Hi there, recently me and a few friends were caught shoplifing £58.97 worth of makeup from Boots. This is my first ever offence and I clearly wasn't thinking right, I'm so ashamed of myself. we were caught by CCTV and the two guards came up to us and took us to back of house. At this point, I knew I messed up. He gave us the option of either telling our parents or calling the police and risking a criminal record. OBVIOUSLY, we chose to just tell our parents even though we knew we'd get in a huge amount of trouble. The goods were taken back by Boots with no damage done. After this ,they took our details and gave us a 12 month ban and a sheet behind with RLP in the corner. We were told we'd be expecting a 'fine' of around £120 which I thought was ridiculous for a 16 year old to be paying. Yes, I know I did wrong but come on?! me being me I decided to do some research and came across a number of forums and threads telling me I should ignore the letters, but this sounds really wrong considering they threaten to take people to court? I really don't want to stress my parents out even more as we have a lot of things to be paying for at the moment and I myself am stressing too because I don't want to get into even more trouble. Please help me before I lose my marbles ((((

Hi I was caught shoplifting items worth about £7 in my local sainsbury's about a month ago. I was taken into the back, barred for life from all sainsbury's. They wouldn't let me pay for the items and just took it off me. I got the standard ban letter with the bit about my details being passed on to 3rd party recovery. They took my address, however I told them to send letters to my London address (I am a student), as they could contact me quicker, and I dont want my parents to see the letters. However I think they took my home address that is on my ID aswell. I was told I would be 'fined' about £70. The police were not involved. However I have not received a letter to either address. I am worried letters will get sent to my home address before my london address and will be opened by my parents. Is there any way I can get in contact with someone to make sure letters come to my address in London? I know not to respond to the letters, but I don't want my parents to see them and panic. Does anyone else have experience of not receiving a letter? The address written on the letter given to me instore is my address in London. Looking for any advice on how to proceed. Thanks

I am embarrassed to say I got caught eating a product at tescos I did not pay for today, which I completely forgot about, long story short, the police didn't get involved they took the RLP route said a letter will come through soon. I know most members advise against paying these [problem]mers but I feel far too embarrassed and would rather just get it over with. My question is, how will the record they keep affect my future employment with Tesco themselves? Since I am a pharmacist and Tesco is a very big chain, would paying the RLP effectively prove that I'm guilty? Thanks in advance to anyone that can help

Hi I got caught taking some items from primark (I know, sad)! They took me in to a room and took down my details from my Spanish ID and I gave them my real address to send the fine they told me the RLP will send in a couple of weeks or so. I'm over 18 so they didn't ask for my parents details. They made a copy of my Spanish ID and didn't call the police. The total amount was £35. I swear I learned the lesson but I'm really worried if I'm going to have any criminal record in the UK or it's going to be a problem if at some point I want to apply for a mortgage? Also the security guy told me the fine will be £130 but I read on this website that it's £180. Also read that I don't have to pay, just ignore it. The security guy told me if I don't pay it this would be taken to the court and I would have a real problem. Is that real? They have my real address so it's easy the RLP can ask for it and send the police to my address or something? I'm really worried and i'm overthinking the worst! I would really appreciate if you can give me some advise. Many thanks in advance.

Hi. I got caught yesterday at Tk maxx Cambridge as I took a shoe worth £29. I know it's very cheap of me to do such a thing and believe me I'm ashamed of myself. The security person asked me to come to a room asked me to accept what I have done or else he would call the police. I was frightened and immediately accepted. told me that I will be banned from any tk maxx store nation wide for 12 months and that I need to pay a fine. asked for my driving license but I don't have any so he asked for my bank card. took my name from the card and wrote on a form. asked for my address and as I was saying the first two line of my address, he was busy in talking to the manager and didn't asked or wrote my full address. Then he told me I'll be contacted soon via phone and post to pay a fine. But he didn't know my phone number nor my full address in London. Will they be able to reach me? Shall I be any trouble because of this? Please let me know. I will never do such a thing in my life again.

