Thanks JonCris, i am awaiting a response from RLP after informing them of the Argos eBay store where Argos sell used goods and I will also put forward your latest point should they continue to pursue the full amount

I have just stumbled purely by accident upon Argos Clearance Shop on Ebay. It is run by Argos and it is where they sell end of catalogue ranges and also, what i find interesting, "refurbished goods" This is an exerpt from there page on refurbed goods Refurbished Products Refurbished products are all 100% OK! In fact, they represent amazing value for money, especially as we offer all our refurbished products with a full ONE YEAR warranty. These products may be classed as refurbished for a number of reasons: They may have been previously sold, and subsequently returned to one of our parent stores and not put back on sale for cosmetic packaging reasons. This is often as little as a broken seal. Alternatively, they may simply have incurred a minor amount of cosmetic packaging damage during handling in the day to day running of our business. Some items may also have been returned to our parentstores with a reported fault or where a customer had difficulty in using. All of these products are returned to our certified testing facilities, examined and fully tested. Only products classified by our professional inspection and testing process as "A1 Condition", fully tested, working, and complete are then made available for sale through Argos Clearance Bargains. Any products that don't meet these high standards are never sold through our eBay shop or retail stores. All of our refurbished products are sold in there original manufacturers packaging unless stated on the listing. The fact that we guarantee the products for a full year means that you can purchase with full peace of mind. REMEMBER: WE CLEARLY STATE IN EVERY TITLE, SUBTITLE OR LISTING IF A SPECIFIC PRODUCT IS REFURBISHED. IF IT DOESN'T SAY REFURBISHED THEN IT'S ALWAYS BRAND NEW The part i've highlighted in red is of most interest. It would appear that Argos do from time to time sell refurbished goods not packaged in original packaging. If this is the case then why would they tell me that the goods i returned were unresaleable because of the lack of packaging. If they can sell refurbished goods without packaging, why can they not sell brand new goods without packaging ????

I can see your point on the loss of profit but at no point has this been brought into play. Only the retail value of the items. RLP's exact words on the ownership of goods are "We note your assertion that if you are to settle this claim then the the goods themselves should be passed to you. However, you will be paying for the damages caused to the goods, not for the ownership of the goods, as they are unfit for resale. A payment of money in these circumstances does not lead to a transfer of title to the goods. It merely compensates our client for their financial loss. There is no contract of sale and therefore the goods will remain in our clients possesion" What damage am i paying for ??? Everything was in perfect pristine order, just not in a box, surely this is not damage ??? I have brought from retailers before, at a reduced cost, items minus the box. It is not beyond Argos' capability to sell the goods at discount as unboxed then pursue me for the difference in sale and retail price

Just copied this from RLP's website "There is therefore no question that our clients make any profit from civil recovery claims. In reality many claims are compromised and our clients do not recover the true extent of their losses in many cases." That is obviously not the case as i am being expected to pay the retail value and not the cost value, the difference between the two to my knowledge is called PROFIT

The only way they are substantiating their claim is with the original letter which lists the RETAIL value of all the items and not the COST value to argos. And they make it appear that they are working for free as the amount they are claiming is the amount of the goods at retail value to argos so where do their costs come into it? I have tried contacting argos stating that i believe i should only be liable for the cost price of the items as THAT is their loss and not the RETAIL value but it would seem that they just forward my letters to RLP

The latest letter from RLP as follows We have responded to your correspondence on this matter, however you have failed to settle this claim subsequently. Our client has suffered loss as a result of your wrongful actions and is entitled to compensation for their loss. We take this oppurtunity to advise you that we are not prepared to enter into any further correspondence on any of the point you have raised thus far as we have already addressed the issues raised which have a legal basis. Should this case proceed to the civil Court and we have to issue an application for Summary Judgement based on the fact that your defence has no legal basis and therefore no likelihood of success, we shall add the costs incurred onto the amount claimed from you which will increase the amount outstanding considerably. Our client is prepared to issue court proceeding in this matter to recover the full amount of their claim plus any court fees. other allowable legal costs and all interest which has been accruing on a daily basis at a rate of 8% per annum. The total amount claimed in court will significantly exceed the amount shown above. Your options now are to : Pay the amount outstanding by credit/debit card Set up an installment plan Write asking for the matter to be tried by a civil court judge. This will enable you to defend your case, submit appropriate evidence and attend court to confirm your own evidence and hear the evidence of our client Failure to settle the claim or respond, within 21 days from the date of this letter will result in next stage action being taken against you without further notice. So thats the latest, any further advice ? do i just pay and make it go away or are they likely to stick to what they claim will happen

