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Archive for the ‘Civil Loss Recovery’ Category

Retail Loss Prevention Limited & Civil Loss Recovery

December 9th, 2009

Retail Loss Prevention Ltd (we will refer to them as RPL) provides a service to retailers (and others) who have suffered a loss, often through theft by shoplifting. Most people would agree that shop lifters need to be punished for crimes committed, and also many people would agree that the police are over-burdened with more serious crime and do not have the time to deal with every shop lifter. Enter, RPL Ltd, the retailer’s answer to the shop lifter.

The retailer is entitled to compensation equal to their loss. So if a bottle of perfume is stolen then the retailer is entitled to claim reasonable costs for their loss. But chasing someone for a £20 bottle of perfume is not cost effective, this is why companies such as RPL are employed. The problem is that RPL also have costs and these are also added to the original loss of the retailer. The bottom line is the £20 bottle of perfume can soon cost the shop lifter £200 or more. Now if the shop lifter is “guilty” then maybe we do not feel sorry for them. But what if there is an error, maybe the theft was not so black and white?

Take for example someone with their young child who accidentally takes an item from a shop, is it fair that the escalating charges from employing a civil loss recovery company are now sought from the child’s parent? Most of us would say no.

Many people being pursued by companies such as RPL to do know their rights, they feel intimidated and simply pay up. What we would suggest is that anyone in this situation seeks advice of the CAB to respond to RPL (or other loss recovery company). The bottom line is do not feel intimidated, if you have done no wrong then stand up for yourself, it could save you a lot of money.

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Posted in Civil Loss Recovery

Tags: retail loss prevention limited

What is Civil Loss Recovery?

December 9th, 2009

In the last few years there has been a huge growth in loss recovery on behalf of retailers and other companies to deal with relatively minor cases not addressed by the criminal justice system.

Take for example someone (reportedly) stealing a packet of biscuits from a retailer. In minor cases such as this the police will not want to get involved, they simply do not have the resources. The retailers who experience multiple items of theft from a multitude of people on a daily basis simply cannot afford to do nothing. This is where Civil Loss Recovery comes in.

Companies have now been set up to recover the losses of the retailer. Clearly chasing someone for a £1 packet of biscuits carries with it a huge overhead, so these loss recovery companies add on hefty charges, mostly to cover “their costs”. The upshot is the £1 packet of biscuits could end up costing as much as £100 in recovery costs.

If the “accused” does not pay up then threats are made such as blacklisting in databases that may be seen by employers, or at least that is the threat. However if the recovery amount is quite large, let’s say £500 or more, then it is also likely that the loss recovery company may then used the small claims court system, which will add further costs and if these are not paid the “accused” will end up with a CCJ against their name.

Whilst a cost effective loss recovery system is good for retailers and consumers alike, it is only going to be effective if there is some degree of accountability and regulation to ensure that innocent people do not become trapped into paying debts that are not rightly theirs.