcomes here, one Civil and one Criminal , the two are not connected. RLP are an independant company they are nothing to do with the police and therefore it is not upto them to start writing to employers of people they have accused of shoplifting. They are not judge and jury.

 

Why would the police be informed of a banning order, a banning order is a civil action, any store can ban anyone it sees fit, but it is nothing to do with the police.

 

As far as Police are concernered no crime has been commited, you say they wernt called, there can only be an allegation, you havn't been tried in court and found guilty, you havn't even accepted a caution.

 

You should find out some more about this, what was the letter received by your employer ?. Who sent it ?. Were you fired for gross misconduct ?. You are entitled to see the evidence.

 

You could visit the police and ask about it. Something about this smells fishy. It is not upto RLP to get you fired, there are all sorts of ramifications, damages, etc..if this is the case.

 

Andy

[emsipops]

Yes I see what you are saying- but could tkmaxx have reported it to the police once I had left? Maybe this is the only way my employer could have found out if rlp had reported it afterwards. This is why I'm scared that the police might be in touch- ie if they are aware but have not yet contacted me about it. Do you think they would go to The bother for something so small .

 

I'm a bit weary of going to speak to the police- I know I should but I'd probably get myself even more involved- I'm not sure what I'd say, I mean, I am guilty of something even if it was tiny so I'd be landing myself in it even more surely?

I was also given the impression that rlp felt they could release the information to any other retailers who it might effect , I've got no idea if this is allowed but the lady from personnel did say all of the retailers were connected ( I also worked for a shop)

Does anyone have any idea if the rlp letter has identifying logo on it just out of intrest?

Thanks for all your help

Edited December 21, 2010 by emsipops

[Surfer01]

I doubt very much if the police would open an incident on heresay!

[eyeinthesky]

There is some confusion here. The security guards work for a security company, which provides guards under contract to TKMaxx. They are nothing to do with RLP, who are a company who sends demands for costs to anyone caught shoplifting.

The only way your employer can know about the incident, is if the security guard or another employee of TKMaxx tells them, either directly, or via a secure website which is part of the local shopwatch scheme. The guards may have passed details of the incident to the police, but as they were not called at the time, and assuming you are not known to the police, it is very unlikely that they would take any action.

[andydd]

There seems to be 2 issues here..

 

1. RLP. Have they demanded any payment from you ?. Are you worried about this ?. There are numerous posts on this topic and if you read the CAB report then you will see that they never appear to actually instigate court action so you can just ignore their letters requesting any sort of payment.

 

2. Your Job. Are you concerned that you have lost it ?. This is a bit puzzling, people cant just be fired on the hearsay of 3rd parties, if as suggested, TK Maxx or someone contacted the police alleging a crime, then it is the police's duty to try and contact you, if not, then you really should go into the police station to find out more. There prob are many employment related issues going on here, you say you were asked to leave, but this is differrent from actually being sacked (for gross misconduct).

 

Something here still doesnt sound right, have you told us the full facts, have you any paperwork from RLP, TK MAxx, your job that you could post up ?. What was your job ?. (Obvioulsy hide any personal details).

 

If at the end of the day you don't care about the job, then there is very little to fear about RLP, so you may just wish to put the issue to bed.

 

Andy

[emsipops]

Ok, currently the only paperwork I have is a banning order from tkmaxx and a civil recovery infomation sheet both given to me at the time. I am awaiting hearing from rlp.

 

In terms if the job, it was Christmas employment for a well known shop however being dismissed means they will not employ me again which is upsetting as I have a long history with them. Because I was close to the end of my Christmas contract she said that normally there would be an in depth disiplinary procedure however as I was close to leaving they would cut my contract short. She said that it is with any incident like this I would be dismissed- essentially I admitted to everything at the time and so as far as the situation is concerned I am guilty. I will forget about the work situation however as I did not lose a full time job which I am relying on.

 

I think what I'm most scared about is what to expect- I know about rpl but I can't understand about this police thing. Would they have contacted me by now if they were going to do anything about it? Sorry about my questions I'm just worrying so much over this , thanks

[ScarletPimpernel]

I wonder if this has anything to do with Ciresco, RLP's database.