Issued FPN by Police for incident in M&S, now drydens want £85.50 for RLP letter

[stargazerlily]

Last week I was in M&S.

I needed to pick up a pack of bacon and ham for my daughter.

 

As a life-long vegetarian, I don't like handling meat, even wrapped, so I took one of the plastic bags for loose fruit and veg and popped it in there.

 

There was a sale rack of clothes just next to the food hall and I had a quick look then stupidly walked out forgetting I had the meat in the bag.

 

Next thing I knew a man in a hoody and jogging trousers ran behind me and asked me to step back inside,

he didn't say who he was, he wasn't in any kind of uniform.

 

He told me to go upstairs, and took me to a little room where there was a girl writing notes.

I was informed that they were calling the Police and it was up to them if I was given a FPN or "locked up".

 

They took the meat off me and he asked the girl to put it back in the fridges.

He took my name and address and by this time I was so scared I needed to go to the toilet badly but was not allowed to go even though I said I would leave all my belongings with him.

 

I was told it would be up to the Police if I could go to the toilet or not.

I was asked if I had drugs or anything sharp that could harm them (I am 60 and disabled).

 

When the Police came I was asked my name and address and one of the Police asked this man

"Do you really want to do this for £2.49?",

 

I was then issued with a FPN, I haven't paid yet, I haven't the money, we live on a State Pension.

I was also given a letter about banning from their stores and Drydens Civil Recovery.

When the Police were about to leave I asked again if I could go to the toilet and they said yes.

 

I have medical problems, bladder problems, severe spondylosis and I saw my GP in April because I have been having spells of almost fainting where everything seems to go far away.

Have just lost my elderly Mother too.

 

Please can anyone advise me what I should do.

 

I haven't even told my husband as he is also disabled and I don't want to worry him.

I haven't been out since this happened,

 

I feel so scared.

[andydd]

Hi.

 

Its not clear what advice you want ?

 

I was under the impression that a fixed penalty notice had to paid at the time, Im unsure as to what would happen if you dont pay it.

 

A FPN is you saying 'you admit the crime but it wont go to court, instead pay the FPN of £80, or whatever it is', you would also of been given the option to not accept it and then possibly it would proceed to court where I assume you would say you were not guilty, although I BELIEVE IT IS UNLIKELY IT WOULD ACTUALLY PROCEED TO COURT.

 

You may also get a request for further damages from Drydens, I dont believe that are realted to our fave comapny RLP, but not doubt would operate in s similar manner.

 

Andy

[stargazerlily]

Hi Andy, thanks for answering. I didn't even get the opportunity to explain what had happened. The Policeman just got out a pad and said he was issuing me with a FPN, I didn't get asked if I wanted to accept it or not.

[andydd]

Heres a useful Wiki on the subject > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_penalty_notice it would appear that perhaps you still can contest the alleged crime - "A fixed penalty notice is not a fine[1] or criminal conviction and the recipient can opt for the matter to be dealt with in court instead of paying. However if the recipient neither pays the penalty nor opts for a court hearing in the time specified, the penalty may be increased by 50% and registered against the recipient as a fine"

 

I would of thought you should of been given a chance to say what happened, there has been another similar thread where it was suggested the poster try to obtain cctv footage from the store interview room.

 

You may simply decide to pay the FPN, your choices would appear to be to pay it or dispute it.

 

Andy

[stargazerlily]

Thanks Andy, if I felt stronger I would definitely dispute it, it was a genuine mistake and I felt totally humiliated. Looking back I would have handled it differently, easy to say with hindsght.

[rebel11]

Hi star

 

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint mark it as such. Explain whats happened, the treatment you received/your circumstances and what you want them to do. Explain that it was a misunderstanding and you tried to explain only

for your explanation to to be ignored by the security guards.

 

Send it to:-

 

Marc Bolland, Chief Executive

marc.bolland@marks-and-spencer.com

 

Some tips:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1242161/How--write-letter-complaint.html

[andydd]

Thanks Andy, if I felt stronger I would definitely dispute it, it was a genuine mistake and I felt totally humiliated. Looking back I would have handled it differently, easy to say with hindsght.

 

There are many similar threads on here where people, often vulnerable, young, old have been 'held' for long periods and 'admit'/sign things despite their better judgment.

 

Clearly any request from Drydens/M&S for damages as a civil claim can be ignored as they have no legal basis, but its unclear as to what action could be taken about the FPN.

 

Andy

[stargazerlily]

Thank you rebel and Andy, feel a bit clearer today so will start drafting a letter to M&S (should I send copies to anyone? M&S local branch? Police?)

[rebel11]

Hi star

 

I would send a copy to the Police Station that sent the PC's and a copy to Marc Bolland, Chief Executive.

