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I was caught stealing at h&m
Anonymous8 views2 answers
Basically i got caught stealing merchandise from h&m, and i am 18. The total (at the most) was about $10-15. They took the merchandise back from me & got my information. No police were called or involved & they just had me fill out some paperwork saying that i can't/won't go into the store again. Today i got a letter in the mail saying i have to pay $500. I did some research and the majority of what i was reading said to just ignore it. Should i pay the fine or ignore it? How serious is the claim? Can the fine be reduced?
The letter you got was from a law firm that does nothing but these types of cases. They contract with merchants to send these civil demand letters. They sound very intimidating and ask for ridiculous amounts, like in your situation with a $15 theft and a $500 demand.
Yes, the California Penal Code allows a merchant to "demand" money following a shoplifting. If you pay, it means they won't sue in civil court.
Guess what - they won't anyway. Why? Because it's not worth their time and their actual damages are far less than the $500 they're asking for. The merchandise was recovered and probably put back on the shelf to be sold to another customer. They aren't really out anything.
That firm gets a cut off the top and passes the rest to the store. They may send a follow up letter or two, but if they don't get a response, they'll probably cut their losses and move on. (The cost of the letters and stamps comes out of their cut, so the less they spend, the more they make. They won't keep chasing somebody who isn't going to pay)
Don't try to negotiate - you could end up saying or doing something that changes from a "demand" to an agreement to pay.
I have yet to hear from anyone who has actually been sued by this firm after ignoring their outrageous demands.
