help on what to do about Retail Loss prevention?!?!

[jessiesd]

I need some advice on what to do about my current situation.

 

On Thursday I was caught walking out of a Primark store with some items with a total value of £22.

I know fully how wrong my actions were and am disgusted in myself at was has happened

so please I'm just asking for some advice not judgement on my stupid mistakes.

 

I was taken in by the security guards at Primark and because in 9 days I am going to be turning 18 the female security guard

said that she wasn't going to be phoning the police as I had my provisional driving license on me

so she just took my details down,

 

at this point I began to cry and she said to me that there was nothing to worry about and that all she was going to do was ban me from the store for a 12 month period

and that I would be fined by a company called RLP,

 

she said that there would be no police involvement and that I would not receive a criminal record.

 

I was then allowed to leave the store.

 

Whilst I was in there she mentioned about the fine and said she didn't know how much the fine would be

and that I would have to pay it with in a certain amount of days, and she gave me a piece of paper with a number to phone to arrange to pay the fine in instalments.

 

Up until now I have been fine with the fact that I will have to pay the fine to RLP to get this over and done with.

 

however since Thursday I have been researching more in to RLP and what other people have had to say about them

and now I am wondering whether I should still pay them the fine or not,

 

as I've read a lot about people saying that they have no right as such to demand large sums of money from people?.

 

I am still awaiting the letter from them and to be quite honest,

I am dreading receiving it as I am not planning on telling my mother about this situation

so am scared that the letter will come through the post and it will be obvious to her from the outside of the letter

and if I continue to ignore their demands then I will get more and more letters come through,

 

has anyone received a letter that knows what it looks like?

 

It would be most appreciated if someone could help me and give me advice on what to do in my current situation then that would be most appreciated!!

[ims21]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

I have moved your thread to the RLP forum where you will get lots of help with seeing these bully boys off.

 

First thing is that what RLP will send is a begging letter IT IS NOT A FINE.

 

As you will see from the other threads in this forum, you can either ignore them completely or write them a simple one line letter telling them that any liability to them or their client is denied.

 

You may receive a few further letters which will ramp up the pressure on you to pay them and they will be worded in such a way that makes you feel that they have the authority to demand money from and for you to pay it.

 

Don't be intimidated by them and don't pay them.

 

I am sorry to say that you may have to come clean with your Mum though.

[jessiesd]

okay thank you very much!

 

see the thing is I do wish to completely keep this from my mother as she will kick me out of my house,

so If I was to receive the first letter off them then write one back with what you just said would they then stop writing to me or would the letters keep coming.

 

I really need to keep this from my mother as she would go mental at me for good reasons which is why I was originally going to just pay them the money

to keep them off my back and keep this all from my mother.

 

do you now if the letters are obvious as to who they are from?

[ims21]

Never had one myself so I don't know what their envelopes look like. Others may be able to help you on that front.

 

whether you write to them denying liability or ignore them they will still send their follow up letters. They won't just drop it straight away.

 

While we can advise you what to do we cannot TELL you what to do. But bear in mind that RLP are just bullies who prey on folks who make a mistake and by paying them you will simply help them to boost their coffers which will enable them to continue to hassle other people.

[jessiesd]

okay I see so what your saying Is that if I don't pay them then they will continue to send follow up letters and if I pay them the fin with in the 21 days then that will be the end of it and this whole ordeal will be over with/ but by paying that would mean that I would be giving in to the bulling

[silverfox1961]

While I have never been on the receiving end of an RLP letter, I would have thought that

ANY letter that says anything about RLP on the envelope would be deemed wrong by all and sundry.

 

Any letter should be plain with a name and address on the front with a return address on the back.

 

I am yet to see any envelope from DCAs that show their name

[ims21]

Yep, you got it.

[jessiesd]

okay thank you for the advice!

 

right okay I see, I was hoping that there would be no clear signs on the envelope that would show that it was from RLP

but was extremely worried about it being splattered all over it and then my mom picking up the post

and seeing it and then going mental and finding out

 

but like you said letters should be plain with name and address on so I hope that this one is the same!

[Faddy150]

There's definitely no indication of who sent the letter on the outside of the envelope. Apart from an obscure PO box number on the rear. Some of their letters make an almighty racket when they come through the letterbox, they're like a copy of War and Peace.

 

My "incident" happened 18 months ago and I've only recently stopped receiving letters from these clowns, so be aware that you're probably in this for the long haul. I'm now receiving letters from a DCA instead who I've reported to the OFT for trying to recover a debt that has never existed. Hello Zinc Group/JB Debt Recovery!

 

Don't let this bring you down. Learn from your mistake and move on. Do NOT pay rlp.

 

Take care.

[dx100uk]

DO NOT EVER EVER pay them.

 

they will come back for more as you will be an easy target.

 

can I suggest

going against the current advise to post them up

as we like a laugh

 

that once you know its from RLP

 

shread it!!

 

and don't read it further.

 

you'll get two/poss three of them

 

them a couple from fake solicitors.

 

the only issue here is if you gave your phone number

 

that might get iffy in the long run.

 

there are reports of down the line

DCA's or fake solicitors calling to pressure punters into paying

 

but that's rare.

dx

[jessiesd]

DO NOT EVER EVER pay them.

 

they will come back for more as you will be an easy target.

 

can I suggest

going against the current advise to post them up

as we like a laugh

 

that once you know its from RLP

 

shread it!!

 

and don't read it further.

 

you'll get two/poss three of them

 

them a couple from fake solicitors.

 

the only issue here is if you gave your phone number

 

that might get iffy in the long run.