I was shopping with my husband a few days ago. We spend almost £100 in a shop. Took it out to the car (no alarms sounded when we left the shop) and then my husband returned the trolley to the store. He had to go back in through the entrance to do this (again no alarms sounded) As he went to leave (through the entrance) the alarm went off. Thinking it was because he was leaving through the wrong door he went to the exit. As he did so he got the car key out of his pocket to put the trolley token back in the key ring he realised that there was a pack of hook and eyes costing £1.89 in his pocket. He doesn't remember, but thinks he was holding them when I asked him to lift something heavy into the trolley so must have just done it while he was distracted. At this point the exit alarm also went off. He went over to the till and attempted to pay for the item. The store manager then approached and told the checkout staff that he couldn't pay for the item as he'd attempted to remove it and asked my husband to accompany him to the office. Security was also called. My husband did as asked without causing an issue. He was told that the store policy is to prosecute in 100% of cases involving theft and the police were called. The shop took all of my husband's details. In the meantime, he was told that even if the police did not pursue the case the store would launch a civil prosecution and it would go on his record and he would have to pay a fine/compensation & all associated legal costs. The police arrived quite quickly. Asked him and the store manager what had happened and then told my husband there would be no criminal case as there was no intent to permenantly deprive the store of the item, and said if the store had no more need of him he could leave and they would wait 5 minutes before they would leave to save him from any further embarrassment. We have not yet heard back from the store but then this only happened 2 days ago. This has left us both very shaken. We have little income (both self employed and as the business is only 3 years old we are not currently taking a salary) so a fine of any amount will be pretty devastating for us and leave us in financial difficulty. It's also highly embarrassing to have to deal with this and could have an impact on our business if any of our customers or potential customers saw what happened (we were in a distinctive branded vehicle so anyone seeing us leave could identify us). It was a genuine mistake which he tried to rectify! To me this doesn't seem to be a crime but I'm not sure where he stands as he did leave the shop before returning and realising his mistake. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Hello everyone yesterday out of stupidity and mostly boredom if i'm completely honest I attempted to shoplift a pair of £15 headphones from Tkmaxx, this is my first time ever shoplifting. Once being caught I was asked to come back into the store halfway down the street, upon entering some little room in side the shop I was searched and my bag and proof of my age, i showed him my provisional , being a bit nervous and realized how silly it was of me to do this I said to the man sorry etc and for wasting his time. Until he goes on to tell me i'm going to be getting a fine from the so called "RLP" and would have to pay 'debt' for losses , administrative costs ,investigation costs and time wasting which I believe is an absolute joke, especially after doing a bit of research these fines can be up to £190! The headphones were returned to the shop in pristine condition, i'm not bothered if they get the police involved all they will do is give me a caution for such a petty mistake. Does the RLP have any sort of legal right, or are they just preying on the vulnerable to make a profit, as I am certainly not going to pay that fine, is there any way I can get around it or send them a letter back to end this. Although this happened just yesterday I will keep everyone updated when I get the letter from the RLP Thanks for reading

hello First post i am sorry that it has to be that way. I get caught shoplifting. This is my first time i get caught but not my first time shoplifting. The guy who caught me ask me if i steal one particular item yesterday and i said no, my question is if they check and see that it was indeed me the one who stole the other good too, what would happend to me? Regarding to today's shoplifting, police come and only make me pay the goods. Thank you for your time.

Hello Everyone. First time poster in need of some help and advice. I was recently accused of shoplifting in Sainsbury's. Here's the story: an off-duty employee, who just happened to be shopping in the store, incorrectly claimed she saw me trying to steal some items and she reported me to the store security. The security guard (accompanied by several 'burly' male members of staff) asked me to leave and escorted me off the premises. I attempted to remonstrate with them but they weren't interested and feeling completely surprised and intimidated I left. The police were not called, my details were not taken, and no further action was taken. It ended there and then……or so I thought….. From that day on, I always get followed by security in almost all major shopping chains up and down the country from London to Aberdeen. It's very easy to spot and I'm certainly not being paranoid. The process is almost always the same - it usually starts with an announcement over the speaker system when I walk in (e.g. "Can the Store Manager please come to the security desk" or some variation) and then I get followed around the shop often culminating with large groups of staff standing next to the exit as I leave, I assume, waiting for me to do a runner or something. The whole experience makes me feel sick every time as I hate the idea that I'm thought of as a shoplifter. I don't have the confidence to confront them either. I've also been followed at Airports and Kings Cross train station amongst other places. Am I an some sort of UK National Shoplifting Database? Does the database have a name and someone I could contact? Can I get removed from it? Where would I even start with any of this? I'd appreciate any help you could offer. Best regards, Garabaldi

