Worried about RLPFine

[Worried 55]

Thanks again !!sorry for being a pain.I've decided not to read any letters that I receive or I will stress further.I'll just check the letterhead and destroy them.In the highly unlikely event that I receive a letter from the county court would I have the option of paying without attending?I'm unsure of other dodgey letters this company could send but don't want to ignore anything legal.I'll stop bothering you soon I promise!I'm just trying to cover all possible scenarios

[Amethyst]

If you want to read the letters in advance ( might help reduce the stress if you know beforehand what they might say and can see they say the same to everyone xxx ) http://legalbeagles.info/forums/foru...rs-rlp-and-dwf

[Worried 55]

Thank you I will read them and post anything new.You have been very helpful x

[des8]

These firms should not be allowed to act the way they do.
They are no better than vigilantes almost operating outside the law.
In the UK we have two systems of law: criminal and civil.
We have no need of a third system which allows self appointed recovery firms to play on vulnerable peoples fear and cause stress in the pursuit of unwarranted gains.
Every person who succumbs to their threats and pays only puts money in their coffers and pays for the next person to be victimised.

please do not pay them, and stop feeling guilty over a tiny misdemeanour.
It was not the crime of the century.
there will be no comebacks whatsoever.

There are people out there who have done a lot worse, so if an example was to be made it would be of a real shoplifter.

They can't contact your employer
They can't post you on a wall of shame (do they exist??? Have you ever seen one??)
If you return to Superdrug all they can do is ask you as a trespasser to leave.
If you were to return and get caught shoplifting you could be charged with burglary (but i trust that is most unlikely)

Please get on with your life and be thankful your husband supports you

[Worried 55]

I received a letter from the business crime reduction partnership today which says that a record of the incident/offence has been retained by the bcrp for collation on the partnership crime database and will be disseminated to all member businesses in the scheme.It says that if I'm not involved in any other incidents that my details will be removed after 12 months with no action taken.It says that if I come to the attention of the police or any scheme members the details will be taken into consideration .I am now terrified of going into a shop in the town centre in case I am stopped wrongfully I certainly won't be repeating my offence but am now paranoid that every shop will check their cctv and question if they consider that I was ever seen acting in anyway suspiciously .Please tell me that I am being stupid.Will Superdrug keep the cctv or will they just circulate my photograph.I feel like everyone is looking at me but that is my own fault

[des8]

You are not being stupid, just a little paranoid

The database will only record brief details of the incident.
You won't be under any more scrutiny than any other shopper so stop stressing.
They would only check for your details after a subsequent incident.

The next few times you go shopping, be accompanied (perhaps by your husband ... have to buy him a beer ?) to help you over your nervousness.

[Worried 55]

Me again .How soon would I expect s letter from RLP? My mind is constantly in a turmoil I guess that's my penance! Latest worry is if I don''t pay my image is stored with BCRP and if they also have the cctv (don't know if they keep this) could Superdrug get it and inform the police.I really appreciate your non judgemental advice and compassion and sorry for being a pain.I'm guessing they only access their database if my name crops up but have this worry that my picture is on a wall somewhere.Do you know anything about this security organisation"CityCo's Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) "

[des8]

Seeing the state you are in, others reading this will understand how vulnerable people are to the demands of the uncivil recovery companies!

First letter seems to arrive sometime after three weeks and generally by week 6!
Amethyst post 17 includes a link to the letters if you want to read it in advance of receiving your own individual copy

There are a number of BCRPs operating in the UK with the intention of reducing crime.
They do this, among other initiatives, by passing info about offenders between themselves generally on a secure website.
Cityco use a secure online portal (see here https://cityco.com/service-category/...ime-reduction/)
The Superdrug store might possibly have your photo posted in a staff room, but I doubt any other members would bother.

The police will not be informed.
Can you imagine their reaction if they receive a report of an attempted theft of a £10 bottle of hair dye some six months after the event!!!!!!!!!!!

