Caught in Primark - What happens now?

[weareinvictus]

Dear all,

 

I got caught in Primark shoplifting yesterday. I don't condone my actions obviously and I'm sorry for what I've done.

Now my question is what happens next?

 

I was brought to a back office where my bags were searched and I cooperated as much as I could. The guy in the office gave me a piece of paper to fill in my details e.g. name, school, address. I was not told to sign anything. After I filled in my details he insisted I call someone to have my address verified if not he would have to involve the person. My friend managed to verify my address and he told me I was free to go. Before I left however, he told me that I was now banned from Primark, and he gave me a notice from RLP. I was never given anything to sign, and after that I was allowed to leave.

 

My questions are:

1. Am I banned from Primark? He did not tell me for how long, and I did not have to sign anything, nor had to have my photo taken.

2. I've read from the forums that I should not respond to any letters from RLP, other than the first letter whereby I should tell them I admit no liability whatsoever. Can I just ask how long will RLP usually chase me for payments?

 

I will be grateful for any replies, thanks!

Edited October 11, 2012 by weareinvictus

[honeybee13]

Hello there, welcome to CAG.

 

I would think you'll have the same experience as others in your position, although I don't know if your age makes any difference. How old are you please?

 

I'll try to find you a Primark thread or two, but please have a read around the forum, the stories don't vary much. Sadly, not everyone comes back here to tell us how they got on, but we've heard stories about letter trails arriving, quoting the Magna Carta and other interesting stuff. I think it's likely that you will hear, because there's money in it for them.

 

Some people here have sent a short letter denying liability, which you'll find if you have a look at a few threads, or maybe someone who knows a bit more than me will be along later with some tips for you.

 

My best, HB

[honeybee13]

Here's a thread with useful advice on it.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?365823-Caught-Stealing-In-Primark-amp-Have-Phoned-RLP%281-Viewing%29-nbsp

 

HB

[weareinvictus]

Hi Honeybee! Thanks for your reply. I'm 20 and I'm currently a student, will it make a difference?

Edited October 11, 2012 by weareinvictus

[honeybee13]

Hi Honeybee! Thanks for your reply. I'm 20 and I'm currently a full time student, will it make a difference?

 

Hello there. I'm not sure to be honest, other forum members know more than me and they should be along over the course of the day.

 

Here's another thread about Primark for you. Just so you know, some of the civil recovery firms read this forum, so I think that's all we need to know about you, thank you for the info.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?361562-I-have-been-caught-shoplifting-in-Primark-and-MHV.-Consequences-please

 

HB

[LaughingGirl]

I doubt your age will make any difference - you're 20, so you're legally an adult. I think the age thing only ever came up as a question in relation to what would happen if RLP ever tried to enforce their fee through the county courts, which they do very rarely anyway.

 

TBH, regardless of age, the advice would still be to ignore the speculative invoice that you receive, so it doesn't particularly change anything.

[ScarletPimpernel]

I doubt your age will make any difference - you're 20, so you're legally an adult. I think the age thing only ever came up as a question in relation to what would happen if RLP ever tried to enforce their fee through the county courts, which they do very rarely anyway.

 

TBH, regardless of age, the advice would still be to ignore the speculative invoice that you receive, so it doesn't particularly change anything.

 

RLP cannot take anyone to court; only the retailer can do that. Most don't, especially since the only contested case ended badly for the retailer.It's not a fee, or a fine - it's just a speculative invoice. RLP call it a claim for damages, but if you read up on the Oxford case you will see that the Courts don't agree - and neither, it seems, does the Law Commission. The proper way to deal with thieves is through the criminal justice system. The fact that the retailer decided not to involve the police doesn't excuse RLP acting as a parallel justice system.So ignore RLP's letters, as threatening and desperate though they will undoubtedly be - but please do think about what might have happened if the police were involved.

[evilstrawberry]

Hey,

 

I was in a very similar sitaution last year... I got the letters continuoulsy for a few months. I completely ignored them!! Then they stopped coming. I just received one again last week (over a year later)...

 

I keep trying to find info an people being taken to court by rlp... but can't find anything appart from the stuff on their website!! it's strange.

