NEXT Store sales person made a false arrest, is there anything we could do?

My friend was shopping in NEXT (UK clothes retailer) and one of the sales person falsely detained her for shoplifting and snatched her handbag while they called for security officer which took ages, meaning when her kids phoned her they could not get in touch with their mum but she did not steal anything and was proved innocent. She has lost confidence and is scared to go into any big retailer. Is there anything we could do? what are the laws broken here? If we do write a letter to the head office demanding an explanation, where and how do we start?





Thanks a millionNEXT Store sales person made a false arrest, is there anything we could do?
Not sure of the UK laws, but here in the US a retailer has the right to ';reasonably detain'; anyone the have a reasonable suspicion of shoplifting.





The standard of proof means that the detained subject does not have to be found to have actually stolen anything, but that the store's staff have a reasonable articulatable belief at the time.





NEXT Store sales person made a false arrest, is there anything we could do?
Security officers in general have the right to search if they have any form of cause (it could just be another person saying they thought she put something in her bag). You can address attitude but they generally did nothing wrong.





A politely worded letter to store management indicating any concerns with the process and requesting the grounds for the search would be your best bet to find out what happened.