shoplifting

[night22]

i got caught shoplifting today on cctv.

 

I feel really bad about it and have just spent hours crying.

 

i took a couple of salads and a drink,

 

pretty pathetic of me but i had my son who was being so difficult and the till point lines were so long.

 

While i was in the back room a policeman came in and showed me his ID a

nd told me i was wasting their time and left.

 

The security handled the rest.

 

I only showed them my credit card.

 

When they send me the Retail Loss Prevention letter

 

can i deny it was me if i reported my credit card stolen?

 

I know it's low, but the thought that my name is down as a theft is killing me.

[dx100uk]

rlp are not the law

 

if you wish you COULD just ignore them.

 

or send one letter denying you owe anything

 

you're are under NO LEGAL obligation to pay them ANYTHING.

'

dx

[night22]

I really appreciate your reply. There seems to be such mixed reviews about RLP and I desperately want to make the right decision. It was a leading department store and they have cctv, i am nervous they'll fight me till the end on principle.

[dx100uk]

RLP dont do court anymore since oxford!!!

 

dx

[ScarletPimpernel]

It seems to me that to compound theft by committing fraud is much more likely to lead to problems. CAG doesn't condone any criminal activity.

 

The police are the appropriate authority for dealing with shop theft. They attended and decided to take no further action. There is no place for a commercial company such as RLP to act as a parallel justice system.

 

When (if) you get a letter from RLP, send the one-line denial of liability letter. There is always a chance that a retailer will bring a court claim, but it's remote.

[night22]

RLP dont do court anymore since oxford!!!

 

dx

What happened in Oxford?

[night22]

It seems to me that to compound theft by committing fraud is much more likely to lead to problems. CAG doesn't condone any criminal activity.

 

The police are the appropriate authority for dealing with shop theft. They attended and decided to take no further action. There is no place for a commercial company such as RLP to act as a parallel justice system.

 

When (if) you get a letter from RLP, send the one-line denial of liability letter. There is always a chance that a retailer will bring a court claim, but it's remote.

Thank you for your advice.

[ScarletPimpernel]

What happened in Oxford?

 

It was the only properly contested case involving an RLP retailer. The retailer lost.

[honeybee13]

Would it be worth making the 2[?] threads on the Oxford case a sticky? It's often referred to and newbies might find it useful to read.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Hopefully we'll be reviewing all the stickies and putting up a new civil recovery guide as well.

[Hammy1962]

i got caught shoplifting today on cctv.

 

I feel really bad about it and have just spent hours crying.

 

i took a couple of salads and a drink,

 

pretty pathetic of me but i had my son who was being so difficult and the till point lines were so long.

 

While i was in the back room a policeman came in and showed me his ID a

nd told me i was wasting their time and left.

 

The security handled the rest.

 

I only showed them my credit card.

 

When they send me the Retail Loss Prevention letter

 

can i deny it was me if i reported my credit card stolen?

 

I know it's low, but the thought that my name is down as a theft is killing me.

 

I'll probably get into loads of trouble for this, however, can i be so bold as to suggest it is not the shoplifting you feel bad about, it is the fact that you were caught. If they didn't spot you, I would again suggest, that you would be feeling pretty good about it, a couple of free salads and a drink.

 

To be constructive now. I would suggest ignoring anything from any company representing RLP. Don't compound the problem by trying to hide your identity by lying to the Credit Card company.

 

Hammy

[Zonker]

In a nutshell , the oxford case was about 2 convicted shoplifters being pursued by RLP that went to court. It was basically thrown out .

[honeybee13]

Here's a link to the judgement thread in case it's of interest.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?349332-RLP-and-the-Retailer-which-dares-not-speak-its-name-loses-their-case-in-Oxford-County-Court&highlight=oxford+court+rlp

 

HB

[night22]

I received a letter today from the department stores solicitors asking for the money, does this mean I should pay because they are solicitors?

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

Who is the letter from please?

 

My best, HB

[night22]

RLP dont do court anymore since oxford!!!

 

dx

 

i got a letter today from a solicitor representing the department store, they haven't called it a RLP but it's for £85. Do i have to pay it becaue it's from a solicitor?

Thanks in advance

[night22]

It's titled with the company name and underneath it it says SOLICITORS, don't want to say company name on here, sorry.

[ims21]

Please post up the letter minus any personal identifiers

 

Use this method by 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!!

'

BUT......

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

but leave all figures and dates. {DO NOT USE A BIRO OR PEN]

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

..

goto one of the many free online pdf converter websites [http://docupub.com/pdfconvert/]

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

try and logically name your file so people know what it is.

i'e Default notice dd-mm-yyyy

.

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

[Bandit127]

If you are up for a good read, this report contains some excellent information and will let you know what you are in for (effectively nothing).

Uncivil recovery

Major retailers’ use of threatened civil recovery against those accused of shoplifting or employee theft

 

An excellent piece of work by the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

[Zonker]

I think after reading that CAB report i would write back and say see you in court and no further correspondence will be entered into if i ever got into that position, that is of course after refusing to re enter the store and refusing to sign anything or give any details.

[Prolix]

Why not pay up and put it behind you. Doesn't seem like there's to be any criminal sanctions and at least you could move on. Forking out £85 for a couple of salads might make you think twice in future...

[Zonker]

Prolix, RLP has as much right to ask that money from the OP as i would. Somewhere between 0 and Zero

[ScarletPimpernel]

Prolix, the point is that the criminal justice system is the only way in which shoplifting should be dealt with, not a commercial organisation whose only interest is money.

[Prolix]

I thought the OP said that the letter was from the trader's solicitor. Therefore they do have a right to be re-imbursed for the costs involved in detecting crime and dealing with it subsequently. Or did I mis-understand? I agree with the points made about RLP

[Zonker]

Yes it appears that on 23/11/2012 was posted about a letter that was received from soliciters. DX100 asked for a sanatised version of the letter. It appears the OP hasnt yet posted a copy (maybe im wrong there.) I understand why a copy of the letter was requested because there are a few solicitors that, on payment, allow their letterheads to be used by other companies.

 

There are points brought up in the oxford case, linked to on this thread already, that are in my opinion valid here. You cant make up a figure and expect that to be paid,it has to be actual loss. As has been said in other threads, shops already have an element in their pricing structure that covers costs in relation to security ('overheads') and 'staff' dealing with their normal duties dont constitute a loss. Essentially security is paid for by consumers and they are doing the job they are employed for.