Hi all, First message on this forum, I thank you all for the answers you provide to other people in various topics, it already helped me a lot. Long story short, I was caught for shoplifting at a Sainbury's. I complied, store security took my name & address and issued me a banning letter. So far so good. They also called the police, they provided them with my name, DoB, address and a physical description. We waited for them for about 20 min and the police station eventually called back to say that they had more important stuff to deal with at the moment so that no police officer would show up and that they would deal with the matter later on. The store security thus let me leave, after I had paid for the items I attempted to steal. Now here is my question: since no police officer show up, what are the possible outcomes of this ? Can I still get a Fixed Penalty Notice afterwards? Is there any chance I will be facing charge? Or I don't have anything to worry about?

Last week I was shopping with my baby in primark and I shoplift 6 blouses. Im from Sudamérica. I feel terrible, ashamed, sad. It was something terrible to do. The guy took me to a room. The manager came and she was rude at the beginning but she calm down. She ask me for an ID and obviously the only one is from COLOMBIA with my name an address so she noticed I was a tourist. She asked me for my fly details and hotel name (I didn't have any details of this, can't remember the name of my hotel) she never called the Police. I ask her if they are going to look for me in COLOMBIA and she said no... they never asked for my DOB, name, I didn't signed anything and they didnt give me anything. They just photocopied my colombian ID Im still shaking for this I been praying and looking for erase the pain in my heart. Im still on holidays here. That Day she told me she dont want me in her shop anymore or she will call the Police. Im not going to that shop never again. That day I asked her if I still can go to the other shops and she said yes but they will checking me. Im going next week with my husband to the shopping centre. (NOT GOING TO PRIMARK NEVER) 1. If the security guy see me can he call the police because the incident of the week before? 2. Are they going to look for me in Colombia. 3. Im going to receive anything in COLOMBIA? I stopped living in That place 10 years ago but my Mother still lives there. 4. Are going to send me to court? My husband has been ofered a job in London for next year so? Im going to have an arrested order? Thank you for any help. And Im not going to do this disgusting thing never again.

About a week ago my sister of 24 years of age and my under aged self arrived in London for holiday visiting our cousin,who is currently a university student. Neither of us has any source of income other than their parents and not having a lot of time to save up for this trip made it very hard for us to get by with the money we were given.Yesterday was our 7th day and we thought it would be a good idea to take some presents for back home but without much money it would be hard to acquire them. We finally decided to steal some but of course it was a STUPID idea.We were taken to the room downstairs by a really kind lady.She asked us for our info name,date of birth ,Addres.We contacted our mother with her help and she confirmed everything we told her. She told us a letter would come demanding we pay an unfairly high amount of money which could be 300-400 pound,around 10-15 times the amount of money we attempted to steal.After that she took copies of our ids and we returned home. I was mainly concerned about my mother as she would have to pay the "fine",so I started doing some intensive research and came across this site.Almost in every single case you guys provided amazing support to other members and always advised against paying the money. I know there are a lot of people like me out there but I wanted to know if the fact that I am a resident of a different country would change things.My personal opinion is that it would be even harder for them to do something that would affect me negatively. The security Guard constantly tried to remind me to pay that money and if I wouldn't they could inform the local authorities.I find it really unlikely but I would also love to have some feedback from you about my situation. If you made it to here I thank you very much and please excuse any mistakes i make made in English

Hello. Today I got caught shoplifting from Primark as I was making my way out. The RLP sent me to a small room in which they told me to put everything I stole on the chair next to me (total was about 44€ - I'm from Portugal). I did as I was told and then police came up after 20min. Then we went to the police office, they checked if I had any record of previous thefts, debts, etc (which I didn't). Then they told me I was free to go but I'd probably receive a letter from Primark to go to court. My questions are: what's more likely to happen - not receive a letter at all, receive a letter to go to court and/or pay a fine? Thank you so much for your attention