 

I was wondering if paying part of the fine (coz thats all I can afford) reduces the chances of me going to court (if I was to)?

 

Main concern is because such a record can affect my employability.

 

Thanks for all your help guys! you guys are great!!!

[old bill]

Retailers and their security staff searching an alleged shoplifter's bags or person is an absolute no-no. They have no right or power, legal or otherwise, to do so. If RLP come demanding money, just point out that they searched your bags, which is something only a warranted police officer can legally undertake, and how do they or you know, the retailer didn't conceal something in their hand and then allege they had found something in the bag? Also, they are responsible for any loss or damage to goods in your bag that are your property. Once the retailer has taken money from you, placed it in the cash register drawer and closed the drawer, proper right and title passes to you. Any goods paid for are then your property.

[Sneeky]

omg,im in total shock here, the more i read the more amazed I am by the responce in regards to security officers working on behalf of Primark....

 

Let me tell you a little background about myself..

I am a security officer employed by a company (legal reasons i can not mention) that is contracted by Primark.. and in the 4 years Ive worked there I have never seen such resentment nor power tripped stories.... I can only assume these are the primarks in the mainlands...

 

I would like to point out the main factors on which is required from us as security.. firstly a guard is purely a deterrant to shoplifters, occasionally working as a team, most of the other times alone.... some stores have CCTV some do not, some have anything from 2-8 officers on the premisses at one time others only 1... it all depends on how busy or how much loss...

 

Now, when you have a team of 2 or more in a building, there is most likely to be a store detective (non uniformed). they are the ones that do most of the catches (as this is what my main duty is).

Now to read all these different stories about what a guard/officer has done has and still does dumfond me as to how they can get away with this....

 

we are all trained to a SIA standard which holds us 100% liable for a wrongful arrest as a guard/officer must be 110% sure before stopping anyone....

 

the sheets they write on were statements and their own detective sheets, gaining as much info about you as possible, but, in all seriousness, its for their own records to prove they are doing their jobs... if no police were involved nothing else will come of it... chances are an exclosure was presented to you, denying you access to most (if not all) shops in the area. (legally binding) regardless to you signing it or not. however

where i live, we do not issue these anymore. further more. we have no right to place our hands in your belongings more several reasons, but the main reasons have already been mentioned by someone else. we can not prove your details are correct, which is why the police get involved to prove this, we have no power that you do not have, unless you did steal, but the power we have is only a citizens arrest, nothing more nothing less. we do have the right to detain you until the police arrive (however long that may be) you committed a crime and we witnessed it, we have all the rights there until the police say different) once we have detained, the police arrive, we hand over our evidence and they deal with the issue, its out of our hands..... we cant hold grudges in this job, and we can not discriminate.. yet im hearing more and more of this happening, which (sorry to say) ****es me off.. i work to my best, i dont stop anyone unless I have seen them select the item, conceal and and leave without paying, anyone of these that i dont see, i wont stop at all, not even as a risk, we have a license and if we dont do things properly we will loose our license, and in effect our job...

 

Please please please, I must stress, if you have been treated unfaily and you were innocient, dont let it lie, take it as far as you can, because those that take the risk and are wrong deserve to have their license revoked so they will either have to be retrained or will loose their job (the latter is normally the case) . but dont let them carry on as you wont be the last, make a stand and make them realise, they cant treat you like this coz they are security......

 

I will gladly answer any questions in regards to security, but can not nor will i name the company or area i live..

[Sneeky]

Hey,

 

 

I keep trying to find info an people being taken to court by rlp... but can't find anything appart from the stuff on their website!! it's strange.

 

I was wondering if paying part of the fine (coz thats all I can afford) reduces the chances of me going to court (if I was to)?

 

Main concern is because such a record can affect my employability.

 

Thanks for all your help guys! you guys are great!!!

 

I was in a very similar sitaution last year... I got the letters continuoulsy for a few months. I completely ignored them!! Then they stopped coming. I just received one again last week (over a year later)...

