Is there a law that prevents a business from telling you pay us or we will prosecute?

In March of 2008 my daughter of 14 years was caught shoplifting in Stator Bros on tht corner of Waterman Ave and Baseline Rd. I was called to pick her up at the security area,having done so my daughter was released in my custody a few days later get a letter pay us or we prosecute

If the item(s) stolen were returned in a condition in which they could originally be sold then they cannot ask you to pay for anything. However, if the item(s) could not be sold as originally intended then you are responsible for their loss of sale. Depending on the $ requested it may not be worth your time to dispute this matter but rather pay it and be done with it. Although she was released in your care this does dismiss their rights to prosecute, its simply been deferred to a later date and in this case they'd rather get some money than take legal action.

You are of course willing to pay what you reasonably owe, but if you do so they may still prosecute, so I would seek proper legal advice on the legal aid system. I feel that you actually owe not a thing because you were not involved in the attempted theft. In the case of your daughter if nothing was taken, damaged or it was returned what can she owe unless it was the security man's time. but get some proper advice and keep your daughter away from the shops until she can be trusted not to be light fingered. (UK)

A point to remember that things could have been damaged and that can be a different ball game for your daughter. You need proper advice.

The law is different in the USA, where the "victim" is the business owner from whom the alleged theft took place. In Canada and the UK, the "victim" is Her Majesty the Queen, and the Crown Prosectutor's Office (District Attorney) decides whether to proceed with a charge. The police lay what is called an "information" with Crown, and the decision whether to prosecute is based on liklihood of conviction, the public interest, and all that.

In the US, the direct victim can call it, so the store indeed has the right to send such a letter. I would suggest you pay, in order to avoid a criminal record for your daughter.

I feel badly for you and for her--she did something stupid but she is not a criminal. It is better that she finds out now that actions have consequences she may not like.

I believe that the store is perfectly within their rights, and you should be thankful that they are taking this approach. They could easily prosecute, or take you to civil court, which would cost much more money than the cost of the loss to the store. The only question I have is how much are they asking you to pay. If they are asking for the cost of whatever was stolen, then you should pay it. Even if it is more, just pay it and get it in writing that all debts have been satisfied and no further action will be taken. Now if they are trying to extort you, and ask for some unreasonable amount, then no, you should talk to an attorney first to see about what you should do.

Pay what?
There's a huge difference between paying for what was stolen, and extorsion.

They could press charges on the shoplifting though, but i don't think a civil suit is likely unless she stole a significant amount of products from them.

But there's no law to "protect" her, she committed a crime.

No, definitely not. They have every right to prosecute her for shoplifting, and they have every right to demand payment for damages. It's called settling the case out of court. If you think what they are asking for is unfair, go to court and let the judge decide.

"Pay us" what? Cost of goods? Cost of securitys time?