Should You Respond When Contacted to Pay a Civil Demand
I got the phone call from a lawyer representing TJMaxx retail store recently. I acknowdged who I was but hang up on them and told them I don't know them, after I ignored their 3 letters previously. I was not arrested during the incident back on January 8th and no criminal charges was made even police was at the store because of the amount was not much. My questions are can these people from the law firm still contact TJMaxx or police to pursue charges against me right now or in the future because I ignore to pay them and ignore to talk to them?
Re: Should You Respond When Contacted to Pay a Civil Demand
Can a law firm speak with its client about a thief who refuses to pay a civil demand? Of course it can.
Re: Should You Respond When Contacted to Pay a Civil Demand
Just about the best way I can think of to get T.J.Maxx to change their minds about calling the police and pressing charges is to ignore their civil demand letters and hang up on their lawyer.
OP, this is an "either or" situation you're in. Either you pay the civil demand or they will press charges. (This is the situation you've always always been in, ever since they caught you shoplifting.) Since you've chosen not to pay the civil demand, they will now choose to press charges against you.
Re: Should You Respond When Contacted to Pay a Civil Demand
This civil demand has absolutely nothing to do with criminal charges of petty theft or shoplifting and you have no obligation to pay unless a civil judgment is entered against you.
One thing though, if you contact the store or the law firm/collection agency seeking the money then they’ll know they’ve got you on the hook. By engaging with them in any way, either by phone or by mail), they will feel they have somebody who’s willing to pay them and they will keep up their efforts to collect from you.
Civil demands are a numbers game. Not every shoplifting case is pursued in court since it is usually not cost effective for the store. Many of these cases are small claims court matters and concern defendants who are already deeply in debt. They may be unable to pay even small judgments awarded by the court should they lose. The stores hope that a good number of people who receive demand letters will pay them rather than opting for a court hearing. And in order to keep the threat of going to court real, they do take a small percentage of these cases to court.
Whether you decide to pay it or not is ultimately up to you...if it were me, I wouldn't pay it.