Wal-Mart Civil Demand Letter

My question involves criminal law for the state of: North Carolina

OK so About a month ago i was caught shoplifting at walmart it was an 19 dollar item i wont go into details. well actually i actually just opening the item to acquire what was inside and that's when i spotted from the corner of my eye a man dressed in normal clothes acting all sneaky peeking around the corner, so i decided to not get the item i had still opened the seal though and put it back, and as i was leaving the store that same man stopped me at the door and demanded i give the item back and i said i don't have that item i said i put it back and he wanted me to show him where so i did and then he took me to some room and made me give him my info i gave him only semi correct info. After all that he let me go and told me that i would be receiving a letter he didn't want to see me back in his store,
so i left.
A few weeks later i got a notice from usps that they missed my delivery or something. I'm only 17 and my mom never found out so I'm gonna get them to redeliver it on a day when she does work so when i do get it i have no idea what I'm going to do, i know its a civil demand letter. what should i do? If i choose to ignore it what happens i mean I've done some research and apparently they will just keep sending letters until i pay it and i will be moving in two months, so should i ignore it?what other choice do i have i have no way of paying 300 dollars I currently live in north Carolina and I'm moving to Washington state so what should i do?

A civil demand letter goes against your credit rating if you fail to pay. Call the number on the letter and set up a payment plan. They will work with you as long as you make an effort to pay.

The Civil Demand only goes against your credit rating if you fail to pay and the retailer obtains a judgment in Civil Court.

With each time they send the letter, the amount typically goes up. Double...triple....

Then they can sue you in Civil Court. If they win the judgment (quite likely), then it can affect your credit history. In other words, making it hard for you to get that first apartment, purchase a car, get credit cards.

You'll be moving in two months. I would bet that Mom will be filling out a Change of Address form with the USPS, and that will include mail forwarding, so you will still get the letters.

Don't forget...the store does have the evidence on file, and time to press Criminal Charges.

They don't need a judgement to report to the credit reporting agencies.

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Quoting flyingron

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They don't need a judgement to report to the credit reporting agencies.

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Yes and no. This is a debate for another thread, but it can go either way. I do extensive work with CD programs across the US and it is not as cut and dry as people think.

It also sounds like this is a merchandise restitution case only. From the OP's description it does not sound like it is CD eligible due to no removal of merchandise. Of course the LP may have written it up differently, but merchandise vandalism is not CD eligible in most states.

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Quoting bam!

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Yes and no. This is a debate for another thread, but it can go either way. I do extensive work with CD programs across the US and it is not as cut and dry as people think.

It also sounds like this is a merchandise restitution case only. From the OP's description it does not sound like it is CD eligible due to no removal of merchandise. Of course the LP may have written it up differently, but merchandise vandalism is not CD eligible in most states.

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Damaged merchandise can be recovered through civil demand in most states. The only difference is the shoplifter is charged for the exact amount of merchandise damaged on top of the civil demand fee.

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Quoting ollie

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Damaged merchandise can be recovered through civil demand in most states. The only difference is the shoplifter is charged for the exact amount of merchandise damaged on top of the civil demand fee.

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You would be correct if the merchandise was shoplifted. If you simply damage merchandise, legally the store can only charge you the exact cost of the merchandise. They cannot cd you for damaging merchandise and leaving it in the store, which is what the OP said happened. Of course to cover his own ass, the LP may have falsified the report and said it was stolen.

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Quoting bam!

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You would be correct if the merchandise was shoplifted. If you simply damage merchandise, legally the store can only charge you the exact cost of the merchandise. They cannot cd you for damaging merchandise and leaving it in the store, which is what the OP said happened. Of course to cover his own ass, the LP may have falsified the report and said it was stolen.

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Yes. I realize my post wasn't that clear but you're correct that the merchandise has to leave the store.

And I agree, the OP is covering his ass.

Never mind.