Ok just recieved another letter from RLP confirming that one of the items returned was indeed in a condition to be resold, as i informed them that it was, and the cost of that item has been deducted from the total. Have now the standard 21 days to pay/arrange terms Whats the next step. Do i ignore them and see what the next step form them will be. What is that likely to be Thanks

Ok time for an update Wrote to Argos regards RLP's claims. Never heard back but got a letter from RLP stating that Argos had forwarded the letter onto them. Am now in receipt of another letter from RLP stating that because the goods where unboxed then they are not resaleable, although i will challenge this as one item was completely sealed and intact in a box. They go on to say that i would be paying for the damages caused to the goods (removing boxes is classed as damage) and not for ownership of the goods, as they are unfit for resale. A payment of moeny in these circumstances does not lead to a transfer of the title for the goods. It merely compensates Argos for their financial loss. There is no contract of sale and therefore the goods will remain in Argos' possesion. Again is the demand for money via either credit card or installments and now an extra option of Alternative Dispure Resolution as a more suitable option than litigation ??? Which involves me supplying a written account of my version of events. Supplying evidence that i intend to rely on in my defence and confirmation that i agree to negotiate a settlementand/or pay the costs of the ADR which are typically £150/300 per party. Not a clue as to what all that means So, apart from disputing the one item that was totally boxed and sealed what should be my next step?. I have the standard 21 days to respond before RLP will seek instruction from Argos on the next action against me Thanks

Many thanks for your advice. Think I will ignore RLP initially and write to Argos asking them substanciate RLP's demands even though the letter states I should not contact Argos, but then I guess it would !!!!

Yes the bill represents the retail value if the items at the time. At least one of the items in now discontinued. I was banned from Argos whilst I was suspended on full pay awaiting a disciplinary hearing. After the hearing and my dismissal the letter I got from Argos stated the reasoning for my dismissal but did not mention any banning order

Many thanks for your response. I already have a list of items from Argos which totals £5 more than RLP are stating it is. Should I challenge the fact that Argos received everything back so the costs should be a fraction of what they're asking or should I just ask for the goods and pay what they are demanding. The only reason the items are possibly un-resaleable is the fact they do not have boxes

Hi everyone Before i start i'd just like to say i'm not here to be judged by other users i would just like a little advice. Ok down to business I got a part time xmas temp job at Argos in November after losing my previous job in July through ill health. After xmas when things were extremely hard financially and my contracted hours being dropped to 6 hours a week I allegedly stole a few high value items from Argos with the intention of selling them on in an attempt to keep my head above water. the police were called. The items allegedly stolen were rerturned. The returned items were in totally un-used condition but without the boxes as they had been removed from the boxes prior to removing them from the store. I received a caution from the police as the claimed stolen items were returned and had my employment with Argos terminated. I have now received a letter from RPL claiming.... Total value of goods/monies/services-------------£1003.95 Recovered goods/monies/service-----------------£ 0.00 Value of unrecovered or unfit for resale goods----£ 1003.95 Staff/management time-------------------------£ 50.00 Admin costs------------------------------------£ 0.00 Security and surveillance------------------------£ 0.00 TOTAL -----------------------------------------£ 1053.95 If i pay within 21days i get a huge £10 discount. I'd just like a little advice on what i should do before I call them, considering i returned all the stolen items. Yes i stole the stuff, yes i admitted it, yes i agree to some losses for Argos' but should i really have to pay the full price for all the items. Also if argos are saying that the goods are not saleable therefore i should pay for them then shouldnt i be entitled to the goods ???????? Any advice would be greatly appreciated