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Hire a lawyer. And note that they ARE going the civil route because there's no basis for criminal charges. They are just hoping you will be intimidated by receiving such a letter. When you hire the attorney, inquire about a "counterclaim" for intentional infliction of emotional distress and some other similar claims. Come back at them. And whatever you do, don't call them or pay the money.
Hire a lawyer. And note that they ARE going the civil route because there's no basis for criminal charges. They are just hoping you will be intimidated by receiving such a letter. When you hire the attorney, inquire about a "counterclaim" for intentional infliction of emotional distress and some other similar claims. Come back at them. And whatever you do, don't call them or pay the money.
Possible, but unlikely. NC has a statute that allows for civil recovery on shop lifting offenses.
If your child absolutely did not shoplift, or have anything to do with it, I would contact KMart directly. I would get the facts. The retail database thing would bother me more than the civil demand letter.
If your child was involved in any way, I would have him/her pay the fine. This is a valuable life lesson for your child.
I always try to impress upon my child "guilt by association." Kids need to be careful not only of what they are doing, but also what their friends are doing. Sometimes kids are pressured into doing things they ordinarily would not do.
Shoplifting is very serious. I would not ignore the letter.
A police officer responding to an incident like you described will needprobable cause to either physically arrest or file at large charges on your son. If the officer did neither, then your son is not a suspect, merely a witness or present when the offense took place. If any action was taken against your son, it was probably a trespass warning issued (layman's term, don't ever come back, or you'll be arrested for trespass after warning). Loss prevention officers are known to be over zealous and I'm sure their report indicates just that. Tell Kmart to take their $150 claim and shove it down their soon to be bankruptcy throat. It's a scare tactic, meant to scam people out of their money. Had your son been arrested or charged, then you would be in a different position. Verify with the police that their investigation is over and any person(s) so far charged will be the only person(s) charged. If your son is not one of them, life goes on. Bottom line is this; do you trust your son is telling you the truth? We all lie (at least, initially) when we're caught doing something we shouldn't be doing, it's only natural. We're scared and embarrassed, and seeking a way out. I don't condone it, but it happens. If you feel your son is being honest, do what needs to be done as a parent and make it a learning experience. The only corrective action I would take is teaching your son about the company he keeps; you go down with the dogs, you wake up with fleas.
Thanks for all of your replies.
We have checked with the police dept., and my teen and the other teen were NOT charged or cited in any way. Only the 1 teen who did steal was charged and taken to jail.
We did contact a lawyer, he can send them a "back off" / "no case" letter for a charge of $150, which is the same amount they are demanding, and yes it is a Letter of Demand - there is so much crap all over the internet about this firm, it's sad they try to intimidate people.
I can understand 100% the letter going to people who are charged but it should be illegal to send it to people who weren't charged or cited by the police.
Again, thanks for all your replies
Thanks for all of your replies.
We have checked with the police dept., and my teen and the other teen were NOT charged or cited in any way. Only the 1 teen who did steal was charged and taken to jail.
We did contact a lawyer, he can send them a "back off" / "no case" letter for a charge of $150, which is the same amount they are demanding, and yes it is a Letter of Demand - there is so much crap all over the internet about this firm, it's sad they try to intimidate people.
I can understand 100% the letter going to people who are charged but it should be illegal to send it to people who weren't charged or cited by the police.
Again, thanks for all your replies
Thanks for all of your replies.
We have checked with the police dept., and my teen and the other teen were NOT charged or cited in any way. Only the 1 teen who did steal was charged and taken to jail.
We did contact a lawyer, he can send them a "back off" / "no case" letter for a charge of $150, which is the same amount they are demanding, and yes it is a Letter of Demand - there is so much crap all over the internet about this firm, it's sad they try to intimidate people.
I can understand 100% the letter going to people who are charged but it should be illegal to send it to people who weren't charged or cited by the police.
Again, thanks for all your replies
Thanks for the update...it was very helpful.
Vicki
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