Got caught shoplifting not arrested?

I drank a soda while browsing at a store. Sat it down to read a magazine. I forgot about the soda and left the store to head to work. Security stopped me & said i didnt pay for the soda. I was like oh my god! i felt like an idiot. I have never been in trouble before. Im over 18. He had me sign a paper. not sure what the paper was. I was so freaked out! He took my info. No cops were called. 6 months later i receive a letter from a law firm.They want me to pay $251 for civil recovery for drinking a $1.29 soda! Im not going to pay. I have read this is kind of a shakedown to try to get money from me. I already have bad credit so Im not worried about this beign put on there. Whats the worst thing that could happen? Has anyone not paid a recovery fee? Could they take me to small claims over a soda? The letter said I had 20 days to pay if not they might take further action.

This is why you should always pay before you drink.

Also, they can take you to small claims over it because you *stole* it, and shoplifting is a serious crime.

So, long story short, it's best to just pay it and get on with life, or call and ask what you can do to resolve the issue.

wow!that's rich...well look at it in different angle..imagine your mom scolding you for neglecting to bring out the garbage each time you do your late night viewing habbits..what lesson did you get from it?...you won't forget next time to bring out the garbage will you? so this civil recovery thing is a reprimand for civilians like us to behave when in public, you have to pay your dues somehow so pay up and get over it, learn alesson or two, got it? now pay up!

you will get a judgement against you, if they take it to court & you still don't pay it. your "recovery fee" will be taken out of your pay check til it's paid.

wow

Just pay.. it will solve ur problem

In the United States, civil recovery laws allow store and retailers to prosecute alleged shoplifters in civil court. All 50 states have some form of civil recovery law. In some jurisdictions, both a civil recovery demand and a ticket or arrest for "stealing" is initiated by the retailer.
So in effect you are being charged with shoplifting. The$251 is an offer to you, from the store to settle this out of court.
You need to see what you signed. If you agreed to store security that you in fact did steal the soda, and it was you intent to not pay for it, then you have little recourse.
You can claim in court to the judge that you were threatened and intimadated by the security guard to sign or else, but that probably wont fly. You need to see what the court consequences might be. You probably agreed to pay for all court costs should you contest any charges, so you may be better off paying it.
You can always try and negotiate.

This is a common tactic by merchants to offset their losses due to shoplifting. If they were going to press charges against you, they would have already. Right now they're basically asking for a donation from you, hoping you'll think it gets you something.
You must have intent to commit a crime. If you didn't mean to steal a soda, you didn't commit a crime. You are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law - unless the paper you signed had an agreement from you to pay the money, they can't do anything, and if it showed up in your credit report, you could actually sue them.
The good news is, they have very little motivation to do anything other than maybe send you a couple of letters - they won't try very hard to get a measly $251.