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I shoplifted at Walmart n got caught, I stole under $50 Dollars of stuff n I was arrested I bonded out n I have my court date
Anonymous2 views3 answers
I've gotten two settlement offer papers but I haven't been able to pay anything n wen I called to work something out I ended up on hold for over 3 hrs everytime I called n my phone was turned off, the first offer was $210 n i tried to get whole of them but never heard from them then today I got another offer of $550 n there is no way I can pay it n I can never get ahold of them to.tell them Wat should I do? I have no way to pay that n I had 10 days on the first offer to pay n a week later like 7-8 days i get a new one they didn't give me time to get ahold of them n they.didn't even wait 10 days so I could figure something out ... what.should I do?
The best advice you can receive here is to get an attorney to deal with the criminal charges. S/he should be in the best position to negotiate the best possible and favorable disposition for you that won’t affect you/your record. As far as the settlement letters, I generally advise clients to ignore these demand letters. You don’t owe them anything. In order for you to owe them something they would have to sue you, (in some jurisdictions prove damages) and win. The cost of suing you is substantially greater than the amount they could possibly recover. As such they don’t pursue it. They send out these letters hoping that you don’t know better and simply send them the money. Nothing will happen to you if you don’t pay it and it will have no bearing on the criminal matter one way or another.
This is a tactic that large companies use to scare you into paying out-of-court settlements for "damages" they've received due to your shoplifting their merchandise. For example, in Illinois, the civil code allows for companies to seek redress through civil court in suing for damages even if they had the property returned to them. It is typically a racket and they usually try to scare you into paying them some amount. Most people that have ignored their letters typically are not bothered much after the letters. However, if the company wanted to, they could drag you into court and file a suit against you. It is highly unlikely, but they have the basis to file suit. Also, I should note that if you pay the settlement, it does not settle the criminal case against you (if one is filed). The prosecutors are not prohibited from filing criminal charges against you even though you thought you were settling the entire matter with Walmart. Again, most people ignore those letters and they typically go away.
You have the potential of two cases being filed against you. 1. is the criminal case probably filed in lewisville because of the dollar amount you are saying is present and 2. a potential civil case. taking care of one does not prohibit the other. what i mean by that is that just because you settle with the store doesn't mean that the prosecutors can't continue with the criminal case and vice versa. i would contact an attorney about the case and discuss your options. continuing to talk to the store can only hurt you in both cases as they can use anything you say against you.