Last week I shoplifted from sainsbury's and am extremely ashamed of that. I knew I shouldn't do it and sensed something was wrong, but at that time I was very very desperate and couldn't afford buying much. It was one of the most embarrassing things in my life, I'm so glad no one I knew saw me do it. I took about 5 packs of chewing gum worth maybe £0.46 each and looked out for cameras and hid them in my pocket where I thought I was invisible. Then I went to the public toilet in the store because I genuinely had to. I walked passed the self check out machines and held a bank letter and my purse in one hand, saw a security look at them. I didn't beep and was about to exit when I heard someone calling "excuse me, miss", but didn't turn around and kept walking. Some people next to me turned around and I got tapped on the shoulder. I got walked back in and stood next to some carts with a security officer. He asked where the chewing gum is and told me not to lie, all I could say is "sorry" because I panicked. He told me to follow him and lead me to the security room with another person. He told me to sit down and asked where I put the gum. Instead of resisting, I just reached for my pocket and put everything I attempted to steal on the table. He asked if he needs to search my bags, I said I don't mind, so he didn't. He asked how old i am, and i lied saying i'm 15 but i'm 16 because i thought this would change something. they didn't ask for my name or any details but just said they normally call police or parents at this age. he said he doesnt want to see my face in the store ever again and told me to never come back, and let me go. knowing i have to go back, i can't follow his rules, telling my mum isn't an option. does anyone have anything to say? what will happen if they see me enter the store/ recognise me/ how likely is that??

Hello, I did something bad today and Im very sorry and freaked out about it. I shoplifted from Primark for 24 pounds. They caught me and I filled a paper with name address NIN and job. They said I need to pay a fee or something and I will get a letter. I asked if I am in big trouble like I will get kicked out of uni (i dont want them to find out) or fired from my job because some dude has access to this kind of data and has all mcdonalds (where I work) and when he sees my name he will fire me. The police was not involved but im still afraid because they said that If the police ask them for a list of shoplifters they will give it to them and well i will be in trouble. It was my first attempt and I SWEAR i will never ever try to do something like this again. Can I get out of it without anyone important like my uni or guys at work to find out? I will pay the fee no problem but I just want to dig this incident and get over it so i can be happy again.

Hello Ive been through many posts already all of them said to ignore the RLP letters I dont have to say the obvious that I am very ashamed of what Ive done so Ill just come quick to the centre of the matter Got caught at Primark this November, with a value of stuff around probably £25 which of course they took away from me... They scanned my passport which is not English and they told me to log on on my student ( I am studdying in London) website from which the woman took my current polish address.. I was instructed to call RLP in a week time to say that I will not be available at the address provided (polish one) and to ask them to send the letter for a different english one... I called them and the man over phone told me that they can send me letter through e-mail.. I would like to post the letter I received here; LETTER BEFORE CLAIM We have been instructed by Primark in relation to the incident at Oxford Street West on 2nd November 2016 where it is alleged you were involved in Theft of Goods. As you are aware you were apprehended as a result of your actions. Your conduct gives our client the right to pursue a civil claim for “damages” against you in the County Court as this caused significant disruption to our client’s business at those premises. Our client has sustained losses as a result of your wrongful actions which include the value of the goods, if not recovered or fit for resale; the cost of the diversion of its staff’s time and associated security and administration costs. The average cost to our client of an incident of this nature is between £300 and £500, before taking into account any goods or cash not recovered. Please read the attached information in conjunction with this letter. Recovering the goods or cash does not mean our client has suffered no loss. Our client is entitled to seek to recover from you the cost of the disruption to its business caused by your wrongful acts. This cost is calculated by reference to, amongst other things, the time spent by staff in observing, apprehending, interviewing you, and undertaking all necessary internal and external procedures thereafter. Given the value of the claim, our client is required to process it expediently, cost effectively and proportionately. A fixed contribution to all of the losses is therefore sought, in sum of £149.50. This does not include any amount for the property or cash as these were fully recovered. This is a civil claim and is separate from any criminal proceedings or police action. If you believe you have a Defence to this claim, or there are other factors you wish to be taken into consideration, please advise us and provide any evidence in support, within the next 21 days. You will appreciate that our client can only take into consideration information if it is provided. Our client relies upon its investigation file and the evidence of its personnel in the investigation to prove its claim.If you require any further information to understand the claim against you, or think that this letter is in any way defective, please let us know within the next 7 days. We are required to refer you to the Practice Direction for Pre-action Conduct which has been published in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. The Court has power to impose sanctions on any party who fails to comply with the Practice Direction. There is an obligation upon each party to set out their case in full, to exchange documents and information, and generally to engage in attempts to settle the dispute without the need for Court proceedings. We are also required to inform you that ignoring this letter may lead to our client starting proceedings which may well increase your liability for legal costs. We would therefore recommend that you take independent legal advice if you are in any way unsure of your position. We have put your case on hold for 21 days for you to consider your following options: · If you believe you have a Defence, to provide the details along with any evidence upon which you rely. · If there are other factors you wish to be taken into consideration, to provide the details. · Settle the claim by paying the amount stated £149.50 (see reverse). · If you wish to settle the claim, but cannot do so within 21 days, contact us to discuss payment options which include instalments and deferred periods, dependent upon the circumstances (see reverse). · Negotiate an alternative settlement by contacting our Collections Department (see reverse). · Advise if you require more time to take legal or other advice and consider your position. We look forward to receiving your response. Please ensure you send correspondence to us, and not to our client directly, as this will cause unnecessary delay. Obviously I am super stressed as the 21 days already passed, beside the one phone call, I did not contact the RLP office, I just want to make sure my case is like everyones else and that I dont have anything to worry about... (hopefully) But if that is otherwise please do you have any formulas of letter I could send them ? Thank You in advance for an answer

