Tesco shoplifting

[Magicmist]

Hey, so im gonna try and not bore you all with unnecessary detail basicly i was caught shoplifting yesterday at tescos, it was not a mistake i knew i was doing it and i accept my wrong doings. They treated me fine and took down my details, i gave them back the products (a shampoo and conditioner) that total cost came to £8 something (which i was not asked to pay as i returned the products), i was not treated badly or wrong by them. I was informed that i would be getting a letter from the RLPicon with a fine of between £70-150 and i am banned from tesco for 3 months.

 

I am 17 and live of benefits and have very little money, basicly over the last year i have been diagnosed with complex post traumatic stress disorder and have spent between 5-6 months in an inpatient unit due to me being highly suicidal and a self harmer (please do not express negative opinions towards this), the last incident was 2 months ago when i had to be treated from an overdose at my local hospital, now i am not making excuses or trying to say its not my fault as i knew what i was doing but at times i get a overwhelming erge to be reckless or self sabotaging acts one of which was this shoplifting. I am wondering when i get this fine and can not pay it where do i stand and what is the best thing for me to do?

 

I can not tell anyone around me this is happened down to shame and anxiety.

[renegadeimp]

There is no fine. RLP cant touch you because you are under 18. Wait and see if you get any kind of letter from them and come back here.

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

I would normally say ignore the letters from RLP but your case has a slight twist on it.

 

Firstly, if you live with your parents and you ignore the letters, RLP will write to them as while you are under 18, they are responsible for your actions.

 

There is also the issue of your mental health. Letters from RLP may aggravate your problem.

 

RLP have a duty to treat people with 'proven' mental health issues sensitively so:

 

1 Write to RLP (once you get the letter). In this letter you will have two choices:

a) State that, " Any liability to you are any company you claim to represent is denied."

"I hereby refuse permission for you to pass on any details to any third party.: (this will prevent them writing to your parents.

b) Admit what happened but tell them that this was due to mental health issues you have had and are ongoing (you may need to provide proof of this)

 

I have seen a case or two where RLP have backed off when presented with evidence of vulnerability (as you most certainly are)

 

Ignoring them will mean that the letters get ever more demanding before they pass on the claim to a debt collector. They can't take you to court (only Tesco can do that-but that is highly unlikely)

 

If you have access to a local Citizens Advice Bureau, go there and they will help with writing letters for you.

 

If you have a mental health worker, why not confide with him/her. It can help.

 

Also, you may notice that we tend not to judge anyone and that is a good thing in my opinion.

 

Good luck.

[Magicmist]

Thank you for the advice. Although i am under 18 i actually do not live with my parents i live with my boyfriend and his family, is there any chance they could send a letter to them as they live at the same address?

[silverfox1961]

Unless his parents are your legal guardian then no they cannot write to them. RLP might try and send a letter to the parent/guardian of Magicmist but (in my opinion) they would be in breach of the Data Protection Act.

 

Let's see what they do first before we cross that bridge. They MUST write to you first. Any envelope will be plain with no RLP logo on it.

[ericsbrother]

What address did you give the store? any letters will go there and nothing will go elsewhere unless you gave them another address. RLP do like to ignore the law when it comes to their begging letters but it is all hot air on their part designed to intimidate or shame you into paying them. They make their living by doing this so dont think it is personal, ignore theri letters but keep them safe, they usually send out 3 posts and say that they are passing it on and then you get another letter from a tame DCA who can equally be ignored and then they give up.