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MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

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  • MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

    http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...110#post463110

    Civil recovery

    A young mother with two small children was shopping, when one of the children took a drink from a shelf and opened it. The mother paid for the drink.

    She later received a letter from a “civil recovery” company, claiming (falsely) that under a scheme endorsed by the Home Office, they were entitled to Ł90 for staff and management time, administration costs, and security costs. The letter threatened court action if she did not pay.

    The mother received harassing calls every day for two weeks. The mother paid the full amount after one month.

    Did the trader commit a misleading action?

    • The civil recovery company lied about being endorsed by the Home Office, and has committed a misleading action (reg 5 of the 2008 Regulations). The fact of endorsement would be a “significant factor” in the “average consumer’s” decision to pay (reg 27A(6) of the Regulations).

    • The civil recovery company received a “consumer payment” from the young mother (reg 27A(2)(c) of the Regulations). The mother’s decision to pay was a “transactional decision” as it was in full settlement of her purported liabilities to the civil recovery company (reg 2(1A) and (1B) of the 2008 Regulations).

    What remedies does the consumer have?

    • As the mother had paid for the drink, the civil recovery’ company’s claim was bogus, and no payment was owed. She therefore has a right to unwind the payment (reg 27H(1) of the Regulations), as she acted within three months.

    • The mother may also be able to claim damages remedy for distress and inconvenience due to the harassing and threatening calls. The amount could be at the mid to high end of the scale of restrained and modest payments.


    Unfair payment collection

    33. The Regulations expressly cover all commercial demands for payment. Debt collectors acting aggressively and receive the consumer payment on their own behalf would be covered as “traders”. If the debt collectors are acting as agents of a trader, the claim would instead be against the trader. Businesses undertaking so-called “civil recovery” which receive payment from consumers accused of shoplifting could count as “traders” under the Regulations. In such cases the “product” purchased by the consumer is the settlement of actual or purported liabilities.


    Consumer payments and “civil recovery”

    16. The Regulations amend the definition of a “transactional decision” to expressly cover demands for payment from a consumer in full or partial settlement of the consumer’s liabilities or purported liabilities to the trader (see reg 2(1A) of the 2008 Regulations). This means that misleading and aggressive practices in respect of such demands would now clearly lead to both criminal sanctions (under the 2008 Regulations), as well as private redress (under the Regulations).

    17. For example, so-called “civil recovery” where a consumer is accused of shoplifting, and is asked to pay a standard fixed fee to avoid prosecution, can fall in this category, is now clearly covered. The amended definition would also cover consumer payments associated with wheel-clamping, or demands for payment in respect of purported illegal downloads of digital content.
    #staysafestayhome

    Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

    Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps
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  • #2
    Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

    Excerpt from Richard Dunstan's article

    It is important to note that this does not mean that civil recovery per se will become unlawful on 1 October. Rather, any misleading or aggressive action by the civil recovery agents will become unlawful. However, given that, as practised to date by the agents on behalf of household-name retailers such as Asda, Boots, Iceland, Tesco and TK Maxx, civil recovery against alleged shoplifters relies for its profitability on hoodwinking often vulnerable people into paying arbitrary, fixed-sum demands for ‘compensation’ for which there is in fact no legal authority, it is inherently misleading.

    http://thejusticegap.com/2014/08/end...ivil-recovery/
    #staysafestayhome

    Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

    Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

      can she claim of them?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

        I would definitely try if I was her (at least to get the Ł90 back - if not more). She did not steal the drink, she paid for it at the till. I've lost count of the times I have opened a packet of something or other while shopping to give my children a bit before putting the opened pack through with my other shopping at the checkout, and I have never been questioned/challenged (admittedly I usually have a chocolate or biscuit or pastry covered child next to me at the time :tinysmile_twink_t2.
        Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.

        It doesn't matter where your journey begins, so long as you begin it...

        recte agens confido

        ~~~~~

        Any advice I provide is given without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

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        Comment


        • #5
          Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

          Okay, how about someone that was (accidentally or purposely) taking say, a lipstick, from the store, maybe it got caught up in the hood of the babies pushchair..... gets stopped by security guard and goes back and pays for the lipstick, or gives back the lipstick ?
          #staysafestayhome

          Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

          Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

            Originally posted by Amethyst View Post
            Okay, how about someone that was (accidentally or purposely) taking say, a lipstick, from the store, maybe it got caught up in the hood of the babies pushchair..... gets stopped by security guard and goes back and pays for the lipstick, or gives back the lipstick ?
            If it was a complete accident, then giving it back or paying for it should (to my mind) be more than enough.

            Deliberately attempting to take an item without paying, and only putting it back or buying it because you were stopped is just wrong. If this was the case, then the perpetrator should be billed for staff time (again this is my opinion, and others may not agree with me).
            Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.

            It doesn't matter where your journey begins, so long as you begin it...

            recte agens confido

            ~~~~~

            Any advice I provide is given without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

            I can be emailed if you need my help loading pictures/documents to your thread. My email address is Kati@legalbeagles.info
            But please include a link to your thread so I know who you are.

            Specialist advice can be sought via our sister site JustBeagle

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

              Would the staff have been diverted from their normal duties, or, if a security guard, is that his duties anyway?

              Some reading http://legalbeagles.info/civil-recov...ment-09-05-12/

              ''14. The claimant in the instant case has not established either that the staff in question
              were “significantly diverted from their usual activities” or that there was “any
              significant disruption to its business” which, in this type of case, may amount to the
              same thing. Nor was there any loss of revenue generation.

              15. The two security people, far from being diverted from their usual activities, were in
              fact actively engaged in them. They were doing just what the claimants paid for
              them to do. I do not think that it avails the claimants to say that because they were
              busy apprehending, they could not be patrolling or doing camera invigilation. It
              might just as well be observed that when they were patrolling they could not be
              looking at the security cameras anyway. They could not carry out all aspects of their
              job simultaneously in any event. The shop continued to trade undisturbed and there is
              no evidence that any non-security staff were involved with these defendants.''
              #staysafestayhome

              Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

              Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

                Possibly better summary on this post http://legalbeagles.info/civil-recov...s-of-hearings/
                #staysafestayhome

                Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

                  Often you can see in supermarkets, little kiddies eating sweets or drinking cans of pop, and the vast majority of mothers do pay for them at checkout.
                  This is just another example of Civil Recover firms, acting like bullies and legalised thieves.
                  I hope the mother does take them to the cleaners.
                  “The only man who sticks closer to you in adversity more than a friend, is a creditor.”

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

                    The 'Mother' is a case study example used by the BIS in their guidance document on regs on Misleading and aggressive commercial practices that come into force on 1st October.

                    See http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...110#post463110
                    #staysafestayhome

                    Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                    Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

                      This is from the Justice Gap -

                      http://thejusticegap.com/2014/08/end...ivil-recovery/
                      Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

                        RLP's site now only states partnerships with

                        1. Scottish Steering Group - campaigning with clients to raise awareness and profile for this type of crime in Scotland.
                        2. Project Inhibit - working with British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) and Hertfordshire Police to reduce drive offs and no means of payment frauds from service stations.


                        I haven't looked for a long time since they removed ACPO
                        #staysafestayhome

                        Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                        Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: MUST READ - CIVIL RECOVERY - Misleading and aggressive commercial practices

                          If the alleged shoplifter pays for the item or returns it then no 'offence' has been committed EVEN if their intention (impossible to prove unless admitted) had been to steal the item

                          Comment

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