 

I understand RLP, I dont agree with it, only recently where i live this has come into effect, before this, it was a straight prossecution or caution, no inbetweens or grey areas. unfortuantley, i belive mistake or not, if you wernt caught then, would you stop?? dont think so, you would carry on and on until you get caught. this is where the problem lays.... the fine, is to prevent any further time from the police and security, rather than goin through the courts, you get a fine.... you dont pay it (i cant speak of knowledge) but im guessing the more ppl dont pay it the more likely it will be made law in due course or something else that will make it all worse for everyone else.... just saying... this seems to be an easier punishment than goin to court and haveing it on your criminal record...

[old bill]

omg,im in total shock here, the more i read the more amazed I am by the responce in regards to security officers working on behalf of Primark....

 

Let me tell you a little background about myself..

I am a security officer employed by a company (legal reasons i can not mention) that is contracted by Primark.. and in the 4 years Ive worked there I have never seen such resentment nor power tripped stories.... I can only assume these are the primarks in the mainlands...

 

I would like to point out the main factors on which is required from us as security.. firstly a guard is purely a deterrant to shoplifters, occasionally working as a team, most of the other times alone.... some stores have CCTV some do not, some have anything from 2-8 officers on the premisses at one time others only 1... it all depends on how busy or how much loss...

 

Now, when you have a team of 2 or more in a building, there is most likely to be a store detective (non uniformed). they are the ones that do most of the catches (as this is what my main duty is).

Now to read all these different stories about what a guard/officer has done has and still does dumfond me as to how they can get away with this....

 

we are all trained to a SIA standard which holds us 100% liable for a wrongful arrest as a guard/officer must be 110% sure before stopping anyone....

 

the sheets they write on were statements and their own detective sheets, gaining as much info about you as possible, but, in all seriousness, its for their own records to prove they are doing their jobs... if no police were involved nothing else will come of it... chances are an exclosure was presented to you, denying you access to most (if not all) shops in the area. (legally binding) regardless to you signing it or not. however

where i live, we do not issue these anymore. further more. we have no right to place our hands in your belongings more several reasons, but the main reasons have already been mentioned by someone else. we can not prove your details are correct, which is why the police get involved to prove this, we have no power that you do not have, unless you did steal, but the power we have is only a citizens arrest, nothing more nothing less. we do have the right to detain you until the police arrive (however long that may be) you committed a crime and we witnessed it, we have all the rights there until the police say different) once we have detained, the police arrive, we hand over our evidence and they deal with the issue, its out of our hands..... we cant hold grudges in this job, and we can not discriminate.. yet im hearing more and more of this happening, which (sorry to say) ****es me off.. i work to my best, i dont stop anyone unless I have seen them select the item, conceal and and leave without paying, anyone of these that i dont see, i wont stop at all, not even as a risk, we have a license and if we dont do things properly we will loose our license, and in effect our job...

 

Please please please, I must stress, if you have been treated unfaily and you were innocient, dont let it lie, take it as far as you can, because those that take the risk and are wrong deserve to have their license revoked so they will either have to be retrained or will loose their job (the latter is normally the case) . but dont let them carry on as you wont be the last, make a stand and make them realise, they cant treat you like this coz they are security......

 

I will gladly answer any questions in regards to security, but can not nor will i name the company or area i live..

 

Thank you for having the courage to take a stand. I am a retired police officer and worked in the retail industry before I joined the police service. For every security officer like yourself, there will be at least six whose behaviour and actions fall well short of the standard any reasonable person would consider to be lawful and legal.

 

The technology that retailers use for point of sale and security has a poor record as regards reliability. Doorway sensors, although claimed to be 100% reliable, are around 40% accurate. They can be triggered by a staple or, even, a strand of copper wire in a motorised wheelchair. There is also the problem of checkout operators not removing tags from merchandise. I have had this happen to me at least twice. On one occasion, the security bod got quite upset when I tipped out everything on a counter and showed him the receipt. I have also witnessed security bods claiming they have a "common law right to search" and then have their actions questioned in an open court, in one case, having the case dismissed. Scanning tills are even worse. Even retail staff admit they are unreliable. The most common fault is "mis-scanning", which occurs when a checkout operator scans an item, the bleep is heard, but the item does not record on the receipt. I have had that happen to me. Self-service scanning tills have an even worse record of reliability and mis-scanning.

