@asdaserviceteam Accused of theft

[Randomlyness]

Hi there I'm posting on behalf of a relative who recently visited asda to buy some holiday clothes. On the 31st July she attended asda and bought 9 items

 

2 jeans @ £10

1 jeans @ £14

2 top @ £1.50

3 tops @ £5.00

1 top @ £8.00

 

She paid with her debit card and left the store on the 14th August the police knocked at her house and accused her of stealing £40.00 worth of goods she denied this and the police asked her to fetch down the clothes she bought she also showed them a copy of her debit card payment.

 

The police contacted asda who said that she had failed to scan an item of clothing however she denies this as the self checkout would have stated unexpected item in baggage area.

 

she also had to call someone over for assistance because a item of clothing would not scan and as a result needed help keying in the number.

 

she attended asda to query this they told her that on the day she had looked suspicious when she left the store security followed her to her car and took down her registration details this is how the police were able to track her address.

 

she went to asda never saw any footage or asked for a receipt but she paid 14.00 to asda and was banned nationwide from every store. Today after thinking about it she believes she has paid twice and will be writing to head office to clarify. She needs a copy of this till receipt and also footage of the cctv.

 

she's a mum of 3 owns her own home works full time she does not need to steal a 14.00 pair of jeans.

 

she received another letter today from a solicitor acting on behalf of asda who states she stole 60.00 worth of goods and must pay 110.00 immediately this is made up of 60.00 goods and 50 admin fee.

 

what the he'll are asda playing at.

 

Do asda keep receipt data what should her next course of action be.

 

Although she paid the 14.00 to asda she still disputes she failed to scan anything and wants an apology from asda. She refuses to deal with asda in ha the future and as a result our family have moved supermarkets to support her cause.

 

Any information appreciated.

[rebel11]

Hi Random

 

What your relative has received is a speculative invoice, it is not a fine.

I believe they are not actually solicitors, it's a company similar to RLP.

 

She should not of paid the £14.00. It becomes difficult to state that everything was done correctly, but then pay £14.00, but then say actually everything was done correctly.

 

You can ask for a copy of the CCTV recording, send them a SAR request with £10, give them the date and time. That's your starting point. Can you post details of the letter she received.

 

https://www.gov.uk/request-cctv-footage-of-yourself

 

Also she needs to find out, if security guards thought she was acting suspicious and taken something without paying, why didn't they stop her? They were clearly shooting in the dark.

[ericsbrother]

the bank statement and itemise receipt should tally with the items. If they do then I would be writing to Asda and demanding a refund of the £14 and an apology for the accusation of theft. As for being banned, I would be telling the newspapers that Asda has behaved appallingly in both their accusations and the manner in which they investigated the matter and that I wouldnt be setting foot inside their crummy stores anyway as they dont deserve to have any customers if this is how they are treated. Also point out that the self service checkouts have caused the problem and that customers should be aware that the stores can and will make mistakes that lead to the shoddy treatment meted out to her.

basically, get all of the facts and then blast them with both barrels.