I do not believe a company can impose a fine on you. A court of Law can but not a company so you need to clarify why WallMart has in fact imposed a fine on you as you suggest or was it a court of law?

It would have had to go to court, they cant just make you pay something without having approvement, or if i owned a store, someone stole i could make them pay 100,000 dollars, see what i mean? You need to go talk to the police or an attorney about this, andd sure you dont get done wrong, because if you dont pay what they want you to pay they could send you to jail

You need to check sate civil restitution laws, solution101. They can, and do, do this all the time. It's legal.

I can't condone thievery but I can say I understand. I've been poor and you get tired of never having anything that isn't absolutely essential. I am not going to chastise you any further. You already know you did wrong.

Agreeing to pay $50 a month was foolish when you have so little money. But, I know when you received an official letter from Walmart's attorney it had to be intimidating. They depend on that.

The first thing I would do is contact the attorney that sent you the initial letter. DO NOT agree to anything else. Seriously, don't agree to anything, no matter how insignificant it seems. Tell them you are checking on the status of your 'case'. Also, request an explanation for the $500 'fine'. If you don't understand what they are saying, ask them to clarify. Be assertive but don't become aggressive. Again, do not agree to anything.

Walmart cannot 'fine' you $500 for stealing $20 worth of merchandise from their store. The very most they would be entitled to is $20 and that's only if you had successfully exited the store with the items. Fines are imposed by our judicial system, not retail stores. In what world would Walmart be allowed to profit $500 because of your activity? They aren't.

You may need a lawyer yourself. It sound like you are not in a position to retain one. You may be able to locate free legal assistance at the following website: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/probono/freelglchtLA.h tm

I don't know if this will help but the name of the company is Palmer,Reifler & Assoc.

It appears that I was incorrect in my first answer. Retail stores are permitted to collect restitution from shoplifters. The amount they are demanding from you is higher than usual, though.

I don't understand why they informed you at the time of the incident that nothing would happen unless there were further offenses then proceeded with the civil recovery anyway. Possibly, they meant they wouldn't pursue criminal charges if there wasn't another incident. Walmart can file a suit and then you might be held responsible for the lawyer fees, court costs etc.

My very best advise is to contact free legal services at the website I provided earlier. Maybe they can at least negotiate a reduced amount. Or you can try to do it yourself. Call and explain your situation but don't expect too much sympathy. I'm sure they hear it all the time.

It sounds as if you were lucky not to have cops called and to just be able to pay a fine. That would be in a way. If you can't pay it I would consult lega advice. Since they are being so lenient I would try to talk to them it would make the most sense to the Walmart. Then also you only have $100 left. I was told by one guy that as long as you are paying on the bill they can't really do much. He said to for instance pay what you can.

But you can't really expect Walmart to let you go in and take whatever your heart desires. That is meant to stop things like that from happening. If you had kept it up or do you will have more trouble getting work. You are lucky that does not show up on your work record.

Http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120347031996578719 .html

Article from several years ago explaining how they can get away with what they do. Thank your state legislatures for being very pro-business.

Hi, ItWasWrong, and welcome to WebAnswers.

Under Louisiana Rev Stat § 9:2799.1, the merchant can charge you up to $500, in addition to the value of the merchandise. Since the store recovered the items, it can still charge you the $500.

It is a collection matter and will remain so for the next seven years on your credit report. It is unlikely that Walmart will seek a judgment against you, because of the expense, although it is possible.

I would not be concerned with any attempts by any bill collection agency (which the law firm is) to collect this. Note the number calling on your caller ID and don't answer the calls. If you do answer the call and realize who it is, simply hang up. Do NOT engage in a conversation. Do NOT even say "Goodbye." Simply HANG UP.

They cannot get blood from a turnip, but they will surely try, including threatening to sue you. That is what they get paid to do. You have no obligation to help them, but I would pay when you can, because it will not go away. At the same time, they cannot charge you any more than what they originally assessed under "civil recovery".

Thank you for your question.

There was an internal memo years ago directing security officers at walmart not to press charges if the amount was under $25, and it was the person's first offense. This is not binding on Walmart, and I have seen prosecutions under this amount. The criminal charge and the "civil fine" however are unrelated. Whether the amount is paid or not, does not affect the other, although some states will not allow a criminal prosecution to proceed if a civil case has commenced on the same action.

In states that allow a merchant to impose civil damages or penalties that they suffer as a result from shoplifting, merchants have been sending out these demand letters for years. Normally, they initially send a letter stating that they will settle the amount for $200 or so dollars if you make a payment by such and such date. If you miss the date, they then send out a letter stating you owe the maximum statuatory amount, which is usually $500, Although Walmart could definitely take you to court and obtain a judgment, I seriously doubt that would happen, because the merchant will have to bring a number of employees into court and it would likely cost Walmart more in their collection efforts than the recovery. I would try to contact the collection attorney and try to settle the amount. I would imagine that since Walmart normally sends letters with reduced settlement amounts initially, they still may be willing to settle. See if you can pay a one time lump sum of $150-$200 to get the matter satisfied. The outstanding collection on your credit report could cost you a considerable amount in extra interest fees. You may even want to ask if the matter is paid, if the collection can be taken off your credit report.

Thank you all for all the helpful tips and suggestions... The person I want to thank the most was Peanutbred... As I was doing more research you cam the closest to making me see the in's and outs... Again thanks to all

Thanks sooooo much!!!

You are sooooo welcome!...:-)

And, thank you for awarding my answer AND being so kind.

Just one more thing, though: collections folk can get no-where if they cannot talk with you and talking is what they do best. And, if you don't talk with them, there is very little more they can do.

Now, what you might do, is to monitor your parish's small claims court website just to make sure they don't try and pull a fast one, like going to court without letting you know. Because, if you don't know, they can still say they did such-and-such to have you served, and, golly gee, they left the notice taped to your front door. It must have blown away.

It isn't likely they would do that, but it has happened.