 

there are reports of down the line

DCA's or fake solicitors calling to pressure punters into paying

 

but that's rare.

dx

 

So definitely don't pay them? I'm worried that if I don't then I will get threatened with being taken to court and I've read that they also threaten that bailiffs will come round to my house? Is this true? And no I haven't given any of my phone numbers they just no my address as it was passed over.

[jessiesd]

There's definitely no indication of who sent the letter on the outside of the envelope. Apart from an obscure PO box number on the rear. Some of their letters make an almighty racket when they come through the letterbox, they're like a copy of War and Peace.

 

My "incident" happened 18 months ago and I've only recently stopped receiving letters from these clowns, so be aware that you're probably in this for the long haul. I'm now receiving letters from a DCA instead who I've reported to the OFT for trying to recover a debt that has never existed. Hello Zinc Group/JB Debt Recovery!

 

Don't let this bring you down. Learn from your mistake and move on. Do NOT pay rlp.

 

Take care.

 

Thank you for that, I was worried so badly that the envelope would be splattered in RLP ect and that would be rather embarrassing. So you've ignored them and not paid and only now after 18months have you stopped receiving letters?

[dx100uk]

So definitely don't pay them? I'm worried that if I don't then I will get threatened with being taken to court and I've read that they also threaten that bailiffs will come round to my house? Is this true? And no I haven't given any of my phone numbers they just no my address as it was passed over.

 

you can read what you like

 

but bailiffs have NEVER EVER been involved with any RLP debt

 

dx

[silverfox1961]

The only time a bailiff 'may' become involved is if RLP took you to court (unlikely) If they did do court and you lost (also unlikely) and then you faild to pay the 'compensation' they 'might' (but by no means definitely) get bailiffs involved. They don't generally do court as they cannot justify their claims.

 

If you haven't seen this court case where RLP got slapped down, have a read

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?356933-Oxford-Retail-Loss-Prevention-A-Retailer&p=3898857&viewfull=1#post3898857

 

Remember, their letters are designed to be intimidatory and many, many people who have no idea CAG exists will pay up.

 

Once RLP know your position, they soon disappear although it could take a while (see above-faddy150)

[ScarletPimpernel]

RLP can't take anyone to court - only the retailer can, and it's very, very unlikely to happen, especially if the police weren't involved. All RLP can do is send letters, and sometimes pass things to a debt collector, who soon back off when told there's no debt.

[silverfox1961]

RLP can't take anyone to court - only the retailer can, and it's very, very unlikely to happen, especially if the police weren't involved. All RLP can do is send letters, and sometimes pass things to a debt collector, who soon back off when told there's no debt.

 

You are quite correct. My apologies. Can't you tell I haven't been round that much lately

[jessiesd]

You are quite correct. My apologies. Can't you tell I haven't been round that much lately

 

Okay thanks for all the advice. Also would it be a good idea to write them a letter back stating that I won't be paying and that they have no legal right to charge me as the goods were not damaged or shall I just ignore all letters and pay no attention and hope that they stop pestering me

[Faddy150]

Thank you for that, I was worried so badly that the envelope would be splattered in RLP ect and that would be rather embarrassing. So you've ignored them and not paid and only now after 18months have you stopped receiving letters?

 

Correct. I haven't paid them a penny or even been in contact with them. I have completely ignored them.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Okay thanks for all the advice. Also would it be a good idea to write them a letter back stating that I won't be paying and that they have no legal right to charge me as the goods were not damaged or shall I just ignore all letters and pay no attention and hope that they stop pestering me

 

No. Do not enter into any correspondence with RLP of this sort. The only letter you should send is one that states:

 

Any liability to you or your client is denied. No further correspondence will be entered into.

 

That's it. Don't go into anything else. They will send you some long, tiresome letters full of pseudo-legal drivel, which you should ignore; they are persistent, but they eventually go away and if they choose to waste their money on paper and postage let them.

[jessiesd]

No. Do not enter into any correspondence with RLP of this sort. The only letter you should send is one that states:

 

 

 

That's it. Don't go into anything else. They will send you some long, tiresome letters full of pseudo-legal drivel, which you should ignore; they are persistent, but they eventually go away and if they choose to waste their money on paper and postage let them.

 

So send one letter when I receive the first one with what you said and then completely ignore them and then when I start receiving letters off this "Scottcall" then what am I to do? Reply to them or ignore them too?

 

Also because the police weren't involved in the incident and on other people's cases I have read that the police were called an then paid a fixed penalty notice then received a letter from RLP, so because I haven't had the police involved at all does this mean that they will not be involved because if primark wanted it to go to the police then they would have done so straight away or will RLP be able to phone the police?

[jessiesd]

Correct. I haven't paid them a penny or even been in contact with them. I have completely ignored them.

 

What did you do when they threatened to call bailiffs to your house?

[Faddy150]

I haven't had any threat of bailiff action. If you mean the DCA then I'm just ignoring them. I've also reported them to the OFT.

[ScarletPimpernel]

RLP won't be calling the police, even though one of their letters says they might; if you haven't worked it out yet, they are full of bullsh1t.

 

RLP and the retailers know full well that the criminal justice system is the correct way to deal with allegations of theft - not a back-street civil recovery company. RLP try to give the impression that they work closely with the police, but the truth is that ACPO made RLP remove misleading information from their website.

[jessiesd]

I haven't had any threat of bailiff action. If you mean the DCA then I'm just ignoring them. I've also reported them to the OFT.

 

Right okay I see, I don't suppose you could explain to me what the DCA is please an what it is exactly that they say that they will do? And what is OFT??

[dx100uk]

a dca is just you or me and a printer

 

they are

not bsiliffs

 

they have

no such legal powers.

 

dx