 

CCTV is another area where there are problems. One incident I witnessed was a shop assistant accusing a customer of putting something in their bag and attempting to go past the till without paying. When I viewed the CCTV footage, I said to the shop assistant, "If I were you, I would leave a note for your manager to say you've resigned. If that customer makes a formal complaint to your manager or head office, you are history." She resigned that day. Inept, incompetent or bored CCTV operators are another problem. They can cause a lot of problems. Making a false or erroneous allegation of theft is very serious and has serious consequences, not only for the customer, but the retailer, also.

 

As far as discrimination goes, I have seen this happen to a person with learning difficulties, in the street, at the hands of a security bod who was accompanied by a retail manager. He got a shock when I called the local police and they ripped his gonads off. The retail manager learned that standing around like a spare part at a wedding and doing nothing to stop that sort of behaviour is not clever and can get you arrested for being an accessory to an offence, which it very nearly did in that case. The person with learning difficulties was completely innocent.

 

It takes courage to speak out as you have and I commend you for doing so. Something does need to be done to remove the unprofessional and rent-a-thug elements from the security industry - that is for sure. Let's hope your post starts a drive to bring this about.

[davewright13]

With the title of the thread i was going to say put a mask over your head. LOL

 

Question Why Primark? if you're going to get caught then at least go into a decent shop?

[Old Cogger]

Primark? good god how low to get caught in!

[Sneeky]

Primark? good god how low to get caught in!

 

A question I ask everyone I detain for theft. Why primark? House of fraiser or river Island is around the corner? ?

[davewright13]

You need to be careful what you say around here and not be too judgemental bud, just an heads up from another thread where i disagreed LOL

[renegadeimp]

If they know your name and working in security and a description, they could contact the SIA and tell them

[LALAR]

who they will know that im working as a security, and i lie to them saying that im working as a waitress.

[mikeymack2002]

1. how will affect my SIA badge if they have just my name and age ( i lie to them saying that im working as a waitress) they dont know im working as a security and they dont know were im working

2. how they will contact my employer if they dont know were im working ( so by name and age) they can know eveything about me or im just imagining

3. if i went to primark and asked them ( im sorry and i will not do that again) so they can accept my apologies and remove my details, or we will catch me again because im back

4. they have the right to send my picture all over the primark ( so im not allowed to go to any primark)

5. how long its take to remove the banned

5. if the police didnt come thats mean it will not affect my criminal record

 

 

TBH you are now doing what most would do in your situation and that is to look far in this than you need to. Its now over please forget it and don't do it again and move on. Nothing should happen now except some stupid demanding letters for money. you can safely ignore them. Others will say the same but you need to stop fretting...

[renegadeimp]

The biggest issue is that you did it knowing the repercussions, since you are employed with an SIA licence. THis means you did it willingly and deliberately. Should you actually get caught and police caught, you would be looking at a higher punishment than others due to you being in a position of trust.

 

That means you need to stop shoplifting. From your posts, you show no remorse, just worry that you were caught.

 

In short, stop shoplifting, stop worrying about primark and get on with your life.

[mikeymack2002]

A new thread for this new OP has been created here >> http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?463649-Primark-Caught-Shoplifting

[LALAR]

i didnt know what happen to me exactly to do that ' it was the first time and it will be the last time in my all life), and i really regret but whats is done is done, but i really need the answer pf this question just to move on and leave in peace mind( i cant stop thinking what will happen) so please can you answer my question, maybe i will feel more confortable if you did.

 

1. how will affect my SIA badge if they have just my name and age ( i lie to them saying that im working as a waitress) they dont know im working as a security and they dont know were im working

2. how they will contact my employer if they dont know were im working ( so by name and age) they can know eveything about me or im just imagining

3. if i went to primark and asked them ( im sorry and i will not do that again) so they can accept my apologies and remove my details, or we will catch me again because im back

4. they have the right to send my picture all over the primark ( so im not allowed to go to any primark)

5. how long its take to remove the banned

5. if the police didnt come thats mean it will not affect my criminal record

[renegadeimp]

Stop worrying. They are unlikely to do anything. Theyre just primark guards. Stay away from the stores and get on with your life.