last sunday before christmas my son and brother went to the football when it ended my wife and my 2 daughters went with my son in to smyths toys while i dropped my brother home . when i got back to the toy shop they had gone next door to asdas ... i go in and they are all in the toy section .. ( they was all spending their Christmas money ) when i got to them they said there was nothing in here they wanted . they asked for the car keys as me and the wife had some shopping to do .. we went off and walking around the shop . . my wife phone rang . just as she answered it we heard some one shout !! we have just arrested your kids for shoplifting !! my wife said they been stopped at the door .as we turned around the security guard was about 20 ft away walking towards us . he said it again this time not as loud .. i asked where are they he said they are in the security room and the police been called .. we all walked to the security room . . which turned out to be no more than a broom cupboard. with about 15 to 20 staff and customers watching .. .as we got close i seen my 13 old son and 16 old daughter in this broom cupboard in hysterics and crying . . i went nuts i barged thro the people and staff to get to them just as i got to the door of the room there was 2 plain clothes cops who grabbed me and stopped me getting in to the room while shouting were are the police . i said i dont care who you are get me kids out this room now .. . then he told me they been stopped for shoplifting my wife said then NO t That is not your stuff , what they have is from smyth toys and showed the receipt the cops checked the receipt and said yes every thing is paid for . a manager said i want the item scanned with our scanner gun the cops said !! we have checked them and they been paid for ) the wife said let them check to which they did and guess what none of the items were from ASDAs shop also the items had big smyths toy labels on them .. all the staff walked off the cop said i need to check the CCTV footage . he came back and with one manager said we have CCTV your kids walking in with the ITEMS IN THEIR HANDS so nothing has been taken from here .. i said im not happy with them calling my kids shoplifters a manager said that doesnt matter its irrelevant i walked up to him and said its not ok to call my kids names .. and he walked off ... we just left as we were going out the door the security guard was talking to this manager about what happened as people were walking out then stopped as we were going past and said sorry he could have handled it better yet the manager walked off .. we called asdas house and they said we'll sort it the security will have retraining and they said they'd,d send us compensation for our troubles .. NOTHING FROM THEM. they assaulted my children called them names and me and my wife in a busy store , and got away with it .. sorry about the long story BUT WHAT DO WE DO we have found out from the net that 3 things must happen , 1 a member of staff must see you taking some thing off the shelf 2 they must wait till you leave the store 3 they must not touch you but say can you come back in to the store IF YOUR TRY TO RUN then they can grab you .. now my kids had NOT taken any thing off the shelf my kids were not out of the shop The securtity guards grabbed them from behind by the tops of their arms and frog marched them to this room they then emptied my daughters bag and started to questioning them ... we were not there when they did this and no other adults were there apart from the security and manager .. my son whos 13 yrs old it was about 3 to 4 days till we could talk to him without him getting upset and starting to cry . he stayed in his room for those days . he's not been back in to ASDAs since .. my daughter was ok when she got home AGAIN she stayed in her room for the rest of the night . it was later the next day she showed up down stairs .. ASDAs house rep contacted us ( as my wife sent them an email telling them what happened ) and said sorry but i want that manager to apologies to my children face to face not some one over the phone .

in may 2016 I went primary with my friend and her baby. I was carrying her baby around the store and she was shoving items she wanted in the buggy. I PAID for a pair of shoes I wanted and she had everything she wanted so we went to leave but security stopped us and took us into the back room. they didn't find anything on me but took a scan of my drivers license and my number. They didn't call the police, didn't offer my friend a chance to pay for the items and got all items back. I have received numerous letters and 1 phone call from RLP about a fine to pay. It had been months since I heard from them and then today received a call from CCL (County Collections LTD) about the same incident. What can I do? and whats going to happen now?

