Innocenct of shoplifting but bullied to confess

Three months ago, my sister made a purchase in a Dept Store with her credit card. One sweater did not have a ticket on it and since it was the last one the sales clerk rang it up using another sweater she was buying. (They were the same price and brand, but different styles.) Furthermore, at least two other items she bought were accidentally selected from a damaged rack. One of these items had a bright yellow index card affixed to it with the sku number hand written on it. We rarely try clothes on in the store; hence, my sister did not notice that the two items were damaged until she arrived home.

Two days later, my sister went back to the Dept Store and returned six of the twelve items purchased. Included in the return were the tag less sweater and the two damaged items—still with the bright yellow index card attached. She had a problem returning the sweater because it was not ticketed properly even though her receipt indicated two identical sku numbers, which were rung in sequentially. A manager had to approve the sweater return, but all other items were accepted without a problem. Before she left, my sister gave the clerk her mobile phone number and address to receive coupons in the mail.

NOW FOR THE DRAMA. The next day, while in class, my sister received three calls on her mobile phone requesting her return to the Dept Store for questioning. The third message, left at 5:00 PM, states that she has two hours to return the call or the police will be notified. She didn’t finish her classes until after 9:00 PM so she called the following morning at 8:30 AM.

The next morning, she explained to the LP what had occurred and that she had a receipt, which was only two days old. Furthermore, if there was a problem it should have been handled at the moment. From what I understood, she was going to meet with the LP, but because he never returned her 12+ phone calls (no exaggeration), we figured that the surveillance tape and/or sales clerk clarified the situation. In addition, she has no prior criminal history or arrests and barely any returns.

Well, last week, now three months later, she received a demand letter from the Dept Store asking for $1,100. It said she was being charge with “Shoplifting” and “damaging goods.” Can they do this? I did not see the letter, so I do not know if it mentions police or court, but she had since discarded the original receipt, nevertheless her CC said they could issue an itemized copy in 8-10 weeks.

What should she do?
What will happen if she ignores the letter?
She works in government and she is attending graduate school; her reputation is crucial.
Without apprehending her, can they still press charges?
Does she have a warrant out for her arrest?
How can she find out more information (i.e. if they have license plate number, what items they deemed ‘hot’)?
She’s back in the residence now, the address they have was temporary; does this matter? Should she update it?

I came on here initially for MY situation, but you all seem so helpful…my sister will appreciate it.

Wow, I can't believe they went through all that. Have your sister call an attorney. She has done nothing wrong and the store has been negligent in their actions.

Bubbamia's right it would seem the sales associate needs to be re-trained on customer service and POS (point of sale). LP has an over active imagination....call a Lawyer!!

Your sister needs a lawyer ASAP. She is being harassed and by obtaining a lawyer she may be able to press at least harassment charges against them and she'll be the one collecting the money!

Thanks for the replies...

What could happen if she ignores the demand letter and does not update her address with the Dept Store?

Since they never met with her could they still issue a police complaint and/or warrant for her arrest? Would this be on her permanet record?

What is the worst and best case.

Isn't there some law that states once the clothing was accepted--and by a manager--that...

I told her to get a lawyer, but time and money are inhibiting her.

One more thing…the surveillance tape is her only proof that the items were bought and rung up as she claimed. Would they still save a tape from November 2005 and how clear are the images? I don’t understand why the Dept Store would not look at the tape for evidence or clarification.

Any knowledge on surveillance tapes????

She needs to get a lawyer NOW.

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What could happen if she ignores the demand letter and does not update her address with the Dept Store?

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They can put this on her credit report and everyone will know shes a shop lifter. And things don't come off your credit report easily. She needs to be pro active and fight this. She ignores it she'll be in big trouble in the long run.

Okay...the GREAT news is that the Department store admitted their error. We do not know when they reached this conclusion, but when my sister contacted the store to update her address she was informed that it was a mistake. So my questions are...

1. Can this informal verbal exchange serve legally that all charges were dropped or should she ask for something in writing?

2. Since she did get a demand letter and there was a formal complaint number, how does her "non-guilty" differ from someone who did steal but made a lesser plea deal?

3. Will a history of a criminal complaint remain on her record even though Andy was innocent and wrongly accused? Assuming they acknowledge this via questioning the sales girl or viewing the tapes, is there a way they can 'resend' it????

4. She never did call a lawyer as suggested--time and financial constraints, so I doubt she will persue this--but should she press charges on the store for wrongly accusing her of shoplifting? Due to someone's poor indiscresion, her record may forever be flawed. Her career goals are in international government nonetheless.

