"Can I just go in and get my stuff back?" This is a fascinating question and magnificently complex! Everything (IMO) depends on the behaviour of those taking part and the wording and other aspects of a 'retention of title' clause.
Breach of the Peace? Well, possibly in Scotland, where the definition is somewhat different, in that a reasonable person could be expected to become "alarmed, annoyed or disturbed" by such acts as "rowdiness, brawling" or "lewd" or otherwise "threatening behaviour" - but that hardly seems to be the case here. Nudity in public under Scottish law is indeed a breach of the peace (see the prosecutions of the so-called Naked Rambler) so if you are reclaiming goods from the Inverness branch of Maplins, put your pants on! Don't go there naked!
But in England, a breach of the peace is more open-ended and therefore more complex. Failing some sort of shouting match or other outlandish behaviour, almost certainly not.
Trespass? Well, assuming that our protagonist has simply walked into the shop through an open door, into what we all treat (and indeed is) a public place - no. An act of trespass has not taken place.
Theft? Well, the (short) definition is "Theft occurs when someone dishonestly appropriates some property that does not belong to him or her and treats it as his or her own and has no intention of returning the property to its rightful owner." Assuming our protagonist is indeed the rightful owner of the goods, he is hardly guilty of theft. The burning question is, is our protagonist (or rather his company) really the rightful owner? You may THINK you are the rightful owner because the shop hasn't paid you for months, but the reality may be different.
Let us take a simple scenario - you deliver 100 LED panel lights to a Maplins central depot every week. They are all identical. They have no serial numbers or other identifying marks. Yes, you have a contract that clearly gives your company retention of ownership for all goods that have not been paid for and the lights are all clearly marked as coming from your company.
BUT unless your retention of ownership clause clearly and unequivocally gives you full and unmitigated ownership of all goods delivered until all debts are cleared, you cannot prove that the specific panel lights you are seeking to remove have not been paid for.
A debtor who has paid for some of your goods but not others, may claim that the specific goods you are trying to take back have been paid for, so he now owns those. Unless you can prove him wrong, you can’t take those goods and walking out with them would indeed be theft.
But an ‘all monies’ provision in your retention of title clause means you retain ownership of all your goods until all monies owed to you by the debtor have been paid. In that case, as long as the debtor owes you some money, you can take back the goods, whether or not those particular goods have been paid for.
(The problem is, to get a major customer to sign an agreement like that!)
If you use force, that is a possible case of assault - so don't! If the lights are now built into the ceiling, you can't start ripping the ceiling down (or otherwise damaging goods in which your components have been incorporated). That is criminal damage, so don't.
And if the shop staff prevent you from lawfully removing goods that are clearly yours, the police will not help you and you can't expect a police constable to assess the validity and voracity of various documents and come to a decision on a matter of civil contract law. That is not his job and he will tell you that you need a court order.
So, for those of you playing the Home Game - a retention of ownership clause needs to be very, very clear about what is and is not your property. It is best to have an 'all monies' clause. It also has to give you the right to enter buildings and remove goods. And most importantly, it has to be counter-signed by the customer, either with each order, or as part of an overall agreement. Better still - both!
If a company does a Maplins and looks as if it might go belly-up, hand-in its dinner plate and turn its face to the wall, act quickly.