Hi , I was caught shoplifting in Debenhams worth £280 .The police was called.I was not arrested as i had a child with me. Its my first time offence and was petrified. I pleaded and Cried and was willing to pay the Amount.They finally agreed for me to pay the amount and close it. I paid the full amount and left. Was told i am banned from Debenhams.I have not signed any document with Debenhams or Police. I did not have my ID with me.I gave my Name and Date of Birth .I Did not sign any document.The police told they needed details for record purpose. The police told me i was very lucky as Debenhams told them they did not want to pursue the matter further. What will happen next.Can they still take any action on me.

Looking for some advice, and what to expect will happen. Going through a tough period financially, and couldn't afford to eat or pay for the gas/elec. I started stealing from supermarkets via self-checkouts (I found an exploit, just like another poster here), and had taken mostly food. This happened several times, and approx £30-£50 each time. I also filled up my vehicle with fuel from a garage, and drove off without paying. I've now decided to stop as I don't want to end up too far down the rabbit hole. So assuming that they will ID me, what can I expect? Thanks.

Hello, I've read several cases on this forum and found most of them similar to mine, except the amount of money DWF wants from me. So I'll start from beginning. A month ago I found out how to trick self-checkout I've used this "trick" 4 - 5 times tops, and only to buy necessary groceries to survive until next paycheck and totally regret my actions. The amount of money barely would reach £70. I suspect, that they have tracked me down, by noticing repetitive entries on their system Since I am employed in a restaurant which is situated inside ASDA's premises, security informed police where to find me. Police then came to my work with pictures from CCTV asking to confirm that this is me in that photo. Police also told me that I am under suspicion for shoplifting and therefore I am banned from the store. As a result of that, I've got suspended from work for an indefinite time, until this matter with ASDA is resolved. Several days ago I spoke to my managers and asked if they heard anything back from ASDA or police about the progress on the case, they said that ASDA has collected all the necessary evidence and passed to police which will probably prosecute me for fraudulence or fraud. Also, I've been told to expect police visit at my house soon, but it's been a month, since 2nd November. And I have never been interviewed neither by ASDA or police about this matter. On 25th November, I have received a letter from DWF stating that they are solicitors acting on behalf of ASDA and asking to pay an enormous amount of money for stolen goods and standard amount for security costs(£125). Of course, 7 days to pay the outstanding balance to avoid further actions. Second sheet has FAQ and the last sheet says that THEY are waiting for payment or response. I have not replied yet and I am not planning to. I am shocked! It's physically impossible to steal goods for such amount of money. I think they have a roulette with amounts of money to beg for. I suspect, it might be influenced by a poor relationship between ASDA and the restaurant I'm working for and they are trying to rip their rival's employee. My main concern is the amount of money, which is £10 000. On what grounds? And should I wait for a response from police or court before even thinking of replying to DWF? So, I assume this might be an interesting case for you, guys. Thank you in advance for any feedback.

Hello everyone. About 4.5 years ago I was caught stealing some clothing from a high street store (tough period of my life, which I am luckily out of now. It was done to sell on to try and pay some bailiffs) The police were called, I was arrested and given a caution. I didn't have to pay an £80 fine. I'm going to apply for a job now and as far as I know they perform fairly stringent checks on their employees. This role won't be handling cash, or being around vulnerable adults/children. I think they will do an enhanced DBS check at the least. Will this be flagged up in the check? I'm lucky enough that I'm doing pretty well now, after quite a few hard and miserable years and I really, really want this job. Hope you can help.

