Retail surgery: Using civil recovery to claw back losses

Civil recovery is the name of a civil law process retailers can use to obtain compensation from thieves, fraudsters and others who cause them losses.

Legal associate Lucy Moran, from civil recovery specialist Retail Loss Prevention, says that her company deals with around 75,000 cases each year, most of which are on behalf of retailers pursuing either shoplifters or staff theft.

Civil recovery allows the retailer to claim not just for the cost of goods stolen or damaged, but also the additional cost of dealing with such incidents. In many instances the case never reaches court as the individual agrees to pay after contact from the civil recovery firm.

If payment is not received, the case may proceed through the civil court and action may be taken after the judgment.

The goods involved in the claim can be worth any amount and the retailer can choose whether to claim general fixed management and investigation costs, or work out a specific amount. This may be more appropriate in the case of staff theft, where a lengthy investigation might have taken place.

To use a service such as Retail Loss Prevention, Moran says only basic information is needed, and they will do the rest. “The basic information we need is the culprit’s date of birth, their address, the date the incident took place, as well as details of the incident.”

Moran adds that most retailers use services like hers on a no-win, no-fee basis, with a fee only being paid when they recover the retailer’s losses on the cases submitted.