My question involves criminal law for the state of: Alabama
April of 2010, I made a bad decision and decided to help a cousin with theft of a rifle worth $87. I recently received a letter from Bennet Law to handle the resolution of a civil shoplifting or theft incident.
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It asks for $200 to cover merchandise expenses. Though I don't mind paying them $200, I decided to do some investigation before sending anything out. Some people are saying that this firm is a scam, but when I called them about the case number and asked if it was alright to call Wal-Mart to confirm it, they readily agreed, as well as giving me their website.
I was never apprehended on the date specified in the letter, and have been going on with my life like I usually do for the past 10 months. The only connection that may have led them to me was a family member shopping without a cart and putting a bottle of shampoo into her purse and forgetting about it while picking up. She was then apprehended, went through the court process and paid off her fines. Should I should pay them? It doesn't seem professional for a law firm to ask people to provide credit card information on return letters or through the phone. I don't want to have to deal with them or Wal-Mart again in the future.

