employed/stole from TKmax, no job, thrown out livng in car - help

[London lass 222]

I work for tkmaxx in London.

 

Iv stole around £2700 in money and merch.

 

It's no excuse but Iv had some pretty bad financial issues.

 

I got called in and

 

the regional lp took a statement from me

 

I was then suspended on full pay and going to a disaplinary with my manager.

 

Will they call the police?

 

Will I go to prison.

 

I'm so ashamed of my self.

 

I was just wondering if you knew what the likely action is now?

 

Iv worked there for 8 years and I have only done this over the last 2.

 

The regional man said he was handing over to my manager.

 

I know Iv done wrong and deserve everything I get I just wanted to know what to expect.

[renegadeimp]

Very unlikely you will go to prison for such a small amount of money, but the police will probably be called as you stole the money. You will also have to pay it back.

 

Sadly, you cant compare your issue to one like this thread is describing.

 

You willingly stole thousands, which makes it a full criminal matter.

 

Whether your employer decides to prosecute is up to them.

 

i think you really need the advice of a professional solicitor now.

 

Especially since you say this has happened over the last 2 years, so its not a one off occurrence.

 

At the very worst, if you please guilty at the first instance, should they go to court,

you will get a discount on the sentence for admitting guilt at the first reasonable opportunity.

 

Then what punishment you get is determined by your criminal history,

how many times you stole, the amounts, etc etc.

[London lass 222]

Thanks the only reason I posted on here was to get the ex lp guys opinion

[renegadeimp]

Theres no way he can advise on this.

 

You are talking abotu a serious criminal matter now.

He was only discussing RLP and what they can do.

He would have no say at all in any prosecution etc.

[London lass 222]

Ok I just wanted to see if he knew what would happen next in his opinion

[renegadeimp]

Nobody but your employer will know.

They will make a decision based on the evidence and any mitigating factors.

If you have done this multiple times and they see it based on balance of probabilities, then police intervention is very likely.

 

The only advice anyone can give is to confess immediately,

tell them the complete truth, and dont ramble on.

 

Be prepared to find another job, and if they do decide to get the police involved,

make sure you do not say a single thing without the presence of a duty solicitor.

You want to make sure you dont make any mistakes or have them trip you up in any questioning.

 

If you are upfront with the duty solicitor,

then they will be able to defend you properly if CPS decide to take it to prosecution.

They can then mitigate it as much as they can and get you a lesser punishment.

 

For now though, focus on getting your story straight and complete.

Something like this, it is easy for them to see through any lies, or if you change your story.

[London lass 222]

Thanks.

 

I know Iv done wrong and I hate myself.

 

I just hope they realise it's not like me, I'll pay back every penny.

 

Iv never had anything to do with the police.

 

I just hope they fire me at the disciplinary and set up a way for me to pay it back .

[renegadeimp]

Follow the advice given and just cross your fingers.

 

Police involvement isnt guaranteed, but it is 100% up to the employer and if they find it necessary.

If you have a history of doing this ( youve already said you have), and they know about it,

or have reasonable suspicion, then its likely they will be involved.

 

Just be 100% honest with them at all times, and as i said, if they choose to involve the police,

do not say ANYTHING to the police until you have a duty solicitor.

Dont discuss it at all.

If they arrest you, then only say yes, when they ask do you understand why you have been arrested.

Only speak when you are in the interview room and when the solicitor is present.

 

However, it may not even get that far, so try and relax, and deal with it when the time comes.

This is a relatively minor offence compared to what others have done.

 

I used to work with someone that stole £7000 and 3 laptops from the company.

All they got was an order to repay around £10000 ( total of all losses and costs) at an amount they could afford and a suspended sentence.

The crux being that if they missed just 1 payment then the suspended sentence would no longer be suspended,

they would go to prison for 3 months and still have to repay the money after, as well as adhereing to probation rules.

[London lass 222]

IV been totally honest with them.

Told them the reason etc.

I thought they would have called the police then but they suspended me and said I'll be called in for a disciplinary.

 

The lp investigator said he was leaving it to my manager :/

 

If I'm honest the only way I can see out of this whole thing is if I just wasn't here at all.

