My daughter forgot to scan 4 items at a grocery store self checkout! I believe her cause she is forgetful. The LP stopped her and her two kids. She immediately apologized and offered to pay for the items. They told her she couldn't. They took her ID and let her go. They did not not call the police and they did not take her picture. They simply told her that she would get a letter in the mail from out of state they said she shouldn't ignore it or there will be a warrant for her arrest. P.S LP was very friendly told this happens all the time but she needs to be careful during self checkout. Told her she couldn't come back to the store until the next day . She is driving me crazy with worry. I want to know if she will be arrested or will this be on her record. She super paranoid that the cops will show up at her job.
The letter will is a request to extort $200 to $300 from her.
Each state allows the merchant to make the demand.
It has no force of law, and many people simply ignore the request, choosing to to be blackmailed.
Agreed, she will not be arrested. That is just intimidation to get her to pay.
She will get a letter demanding money. There is no legal obligation to pay it.
I have read a lot of conflicting views some say pay and say don't pay. I'm just worried that they told they will issue a warrant for her arrest. I advised her to pay it. Should I tell her not too? Also she said she was so scared when she gave them her address she said place instead of lane. She wants to call the number on the paper to tell them so it goes to the right address.
I am a Retail Theft Consultant and answer questions like yours daily. The choice to pay is yours of course but not everything above is 100% accurate. I suggest you look and read the info below then make your choice.
The matter could be reported to the police. Based on what you described, it doesn't sound like something the police would bother with, but we obviously don't know what sort of workload your local police have. Your daughter could be sued for statutory damages (essentially a civil fine despite the fact that the store suffered no loss). How likely is it that the store will sue? We have no way of knowing.
Stores don't issue arrest warrants. At this point her arrest is a virtual impossibility. Even if she had been arrested she would have been released before seeing the inside of a jail. This is the most petty of petty offenses and jails don't have room for this sort of thing. This should not be a worry for her or for you.
She should not have any contact with them. No calls, no letters. Do not exist in their world. Shoot... You don't even have to open their letters when they arrive. Contact with them will only result in more demands.
