I have some questions regarding an incident that happened to me about 3 1/2 weeks ago at a Ross Dress for Less in Southern California. I have been a long time customer of Ross Dress for Less. Over the past few months I have had an issue with Tag Switching. I never meant for anything bad to happen, it was something that just escalated. I guess I thought that as long as I was paying for the items, it didn't matter the price. I know I was wrong and it is considered a crime. On the day in question, I went to a Ross Dress for Less that I don't normally shop at with my young son. Normally there are another couple of Ross stores that I shop at. I saw a couple dresses that I liked I went to try them on and yes I ended up trading tags. I went to the register and by the time I got to the register to pay, I knew something was up. I paid for the items and left the store, when I was going back to my car a Loss Prevention Officer came out and I knew what it was about. He took me back into the store followed by two other Security Guards. They took me to a back room with my son, they talked to me and basically told me that I could be charged with Shoplifting and Child Endangerment. I broke down into tears, I was so ashamed. I think they ran a background check on me while I was sitting there, I was there a while. The one Security Guard told me that they didn't want to get the Police involved, that they were going to cut me a break. They had me sign a piece of paper that said that they might pursue civil actions. Also that I was not allowed in any Ross store for 6 months. They told me that I would recieve a letter in the mail for a fine. They told me the fine would range from $50.00-$1,000.00 it would be like a Traffic Ticket and that if I didn't pay it and decided to ignore it, a warrant for my arrest would be issued. The paper that I signed had my information on it, address and DL number. They also have my correct phone number. But what I forgot was that my address on my DL (which is correct) has a different Apartment number than I have now. I have notified my mailman that I am expecting a letter with my name on it but that the Apartment listed on it was my old one. I am keeping a diligent eye on the mail. Well it's been almost a month and I have not recieved anything in the mail. I don't know what to do. I don't how to contact anyone about it, but I don't want to keep waiting and have something bad happen. They do have my correct phone number, I am hoping that if they need to get into touch with me they would call me. Does it just take a while to get a letter for the fine? Did they decided not to press it and just keep me away from the store? What is your advice on the matter? I know I brought this on myself and I am deeply ashamed of my actions. I just want to know what I should do.
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Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Tag Switching - Help!!!
- Thread Starter jmvdd80
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army judge
Super Moderator
You have the right to remain silent.
You must use it.
If not, you are only going to bring more trouble into your life.
Most likely, you'll get some type of revenue demand letter.
It will offer you the opportunity to settle everything for a fee.
It probably won't come from the courts.
It'll come for their lawyer or their loss prevention.
DO NOT ENGAGE IN THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY ANYMORE.
You may have received a break.
You'll have to wait and see.
In the interim, let sleeping dogs lie.
You must use it.
If not, you are only going to bring more trouble into your life.
Most likely, you'll get some type of revenue demand letter.
It will offer you the opportunity to settle everything for a fee.
It probably won't come from the courts.
It'll come for their lawyer or their loss prevention.
DO NOT ENGAGE IN THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY ANYMORE.
You may have received a break.
You'll have to wait and see.
In the interim, let sleeping dogs lie.
fredrikklaw
Moderator
No Loss For Ross!
It was very decent of them to cut you a break and you were fortunate not to go to jail, but they were quite out of order to make false legal claims in order to turn what would have been a loss of few dollars into a potential $400 plus (pure) profit.
You see, by sending you to jail, the company would have had to incur hard costs by participating in the prosecution of the crime as chief witnesses and as the proverbial victims, whereas they stand to make a chunk of pure profit by letting you go in lieu of the payment of a [civil] fine. But they made what amounts to making false claims "under the collar of law" by telling you that a warrant would be issued for your arrest in case of non-payment (or ignoring) of the [civil] fine and for making the "child endangerment" claim' both of which could not be further from the truth.
You may or may not receive a CIVIL demand for payment of restitution in such and such an amount and the letter will originate from their legal department, not the police department and as such, any non-compliance or non-payment of the fine will have, if at all and if any, only civil consequences with the obvious action being one for a small claim. And that will mean having to pay thousands of dollars in attorney's fees to collect what is only a symbolic fine and nothing more and there will certainly be no warrants out for anybody's arrest if you choose not to pay it.
And the child endangerment claim should be treated with the contempt it deserves since you took your child into a clothing store and not into a crack-house and the child was in no danger at any time and did not stand to be harmed in any shape or form as a result of your shopping indiscretion. Not even if you had the wrong address on your driver license.
You were truly fortunate this time around, but the next loss prevention Robo Cop may be a sour police academy reject with not quite the same profit and bonus making acumens, in which case you will find yourself wearing a pair of police issued mock silver bracelets and donning a one-size-fits-all orange jumpsuit instead of that nice fitting Yves Saint Lauren number.
fredrikklaw
It was very decent of them to cut you a break and you were fortunate not to go to jail, but they were quite out of order to make false legal claims in order to turn what would have been a loss of few dollars into a potential $400 plus (pure) profit.
You see, by sending you to jail, the company would have had to incur hard costs by participating in the prosecution of the crime as chief witnesses and as the proverbial victims, whereas they stand to make a chunk of pure profit by letting you go in lieu of the payment of a [civil] fine. But they made what amounts to making false claims "under the collar of law" by telling you that a warrant would be issued for your arrest in case of non-payment (or ignoring) of the [civil] fine and for making the "child endangerment" claim' both of which could not be further from the truth.
You may or may not receive a CIVIL demand for payment of restitution in such and such an amount and the letter will originate from their legal department, not the police department and as such, any non-compliance or non-payment of the fine will have, if at all and if any, only civil consequences with the obvious action being one for a small claim. And that will mean having to pay thousands of dollars in attorney's fees to collect what is only a symbolic fine and nothing more and there will certainly be no warrants out for anybody's arrest if you choose not to pay it.
And the child endangerment claim should be treated with the contempt it deserves since you took your child into a clothing store and not into a crack-house and the child was in no danger at any time and did not stand to be harmed in any shape or form as a result of your shopping indiscretion. Not even if you had the wrong address on your driver license.
You were truly fortunate this time around, but the next loss prevention Robo Cop may be a sour police academy reject with not quite the same profit and bonus making acumens, in which case you will find yourself wearing a pair of police issued mock silver bracelets and donning a one-size-fits-all orange jumpsuit instead of that nice fitting Yves Saint Lauren number.
fredrikklaw
mightymoose
Moderator
Please... if you thought the price didn't matter then you would not have been switching the tags. You need to snap out of the denial before you end up in court because you will find no sympathy. It isn't "considered" a crime, it IS a crime. In fact, in California this situation could be classified as felony burglary, so you are lucky if you are not facing those charges.
I can assure you, as a deputy sheriff, had I been called in on this and learned this same information you would have gone to jail and your child would have gone with Child Protective Services.
It is one thing to commit a petty theft, it is another to repeatedly do so with the illogical excuse of "I thought the price didn't matter." You entered that store with the intent to commit a theft, and that is a felony. Your actions will catch up to you if you don't knock it off now.
I can assure you, as a deputy sheriff, had I been called in on this and learned this same information you would have gone to jail and your child would have gone with Child Protective Services.
It is one thing to commit a petty theft, it is another to repeatedly do so with the illogical excuse of "I thought the price didn't matter." You entered that store with the intent to commit a theft, and that is a felony. Your actions will catch up to you if you don't knock it off now.
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