Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Shoplifting at Kohls, no police, threat of civil demand letter

[broke&dumbcollegestudent]

Jurisdiction

Virginia

I made a stupid mistake stealing a pair of $80 shoes from Kohls. The Loss and Prevention Manager did not call the cops/press charges. She made me sign two papers. I was freaking out and just signed both of the papers not fully understanding what was happening. All I can recall is the LP telling me I was not allowed to return to Kohls for a year and that I would be receiving a civil demand letter in the mail in 4-6 weeks.

She took my picture and told me that it would be put on file and shredded after a year. I understand that there is a theft data base system shared between stores, what are the chances that I am in it?
If I am in it, should I just forget about applying for any retail jobs in the future?

The shoes were undamaged and could have easily been put back into the box and onto the shelf for sell. Does anyone have and estimate on how much this demand will be? Should I even pay it? My concern is that I do not think I have the money on hand to pay whatever demand Kohls may be asking. I have read a lot online and many have said to ignore the demands made by the stores, no matter how intimidating they appear. I am just concerned that if I do not pay it I will get sued and have this on my record.

I am an 18 year old college student and I am truly embarrassed and repentant of the mistake I have made. I am extremely lucky that the LP was nice enough to not press charges when she should have. Its all I can think about and I am too scared/embarrassed to speak to anyone about it. I have learned my lesson; the guilt and stress of not knowing what is going to happen to me is unbearable.

Please help me I have never been in this kind of trouble before and I am not sure what to do.

 

[army judge]

Oh yes, mate, you're in their databases.
If a store subscribes to one of those databases, it'll negatively impact your ability to get hired.

As far as the demand letter, you'll have to wait and see.
It's varies by state, but its between $100 to $300.
You can call the sender and ask about payment arrangements.

 

[shrinkmaster]

I am a Retail Theft Consultant and answer questions like yours daily. If the store (you should not have named) uses a database then you can pretty much guarantee your name is in there and any other retailer using same database can view this. Far as Civil demand goes I would expect your dollar figure to exceed $300.00. I also suggest you pay this and you could make thing worse by not doing so see links below

Civil Recovery

A recent writing of mine - Parent Nook Forums

 

[Betty3]

Generally if you pay the civil demand, that will be the end of it (no charges filed.....). If you don't pay, there could be consequences.

Agree that you are most likely in a retail theft database.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

A couple of thoughts. Most attorneys say you shouldn't pay a civil demand. That is because (a) very few ever get enforced; (b) it's not due until an actual judgment is rendered (and see letter a); (c) unless you meet certain criteria, your name will not be entered into the theft database that is shared by the National Retail Mutual Association - such as actually paying the civil demand and by doing so admitting guilt. (d) a criminal prosecution is completely independent from a civil case; (e) collection after a successful lawsuit may be very difficult for a store to enforce.

That said, we don't know what you signed and you didn't have to sign them. But you did. And the NRMA Theft Database FAQ states:

Every adverse NRMA report that is issued must be based on one of the following:

• Signed admission statement
• Signed restitution agreement
• Fully satisfied civil demand
• Criminal prosecution which has resulted in a conviction
• A similar documentary evidence which demonstrates that the theft or dishonesty actually occurred and that the person named in the inquiry is the person who committed the act.

You may have qualified under the first required criteria to justify filing a retail theft report. One would have to say that chances are good that you're in the theft database, like it or not. And as to the civil demand, I'd have to guess that if the store would choose to prosecute a civil claim they may do so against those with whom they may have a signed confession. And while being held until you sign might be seen as coercion, some may see these cases as needing to do what must be done.

So I can't tell you what to do. But in this case, you may be better served by considering that any case brought in civil court may have your signature on a confession statement.

 

[Jaimie fenn]

If there was no arrest or court order of guilt and no judgment against you you don't owe them anything....they recovered the product already. Ignore the demand letter!
For everyone being judgemental about someone who made one mistake in their life cut it out...everyone has stolen something in their life....EVERYONE. This doesn't make you a terrible person. Learn a lesson and move on ...but definitely don't let people scare you. I repeat, you owe them nothing. If you have a ton of money/assets sitting around then go ahead and pay what the demand letter requests....if your like most Americans living paycheck to paycheck (I'm assuming this is the case since you tried to steal a pair of shoes) then ignore it. They will leave u alone after a few attempts to scare you. Just my opinion. I'm not attorney.... attorneys always give you worse case scenario info. I know from experience those demand letters go nowhere.

 

[cbg]

If there was no arrest or court order of guilt and no judgment against you you don't owe them anything....they recovered the product already. Ignore the demand letter!
For everyone being judgemental about someone who made one mistake in their life cut it out...everyone has stolen something in their life....EVERYONE. This doesn't make you a terrible person. Learn a lesson and move on ...but definitely don't let people scare you. I repeat, you owe them nothing. If you have a ton of money/assets sitting around then go ahead and pay what the demand letter requests....if your like most Americans living paycheck to paycheck (I'm assuming this is the case since you tried to steal a pair of shoes) then ignore it. They will leave u alone after a few attempts to scare you. Just my opinion. I'm not attorney.... attorneys always give you worse case scenario info. I know from experience those demand letters go nowhere.

This thread is from 2016. I think it's quite unlikely that the OP is still coming back looking for additional responses.