My life is a mess. I hate myself

[renegadeimp]

Normal steps are disciplinary first, then police intervention if necessary.

 

They need to find out all facts in an official setting first,

so if they get the police involved, they can give them all necessary info.

 

As for your last sentence, dont be so over dramatic.

It really isnt that serious at all.

 

You made a HUGE mistake, and are ready to admit guilt.

That will go in your favour.

Compared to some other things people to to their employer, you are basically a smudge at the bottom of the barrel.

[London lass 222]

My whole life is a mess.

This is the tip.

 

The lp said he was only concerned about the amounts for his final year loss figure.

I hope the disciplinary is the formality of firing me.

I thought they would have called the police there and then with having evidence and me admitting guilt

[renegadeimp]

No matter how rough life gets.

There are people who can help and ways out of everything.

If you bottle it up and keep quiet, then how is anyone meant to help you?

 

I learnt that a long time ago. Like i said, with some companies, for employee theft,

they wont get police involved until they have performed an internal investigation.

They may be mitigating factors they can deal with or ways they are able to help.

 

The only way to know is to go to the disciplinary

( Make sure you take a witness of your own choosing so you can be sure the employer doesnt contradict themselves at a later date)

be upfront and honest and just be very apologetic.

One thing i will advise though, after being a senior union rep for 6 years.

 

Only answer questions they ask you.

do NOT ramble on or take the conversation off on a tangent or on to something else.

Just answer what they ask you and nothing more.

Way too many people make that mistake and drop themselves further in trouble without realising it.

[London lass 222]

Thank you so much,

 

I have no one to talk to my parents have thrown me out

and I'm living in my car I have no friends or anyone I can turn to

[renegadeimp]

There are plenty of places to turn to. Sit tight and ill send out an SOS to see if we can get you some help. It probably wont be until tomorrow, but help will come.

[dx100uk]

own thread created

 

dx

[silverfox1961]

Hi

I really suggest you give the Samaritans a ring as a matter of urgency.

 

http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you

 

Also Shelter may be able to offer assistance

 

http://www.shelter.org.uk/

[ericsbrother]

looks like they are going down the employee misconduct route which will undoubtedly lead to your dismissal and they may very well decide to mitigate the rest if you explain your circumstances to them. This will result in them putting the loss down as an allowable tax write-off so they wont really have a reason to waste more energy and resources on chasing you through the criminal system. It would require a lot of time away from other duties for quite a few staff who will be witnesses etc so it is not really economical to utilise both pathways. If they intended to go down the criminal route they would have summarily dismissed you and called the police or dismissed you once you had confessed to the police.

If it does go to a criminal investigation it is most likely to be a specimen charge of theft and dealt with in a magistrate's court by way of a non-custodial sentence-fine or community service.

The more you can get on top of the rest of your problems the smaller this issue becomes as punishing you is not a matter of the only resort left for them.

[London lass 222]

Thank you. I hope they will just fire me at the disaplinary I will offer to pay everything back. I just can't have a criminal record on top of all this I will just never get out of everything. I really appreciate all of the help and advice offered. Although I don't deserve any of it.

I hope that they would have called tho police at the meeting with the lp Seen as I admitted everything. He did say he didn't want to make my situation any worse.

I might manage to actually sleep a little tonight.

Thank you all again

[renegadeimp]

The loss prevention guy has no say so at all with regards to any punishment.

[London lass 222]

So it's down to my manager? I have just read my suspension letter, it says Iv been suspended on full pay pending a disciplinary, I hope this suggests that they will just dismiss me

[renegadeimp]

They have to investigate, listen to your side of the story then make a decision.

[London lass 222]

Ok when ever this has happened to people at work before they have just called the police straight away and had them escorted out with the police. I hope the 6 years previous to this will go in my favour. I would never have done this if I hadn't been so desperate. Iv never so much as took a sweet with out paying for it before this

[renegadeimp]

Stop thinking of what if's and wait for the meeting to happen.

[London lass 222]

Ok I'll try. It's just I have no where to turn too. But thanks for all the advice so far

[renegadeimp]

Give those advice lines a call in the morning and go from there. Try to keep your chin up because there IS help out there. You just need to be proactive and ready to help yourself as well.