“I was caught shoplifting, and now the store has sent me a letter demanding money. Can they do this?”
We’ve posted a common question on Clicklaw about “civil demand letters”. These are letters sent by stores to people who have been caught shoplifting, telling them they have to pay the store money. A CBC report this summer, “Retailers demand shoplifters pay security costs“, drew attention to this practice. Some stores send a letter to shoplifters demanding that they pay money to the store to cover costs relating to theft and fraud, such as paying store security.