Do try and stop stressing out.
Obviously we do not condone theft, but on the other hand we don't hang draw and quarter, nor act as judge and jury.
Please put the incident behind you and get on with life.
There is no point agonizing over it

[Worried 55]

Hi I received my first letter from RLP within a week the charge is £95 .I also got a call on my mobile from a private number but I never take calls where the callers no is withheld (could be a coincidence).I'm glad I lòoked up the standard letters as reading the letter wasn't as scary.I guess the sooner they start the sooner they'll end !. I wasn't expecting anything so soon and the manager led me to believe the charge would be £150.Do they make it up as they go along?

[des8]

I think they have a sliding scale.
The amount demanded increases in line with the value of the goods

[Bluey4543]

If you do mistakenly answer a 'withheld number call' and it is them, don't engage in conversation just hang up immediately.
The police are not going to get involved now, nor would they have done had the store called them at the time this all happened and the store know this.
Stop playing their game and get on with the rest of your life.

[Worried 55]

Hi I thought that I would send an update to reassure anyone who is experiencing the turmoil I have been through.The letters I have received have been exactly as published on your site.I received no 4 today requesting a reduced amount of £66.50 and feel confident that no one will be knocking on my door to collect this amount.I now feel that the nightmare is nearing closure.Yes my stomach still churns when I get a letter and yes I'm still ashamed and remorseful. I've donated to a local food bank and will continue to do so as I feel that I need to atone but not by filling the pockets of this company. Thanks for you help you're doing a great job

[Amethyst]

Thank you for posting back Worried, I'm glad things are feeling a bit better. Keep us updated with anything further you do receive. After letter 4 I think it goes off to Capital Resolve or some other debt collection company that uses big red writing to try and scare you. So should only be a couple more then that should be that.

I've linked your post to someone else who's worried about what's to come after a shoplifting event so hopefully your thread will help her sleep easier too xx

[Lucy1289]

Hi I received my first letter from RLP within a week the charge is £95 .I also got a call on my mobile from a private number but I never take calls where the callers no is withheld (could be a coincidence).I'm glad I lòoked up the standard letters as reading the letter wasn't as scary.I guess the sooner they start the sooner they'll end !. I wasn't expecting anything so soon and the manager led me to believe the charge would be £150.Do they make it up as they go along?

Hello, you posted on my thread, and I came on here to read about what happened to you. I, just like you have been stressing a lot over this incident even since it happened which is just over 9 weeks ago. First few days I was not able to sleep. Lucikly I haven't been contacted by anyone, no letters were sent to my house, I've even gone into M&S (not the same store where it happened) as my friend wanted to buy something and no one said anything or looked at me funny as I expected them to - I was mortified of being there but I tried to relax and stay calm as I did not want my friend knowing I was scared.

To be fair what we did was wrong and we both know that, it's not in my habit to behave like that, I am in full-time employment and have no need to do things like that. It was stupid. But what's done is done now, can't go back in time unfortunately. Let's think about moving forward and put this unfortunate incident behind us now. I'll avoid going into the store for a while, and then maybe in 3-4 months I will pluck the courage and write a letter of apology to the store manager and head office - hoping they will lift the ban as I do genuinely like shopping there. Should they decide to ignore my letter, at least I can be at peace that I've tried and apologised to them which will make me feel better as I am genuinely sorry for what I did.

The police was not called for neither for us, and I really don't think they will be called now. Our data/pictures are only held by M&S/and superdrug, no other authority should have our information I don't think. These are minor incidents which happen more often than we think. Despite what's being advised here to not pay the RLP people, I for one would pay their charge so that they stop sending letters as receiving these letters can be stressful enough I think. I know that you don't have to pay RLP, but I would just do it for myself so that I can put the incident behind me and move on. I haven't told anyone, other than people on this website, as I was and still am quite ashamed of what I did, I am an adult I should know better.

Don't worry too much about it, it's only a store after all.

[MIKE770]

somebody bans me then they would be banned by me for the rest of my days, Want to genuinely save money - never shop in M&S, their prices are well over the top and substandard by many other cheaper brands. never ever pay for a name (means nothing and no advantage)