RLP - unanswered questions?!

[alyssruby]

I have a few questions about RLP which i haven't seen on any of the other threads on this forum. i was accused of shoplifting with my friend and we both received a letter from RLP demanding £174.39, which is crazy as they got all their goods back and no real loss was inflicted on them. the police were called and we signed his notes and were told we'd be banned from the store. my friend's parents found out and payed the money for her, but telling my parents isn't even an option.

 

i am 17 and at college, on very little to no income. my mum has just opened a new cafe and our family literally has no money to pay for me if i was to turn to my mum or if she found out. would it be worth telling RLP this in the hope that they'll drop it, or not?

 

i have received 2 letters so far and expecting a third soon. i read somewhere that someone received a letter and wrote 'no longer at this address, return to sender' on the envelope. would this stop them?

 

i'm not sure if they have me on CCTV as they only mentioned my friend.

[rebel11]

Hi al

 

What you have received is an invoice, as you have figured out, the goods were returned. The invoice doesn't give you a breakdown of the £174.39, it is way over

any realistic loss to the retailer. CAB have even gone as far as to state that this is totally unfair. Don't be threated by these people. To date they haven't taken anyone to court, although Boots are in the process of doing so.

[andydd]

You say you have some questions not dealt with on other RLP threads, but your only question seems to be whether you should lie about your address that i doubt anyone on here would recommend.Just follow the advice given on other RLP threads which generally is to write back denying that you owe any money to them, they have no legal powers it is purely a civil matter, they can either do nothing or take you to court and prove that your actions did actually cost them £174, for small amounts like that it isnt really wort it, for starters they'd have to visit YOUR local court which would cost/inconvience them.Why did your friend pay up ?. Their letters have no more legal clout then I writing to you demanding money.Andy

[alyssruby]

Hey, and thanks for your quick replies.

 

Sorry, my i was typing on my phone and ran out of characters to use.

 

I also replied to them via email, asking them for a full, detailed breakdown of the costs they have issued and how they justify these costs. I sent this about a week ago and have received no reply yet. Was this a good idea?

 

My friend payed up because she didn't actually pay it, her parents did. I don't really know why because I did tell her that they have no rights to make us pay...she obviously didn't listen, but that's not my problem anymore.

 

Where can I find details of the Boots case? I didn't receive the newsletter in my email inbox because I joined CAG just after it was sent out.

 

In my response to their next letter, would you recommend asking for CCTV evidence or any evidence that backs up their claim? Because we signed the PCs notes which I guess is solid evidence...but would they use this?

 

Again, thanks for your responses. Al.

[rebel11]

Thats the thing, RLP don't look at CCTV or anything else, they just have a name and address and send out the standard invoice. Try not to get into paper tennis. Don't encourage them.

 

Hey, and thanks for your quick replies.

 

Sorry, my i was typing on my phone and ran out of characters to use.

 

I also replied to them via email, asking them for a full, detailed breakdown of the costs they have issued and how they justify these costs. I sent this about a week ago and have received no reply yet. Was this a good idea?

 

My friend payed up because she didn't actually pay it, her parents did. I don't really know why because I did tell her that they have no rights to make us pay...she obviously didn't listen, but that's not my problem anymore.

 

Where can I find details of the Boots case? I didn't receive the newsletter in my email inbox because I joined CAG just after it was sent out.

 

In my response to their next letter, would you recommend asking for CCTV evidence or any evidence that backs up their claim? Because we signed the PCs notes which I guess is solid evidence...but would they use this?

 

Again, thanks for your responses. Al.

[alyssruby]

So would denying that I owe money to them be likely to stop them from sending me letters again? Is it really that simple?

[andydd]

So would denying that I owe money to them be likely to stop them from sending me letters again? Is it really that simple?

 

Nope..of course not, RLP believe that by sending out a simple letter which costs them about 50p they can recoup a lrager sum of money, some people pay up out of fear/ignorance/worry, others (like you ) are surely smarter and do not pay.This method of collecting money has been dubbed 'speculative invoicing', it works on the same principle if I sent out a thousand letters asking for money (for whatever reason) then a certain percenatge will comply thus making me money.A similar method was used by solicitors such as Davenport Lyons and ACS Law regarding `illegal'; downloading and look what happened to them !Andy

[alyssruby]

But they'd have evidence if their client wanted to take it further.. why are boots trying to take people to court and what are the details of that case?

 

What would be the best way of making them leave me alone? or is it just a matter of waiting for them to get bored?

 

also, do they normally reply to emails? because i didn't think it would take this long for them to respond.

 

thanks for your responses and time!

[eyeinthesky]

OP, this was a joint venture, and in RLP's own words you are jointly and severally liable. Since your friend has paid up, then RLP have no reason to pursue payment from you. Write to them and point this out.

[perplexity]

What would be the best way of making them leave me alone? or is it just a matter of waiting for them to get bored?

 

According to RLP:

 

Each claim, proceeds in accordance with the pre-action protocol and Civil Procedure Rules 1998. Where claims cannot be resolved, a Defendant has the opportunity to have his case heard before a District Judge, in a County Court.

 

They haven't taken anyone to court because the culprits always cave in. A soon as proceedings begin for real, they settle out of court or forget to avail themselves of the opportunity to defend, so the judgement is achieved by default.

 

If you are really so sure that their claim is false or invalid, avail yourself of the opportunity to see if a judge will agree; call the bluff.

 

For all I know there may or may not be about as much of a chance to succeed as there is of a snowball in Hell but you are entitled to make a name for yourself if you will.

 

Do you want to?

 

I thought not.

 

 

It is easy enough for a back seat driver to suggest that somebody in another vehicle should risk his neck, not so easy in the firing line.

[alyssruby]

OP, this was a joint venture, and in RLP's own words you are jointly and severally liable. Since your friend has paid up, then RLP have no reason to pursue payment from you. Write to them and point this out.

 

I never thought of that! Thank you, I'll try this when they write/email me back. Thanks a lot!

[perplexity]

Did your friend intend and agree to accept the entirety of the liability?

[2Grumpy]

I wouldn't mention the word liability in writing to these characters in any way. They might come back and say yes, £174 each

 

The single response denying any liability to them or their clients, then ignoring future letters seems to be working.

[perplexity]

 

"joint and several" means that

 

If two or more people enter into an obligation that is said to be joint and several, their liability for its breach can be enforced against them all by a joint action or against any of them by individual action.

[A Dictionary of Law. by Jonathan Law and Elizabeth A. Martin. Oxford University Press 2009]