Hey, first of all, me and my brother decided to shoplift (stupid) and was caught by the mall security and
The store security. They decided not to fine us and we were banned from zellers and the mall for 1year.
The Police was not involved in it and we signed some papers without reading.
They also separated the materials stolen by me and my brother and asked who stole what.
They told us that there was going to be no charges, but a fine mailed from HBC.
My question is that will both me and my brother be fined? And also, How much will the fine be?
We stole a total of 170 dollars including the stupid HST in British Columbia.
Please Help me out I don't know what to do and I am scared.
Lastly, I am a minor and my brother is an adult.

Oh and this was our first offense

Hello t:

Don't pay the fine... Courts can levy fines.. Private business's CAN'T.

excon

Will This Private Business (HBC) possibly Sue me for not paying the fees? Because I remember the Security at the store making me sign this form where the fee will be paid or something...

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Originally Posted by ticket93

Will This Private Business (HBC) possibly Sue me for not paying the fees? .

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Hello again, t:

I don't think so.

excon

If I ask a lawyer, will he/she help me out?

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Originally Posted by ticket93

if I ask a lawyer, will he/she help me out??

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Hello t:

I don't know. If you PAY him, sure. If you want help for free, I doubt it.

excon

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Originally Posted by ticket93

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Please Help me out I don't know what to do and I am scared.

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You will have to excuse excon, Ticket. He is having some fun at your expense.

Read this.

This is a private penalty that stores in Canada are allowed to charge you ( it is not really a "fine") it is a civil assessment they are allowed to charge to pay for their time and trouble.
Best guess it will be at least several hundred dollars and most likely for each

does the amount change the value of the civil restitution?

I was caught shoplifting in January at The Bay. You are lucky that they didn't call the cops because they called them in my case. I hired a lawyer immediately for around $2000. Luckily, the police decided to drop the charges afterwards. I stole around $60 worth of stuff and my civil recovery fine was $595. I didn't know if I should pay it either, but decided to in the end because I didn't want to drag it out.

In my research, it seems like The Bay never ends up bringing you to court even if you don't pay the fine. However, they do send follow up letters and such. So to avoid dragging it out, I just paid it. After all, I did shoplift so I feel like the fine is not unreasonable.

If you read the case they cite in their letter HBC v. white - the store recovered the goods and could only charge the person for trespassing - fine was $100.