rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

[hedgehog99]

At the end of July I was arrested and charged under suspicion of fraud by false representation at a tkmax store, a week later I received a letter from rlp demanding I pay £200 over the alleged amount that tkmax say they lost due to my crime, for which I accepted a simple caution from the police two days ago.

The demand seems extortionate in relation to the amount that tkmax claim they've lost. The 21 day reply limit that rlp put on their letter has just expired, what would be my best course of action?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[Sonu]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

I have received the same letter.. Rlp asking for £150

[Kati]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

Ignore Ignore Ignore! RLP have no legal right to fine anyone - their letter is basically a speculative invoice. They will get stroppy and send more letters, but you should have no need to worry - they haven't taken anyone to court since they lost spectacularly (see here - http://www.farrarsbuilding.co.uk/lat...-9-May-2012-99)

[Amethyst]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

At the end of July I was arrested and charged under suspicion of fraud by false representation at a tkmax store, a week later I received a letter from rlp demanding I pay £200 over the alleged amount that tkmax say they lost due to my crime, for which I accepted a simple caution from the police two days ago.

The demand seems extortionate in relation to the amount that tkmax claim they've lost. The 21 day reply limit that rlp put on their letter has just expired, what would be my best course of action?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Were you an employee of the company or was this a customer price swapping incident ?

[hedgehog99]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

Hi

It was something like a price swapping incident as a customer.

[des8]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

So as Kati advised, IGNORE.
They send a series of increasingly threatening (desperate?) letters before giving up.
Sometimes they offer a reduction in the hope the victim will pay something, anything.
Other times they pass it to Debt Collectors in the hope they will have better luck.
Just ignore the lot and eventually they give up.
The only correspondence you do not ignore is genuine court papers, but as already advised RLP no longer go near court!

[hedgehog99]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

Thanks everyone who replied, although I've read plenty of the other threads on the subject of rlp and the advice is nearly always 'ignore' I felt my circumstances were a little different as I accepted a caution and therefore admitted the loss incurred by tkmax (but nowhere near the amount rlp are claiming which is well over double that).

Thanks for helping put my mind at rest.

[des8]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

A very small query: "did tkmax actually suffer a loss, or were the goods recovered in a saleable condition?"

[hedgehog99]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

Yes they suffered a loss, although I would've readily accepted if the police ordered me to pay back the amount tkmax claimed they lost.

[wales01man]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

If you are saying TKMAXX sustained a lose it should be them trying to claim for that not the lowlifes at RLP they have sustained no lose they are a third party with mo rights against you

[des8]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

Do be aware then, that tkmax could (not will) claim for their loss.
This doesn't mean RLP's outrageous demands have any merit, and the advice remains to ignore them unless you should ever receive genuine court papers.

Generally speaking the traders regain their goods in a saleable condition.
Can you tell us exactly what you did and what happened to the goods and their value?
It might help assess the likely course of action

[hedgehog99]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

I regularly returned clothes I'd bought there, but very stupidly a few times I returned them pretending they were something else on the receipt (always swapping for other items and occasionally vouchers).

Tkmaxx claim their loss was about £160 (although I'm sceptical about that figure, the police obviously don't let you squabble about that when offering you a caution), rlp want about £360.

I wasn't arrested at the time but when I was, the police did take items from me that were all returned to me when I received the caution, none of those items were involved.

[des8]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

So you returned items under their returns procedure, but swopped receipts so you received more back than you actually paid for any particular item.
Were you given a breakdown of how this figure of £160 was arrived at?
IF repeat IF Tkmax wanted to use the court system they would need to breakdown this figure to each individual item involved. A most unlikely scenario.

The civil recovery "industry" works on a percentage basis that 40% to 50% of people will pay up in response to the letters sent out by concerns like RLP
(figures based on USA surveys by Retail research.org). There is no programme to use court as it doesn't give quick cheap returns.

[hedgehog99]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

No they didn't break down the total to individual items, although when the caution was signed I admitted I had caused tkmax that amount of loss so would they still have to break it down in civil court?

I take it I'm not under any legal obligation to correspond with rlp, so if tkmax were serious about taking me to court would they use rlp to claim (what I believe to be) such an unreasonable amount , especially as they've lost in court already?

[ostell]

Re: rlp letter, simple caution accepted.

If they were going to take you to court then they would have to send you a letter before claim (or similar wording) that should define exactly why and what they are claiming. Until such time as one of these arrives from TKMaxx, or a solicitor representing them, then don't worry. It's at this point that you decide to make an offer to pay TKMaxx or fight in court. Either the full sum or a reduced amount. If you get one of these letters then come back.