Took a fixture out of it's packet and didn't pay for it when I bought other items of shopping at a national DIY chain. Was stopped at the exit by 2 staff. One wearing shop attire,the other plainclothes. I was asked and immediately admitted the theft. The uniformed staff asked me to come into the store. He took me to pay for the item with the packet I had discarded. I paid at the card self service point. He then asked me for photo ID but I only had my bank card. He accepted this after the other plainclothes staff indicated it was OK. He seemed to take a photo of the card with a phone. He then asked me to come to the booth so he could take a photo of me with the phone. He didn't ask for my address or any other details. I asked him where the photo went and he said ' crime line'. I said what's that and he said not to worry, that's it, you're fine to go.. I think he could see I wasn't quite with it. After this he said I was fine to go. I said I was sorry for being a fool and he said don't worry we all get tempted. It was all quite odd. .I'm not in the best state of mind due to redundancy, no excuse for theft. . my head isn't quite all there...so wasn't asking the right questions at the time. I presuming that I wasn't allowed to just pay for the item and there is no more consequences? Are there further ramifications? ..and what is crime line? Plus it looked like he was using a mobile phone for his photos ..like his own mobile. .i know this sounds laughable but that can't be correct can it?

Help....worried sick mum here....and a newbie to this site, please tell me if I've forgotten anything on this post..... My daughter (age 16) was really stupid in July and tried to shoplift from Boots, she was stopped (thankfully - believe me lesson learnt - why does it always have to be the hard way?), the police were called who in turn called us. They had a 'discussion' with my very distraught daughter in front of me but said they wouldn't charge her and that this would be the end of the matter (before I got there they had already tried to calm her down telling here there would be no further action as she was falling to pieces).... As soon as the police left the security guard said that RLP would be making a claim (he didn't mention this once when the police were saying that there would be no further action taken and waited for them to leave), he pulled out a piece of paperwork and worked out what the amount would be (the goods taken were under 19.99, undamaged and recovered), so it was about £130.00. That evening I looked on your site and discovered the delights of RLP's reputation and waited for the letter. It has now arrived.... The amount they claim she attempted to take is way more than reality therefore the compensation cost has gone up (I believe they are set in brackets of value?). They have written a letter in a very 'you need to take responsibility for what you did' naughty girl way (believe me the police and we have utterly made sure she has taken responsibility) The letter is very much worded aimed at a juvenile, my guess is they got rapped on the knuckles for sending out scary letters to minors??? Otherwise the rest of it is pretty much what others have said in the past that they got from RLP, the problem though is that I can't find any recent threads. . is the advice still the same as in, write to them and say 'any liability to you or any company that you represent is denied' or have things changed? She would pay it off (slowly - she earns a pittance), I n fact she says that's what she deserves for being so stupid and disrespectful but I am worried that if she does it could show on a DBS check which she needs for work as well as me really being disgusted with the underhand way in which they dealt with this.. .(make no mistake I am totally disgusted at what my daughter did in the first place - just felt I needed to clarify that)

I've been a total idiot. You've heard it all before. I'm a moron. And beyond remorseful. I guarantee you I won't do it again and vow to be a good person. But up until yesterday, for approx 18 months, I wasn't a good person. I have been shop lifting from a number of shops. 3 to be precise. Every few months. But yesterday. I was in asda. I had been shop lifting. And secreted the items. One item I left blantantly on show which I was planning on having an excuse for. However, when paying for the items I had in my trolley. A staff member asked if I was paying for that item. I explained I was going to customer services to exchange it. I did go to customer services. There was a queue. I waited less than a minute, then I wandered out of the store. As I was packing my car boot. Another member of staff came to me and asked where the item was. I opened the boot back up and gave it her. She said that she'd been told by her colleague that I justed walked out of the shop. The staff member with the item in hand. Went back into the store. I put the trolley away, then she came back out with the item and asked me where the receipt was. I said I didn't have it. I assured her I had gone to customer services but it was busy. I asked her for the item back. She gave it me. And I drove off. I sounds calm. But I'm not. I haven't eaten I haven't slept. I'm scared to death that they will review the cctv footage. Realise that further theft took place. Contact the police. And the police turn up on my doorstep. I can't tell my husband. I can't talk to anyone about this. I'm completely ashamed of myself. I have anonymously contacted a solicitor to verify if the police can come after the event of shoplifting, via the use of cctv. And they said yes, it's very common. I read that a little old lady accidently didn't pay for a joint of meat and then 2 and a half weeks later the police turned up on her doorstep with a fine. I have ready many articles here. You are very level headed. I know you can't see in tot he future, but in your experience:- can you advice what is likely to happen please. Thank you.