You need to ask Marc Bolland, why would you steal meat for '£2.49', when firstly your a 'vegetarian' and secondly the low 'value', that really needs pointing out. Mr Bolland will pass down a 'nice' memo to your local MS store.

Also ask MS to deal with the FPN with regards to the monies and any implications to you. Make it clear that you will take further action.

 

Thank you rebel and Andy, feel a bit clearer today so will start drafting a letter to M&S (should I send copies to anyone? M&S local branch? Police?)

[stargazerlily]

Thank you rebel, very grateful for the advice.

[stargazerlily]

I've just received a letter from Drydens asking for £85.55 "as our client suffered a loss that they are entitled to recover from you." Don't know whether I should pay it to put a stop to it.

[rebel11]

Hi star

 

Have you received responses from the letters you've sent off?

 

I've just received a letter from Drydens asking for £85.55 "as our client suffered a loss that they are entitled to recover from you." Don't know whether I should pay it to put a stop to it.

[stargazerlily]

Hi rebel, I had a letter from the Police just confirming that they had received my letter. Nothing at all from Marks and Spencer.

[rebel11]

Hi star

 

O.K. lets wait, give (M&S) them a few more days. Don't panic over their (Drydens) letter, wait until the next, lets see what they send. I really want to see what M & S say.

 

Hi rebel, I had a letter from the Police just confirming that they had received my letter. Nothing at all from Marks and Spencer.

[stargazerlily]

Ok rebel, if that's what you think is for the best. Will let you know if/when I hear anything. And thank you.

[stargazerlily]

Have received a letter from M&S, if anything it's made things worse. Basically they uphold the store's decision to ban me from their stores. Will try and scan later, if not will type out their reply. However, the security guard has lied about not letting me go to the toilet. He says that I was asked if I could wait 15 mins. 'til the Police arrived which was untrue as he said they didn't know how long they would be, sometimes two or three hours.

[rebel11]

Remove all personal details and ref numbers before posting, as you've established there's an untruth in their account.

 

Have received a letter from M&S, if anything it's made things worse. Basically they uphold the store's decision to ban me from their stores. Will try and scan later, if not will type out their reply. However, the security guard has lied about not letting me go to the toilet. He says that I was asked if I could wait 15 mins. 'til the Police arrived which was untrue as he said they didn't know how long they would be, sometimes two or three hours.

[dx100uk]

scan the required letters/agreements/sheets - as a picture[jpg] file

don't forget you can use a mobile phone or a digital camera too!!

or

convert existing PC files to PDF [office has an installable print to PDF option]

.

'

BUT......

ENSURE: remove all pers info inc barcodes etc using paint program

but leave all figures and dates.

.

goto one of the many free online pdf converter websites

it would be better to upload a multipage pdf if

you have many images too rather than many single pdfs

.

or if you have PDF as an installed printer drive use that

or use word and save as pdf

.

open a new msg box here

hit go advanced below the msg box

hit manage attachments below that box

hit the add files button on the top right

hit select files, navigate to your file on your pc

hit upload files

.

.

dx

[rebel11]

Thanks DX.

[stargazerlily]

 

Have done this with my camera, don't think it's going to be big enough for you to read, how can I make it bigger please? sorry made a bit of a mess of it in Paint too!

[dx100uk]

you need to convert it to pdf

 

follow the guide

 

dx

[rebel11]

Hi Star

 

Even if you enlarge it I have, it's blurred, unreadable, maybe just type it out, if you haven't got a scanner.

[stargazerlily]

Have saved it as PDF in Word, how do I get it onto here from Word?

[rebel11]

You need a 'free hosting' site that's allows PDF. Just Google one that's free and easy to use.

 

Have saved it as PDF in Word, how do I get it onto here from Word?

[stargazerlily]

Far quicker, will just type it out quickly.

 

Dear Mrs ****

I am sorry to hear that your visit to our ******* store ended unpleasantly, and you are unhappy with our decision to issue you with a Trespass notice as well as being issued with a fixed penalty by the Police.

 

We pride ourselves on delivering a pleasant and comfortable shopping experience for our customers, and like any business, we also place a high priority on the security of our products. If we feel that a customer's actions are in any way compromising these commitments, we reserve the right to exclude that individual from our stores.

 

We have investigated what happened with ****** ******, our ******* store manager. We support the decision made by our store colleagues at the time and I can confirm this means you are not permitted to shop in any Marks & Spencer stores.

 

I have also explained to Adrian you were upset at not being allowed to use the lavatory until the police arrived. He wishes to apologise and he says it was not their intention to distress you in any way. His security guard recalls you were asked if you could wait for about 15 minutes until the police arrived and at the time you appeared to be okay with this.

 

I'm afraid we cannot help you further.

 

Many thanks for contacting us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

*****************

Executive Office.