Will i get a letter from the RLP?

[marky123]

On Friday i was taken into a back room at Tesco and made to pay £2.50 for some food i ate while walking around the store that I didn't pay for! I am obviously ashamed of what I did and mortified that I've gotten into such a destructive habit. However, i need to know whether the RLP will write to me! I was made to pay the money and was given a letter banning me for one year, I gave them my name and address, no police were called and I was out within about 15 minutes. Is it likely I will hear from the RLP? They never mentioned this to me!

[bluebottle]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

Tesco are being tits again. They have received payment for the food you ate and, quite frankly, it would be very difficult for both them and RLP to justify any claim under civil recovery. Also, Tesco do not have any power or right, in law, to demand your name and address. They can ask, but you do not have to give it to them. If RLP do, in fact, write to you, come back onto this thread.

[gravytrain]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

Just as a mater of interest , did they stop you after you had gone through check out, or whilst you were in the store.

I have seen reports of people being pulled for opening say a packet of biscuits and giving one to a child whilst they were shopping and then presenting the empty wrapper at the check out.(I have done this myself in fact).

I wonder about the legality of this as it would not be conversion as such, because the items were paid for, perhaps interference with goods ?

Purely academic of course because in either case there are no reclaimable damages.

[bluebottle]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

Just as a mater of interest , did they stop you after you had gone through check out, or whilst you were in the store.

I have seen reports of people being pulled for opening say a packet of biscuits and giving one to a child whilst they were shopping and then presenting the empty wrapper at the check out.(I have done this myself in fact).

I wonder about the legality of this as it would not be conversion as such, because the items were paid for, perhaps interference with goods ?

Purely academic of course because in either case there are no reclaimable damages.

Good point, GT.

[MissFM]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

I also used to do this with my children and now grandchildren. On more than one occassion the check-out staff have said "Don't worry about that, you don't have to pay for that" and it's almost been a Mrs Doyle situation getting them to take the money for the empty wrapper. It would be interesting to know the exact legal situation!

[ploddertom]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

You are not supposed to consume any goods until they are paid for. The reason being is that you may not have the means to pay otherwise - your card may be declined. If wanting to this you should make a separate purchase first by going through the checkout and consume the goods outwith the premises, if spotted consuming items within the store you are obviously a target for security as the majority are not paid for.

[gravytrain]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

You are not supposed to consume any goods until they are paid for. The reason being is that you may not have the means to pay otherwise - your card may be declined. If wanting to this you should make a separate purchase first by going through the checkout and consume the goods outwith the premises, if spotted consuming items within the store you are obviously a target for security as the majority are not paid for.

Yes i understand that you are not supposed to, but what would the tort be ?
Sometimes whilst waiting for my wife to do the shopping i will go to the cafe and pick up a paper from the shelf on my way. I haven't paid for it but I read it whilst I have my coffee, then put it back, what is the tort then also ?

Many of us who go shopping with young children know how they can sometime pick up sweets, especially at the queue stoppers, when they get bored, and before you know it they have it unwrapped and in their mouths, you pay for it of course after the event.

Would this warrant a £187 bill from some RLP if so what would the COA be ?

[bluebottle]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

The sad fact is the bigger the retailer is the more removed from the real world they tend to be. Whilst I do not condone the OP's actions, commonsense has to prevail. If you consume food before you reach the checkout, provided you declare so at the checkout and produce the packaging to the checkout operator to scan the barcode, the retailer has little, if any, grounds for alleging theft as you have paid for what you have consumed. As for trying to claim conversion as a civil tort, my response to that is, "Best of luck. You're going to need it."

Until recently, RLP would accuse people of entering retail premises as trespassers. This only applies if the person has been previously excluded by the retailer and the retailer has informed the person in writing. They don't do that now. Even if RLP did try to claim damages on behalf of Tesco, both they and Tesco would be hard-pushed to convince a judge they had a quantifiable case. RLP will claim their version of the law is the correct version, but this was trashed by a senior circuit judge at Oxford County Court in May 2012. RLP will also claim they have successfully secured judgements against alleged shoplifters. The fact is, many of these are default judgements, that is, uncontested.

If you want my honest opinion, RLP and Tesco would be ill-advised to attempt to make any claim, given the fact that you paid for the goods and Tesco were the ones who made a mountain out of a molehill.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

given a letter banning me for one year

Exactly how would that bit of silliness be enforced?

[CleverClogs]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

The sad fact is the bigger the retailer is the more removed from the real world they tend to be. Whilst I do not condone the OP's actions, common sense has to prevail. If you consume food before you reach the checkout, provided you declare so at the checkout and produce the packaging to the checkout operator to scan the barcode, the retailer has little, if any, grounds for alleging theft as you have paid for what you have consumed.

By presenting the empty packet and insisting on paying for the item, one would prevent any claim of a "mens rea" or intention to steal.

[bluebottle]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

In order to prove Theft, CC, you must first prove dishonesty. If this cannot be proven, in accordance with the two-part test prescribed by the Court of Appeal in the case of R -v- Ghosh [1982], any prosecution will fail. In the same vein, any allegation of Theft will also fail. RLP have previously claimed the Ghosh Test doesn't apply. Sorry, but I'm afraid it does, otherwise, how can you prove conversion without proving dishonest intent? Try finding a reasonable and honest person who would consider a person to be acting dishonestly if they ate a pre-packed sandwich on the way round the store, then presented the packaging at the checkout, tells the checkout operator what they have done and offers payment. I doubt very much whether any reasonable and honest person would consider that to be dishonest.

[marky123]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

Thanks for that guys. I had paid for the rest of my shopping when I walked out and not the items from the wrappers stuffed in my pocket. It's an easy habbit to get into and I'm ashamed of it. I did indeed pay the £2.50 I'm just worried that a fine might subsequently come my way

[bluebottle]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

Thanks for that guys. I had paid for the rest of my shopping when I walked out and not the items from the wrappers stuffed in my pocket. It's an easy habbit to get into and I'm ashamed of it. I did indeed pay the £2.50 I'm just worried that a fine might subsequently come my way

You won't get a fine as the police were not involved and neither Tesco or RLP has the authority or power, in law, to levy any fine on you. RLP's claims are, quite frankly, fatuous and frivolous. Sooner or later, I can see someone taking legal action against RLP and their retailer clients with regard to their claims which they may find difficult to defend.

[Inca]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

So,,in a nutshell,,you got caught shoplifting??

[bluebottle]

Re: Will i get a letter from the RLP?

As stated above, Tesco secured payment for the sandwich. They made a mountain out of a molehill. They lost nothing on the sandwich and making a mountain out of a molehill does not provide grounds for making a civil claim. If anything, it could be argued Tesco incurred expense as the result of them engaging in unnecessary and frivolous activity subsequent to them asking the OP for payment for the sandwich they had consumed.