Always get something in writing!! If and when she gets this letter, she should take it to a lawyer who will take this case without any money up front, he'll get his off the settlement. As far as the matter being removed from her record, the lawyer will take care of that, she needs to go after this with some aggression. She was wronged and the company needs to pay dearly for it!!! And pay they will.

Yes! What Paul said. This won't cost your sister a penny. She will come out ahead. Most likely the store will make some kind of $$ offer to her and the attorney to make it all go away.

I'm not so sure that you're sister has a case against the department store. 1) they never charged her with anything. The "demand" letter that she recieved is a CIVIL demand. No legal charges were pressed against her or you would've recieved something from the city or county. 2) they never aprehended her and detained her, so she can't sue for unlawfully detaining her.

Now i'm not saying don't get a lawer you should deffinately look into it, but don't get your hopes up that you'll come out with a settlement. Also I am not a legal expert. I do work in LP though, and i can tell you that they did not follow correct procedures.

It is possible that she could sue them for something, but I don't see what it would be. Also you don't have to worry about getting this taken off her record, it was never on her record. Most department stores handle most shoplifting casses civily, that is they don't involve law enforcement or the court, so nothign goes on your record as long as you pay the civil demand. If they had pressed criminal charges you would know by now becuase she would've been aprehended by the LP and the police would've been called at the time this happened, then she would've recieved a citation or been arrested. Also it is very likely that the department store does not have a camera system, esepcially if it is a relatively old store. It is harder than people think to set up a camera system and have it recording or being monitored at all times unless the camera system is put into the buildings original design. So it is very likely that they do not have a camera system and they just simply have LP agents walking the floor.

I'd say calling 12+ times, sending a $1,100.00 demand, falsely accusing her of theft/fraud.....it sounds like money to me lp1186, Harassment, mental distress. There is no need to pay the demand if the store was in error, but as I said the lawyer will take care of that. Cameras aren't that hard to install and most all stores have some form of system in place, I've worked in stores that were antiques.....they had systems. Just an FYI bro.....re-read your posts they are full of spelling errors.....I'm not trying to bag on you just make a suggestion.

You would be surprised about the camera systems. Yes, they may exist, but whether they are being recorded or even watched is a totally different story. You can put all the cameras up as you want, but you have to be able to run the wires to a VCR or some form of recorder and it has to be hooked up to a monitor that someone can watch. It is very costly to cover an entire store with cameras. You're looking at many VCR tapes(unless your paying the big bucks for the new systems that record on a hard drive) and you have to pay someone (and train that someone) to watch the camera's at all times. If it's a big store you may need more than one person. It could get very costly and may not be worth it. So it would seem the likely hood of the camera's being operational and recording her every step is not very high. I've known people who have worked at stores like Wal-mart and JC Penney's and the systems they have are there, but not very affective and probably not good enough to be able to follow someone through the entire store. Also, sorry for the spelling errors. I think that last post I wrote at like midnight or 1am.

LP1186, what company do you work for that doesn't invest in a operational camera system? Most store have great camera systems, unless you work for a mom & pop shop. Even then, they have at least one camera recording to a vcr. Digital systems are not much more exspensive then the older method or time-lapse vcrs. Do you work at a Sears? 1186 sounds like a Sears unit number. Your previous post staed she doesn't have a case againts the store. WHAT? How long have you been in Loss Prevention? What would happen if you or someone in your LP department acted in the manner jaylow described in her post? You would be fired or at least on a final written warning and the compnay would be S*$@ing bricks about a lawsuit.

My sister contacted a lawyer...he comes highly recommended. LP1186, you say that no charges were filed against her; however, the complaint number on the demand letter looks very similar in structure to the complaint number of my civil complaint against my ex (year-prescient-######) No, my ex wont have a criminal record, but indefinitely anyone who is someone will know he likes to collect girls clothes and write bad checks. :P It looks to me like she was charged with something “Shoplifting and Damaging Merchandise”.

I do agree with you LP 1186 that if there was a problem at the time it should have been dealt with them; hence, why a manager was called to assist with the return. Despite, this did not stop Mr LP from threatening to call the police the following day. My sister’s concern is keeping her record clean. So, if he did call then she would be in the system and this is a big err. Contrary to your belief LP1186, paying the civil demand does not mean your record is void of any wrongdoing—at least that is what I’ve read here.

PaulE and bubbamia are right...my friend’s mother is manager of a Macy’s that was erected in 1987; (19 years ago) we would exit through security when leaving with her. The cameras may have been “Poltergeist” blue, but they had about 20 of them with three designated watchers and they were clear.

Regardless, the absence of cameras doesn’t pertain to Andy, for I think it was the cameras that later proved her innocent—less the clerk who rang her was fired for numerous incompetencies.

Thanks for your input; I’ll keep you informed