AIBU to “steal” this?

Laundry "pods"?
Softener?
Scent balls?

When you can't afford baby formula?

Oh my giddy aunt.

Tesco stain remover, 1kg for £2.75
Tesco washing powder, 80 washes for £8. It's lovely and will last you quite some time longer than a week. Aldi is even cheaper but not so keen on the smell.

I think if you and your husband have a look at what you spend your money on, you can afford to live without resorting to funding druggies (and risking getting a crimial conviction for handling stolen goods), without missing out on any essentials.

And well done to your friend for having morals 👏🏻

Being a small part of this guys story by buying stolen goods, whilst also being aware you are funding an addiction and possibly even someone who deals and spreads the joy of drugs further, isn't something that can be morally justified really, which is what you're asking. Robbing from big corporations aside, if everyone who bought from him stopped then he wouldnt steal, its supply and demand.
Obviously not everyone will stop but that dkesnt make it right for you, it just means you're part of the toxic cycle, a small but active part of it as a buyer of stolen goods. Noone is naive enough to think it won't continue but you are being unreasonable to try and find a way this isnt technically wrong.

So when the druggie comes back desperate for money and gets abusive how you going to explain your connection to him to the police?

Lots of people are desperate for money right now but they don't resort to theft.

The £10 a week is on laundry pods, softener , stain remover and laundry scent balls from persil or lenor. The balls alone are £8 in Asda

All the people bleating about how unfortunate it is that "poor people" can't afford to feed their children and wash their clothes and therefore have to buy stolen goods instead. Boo hoo. Fucking LAUNDRY SCENT BALLS are not and have never been one of life's essentials. They are a pointless marketing gimmick, a luxury. OP is buying her luxuries, stolen, from the local junkie just in the same way that people buy watches or top-end mobile phones or designer clothing.

Disgusting behaviour, no justification whatsoever.

Yeah because it's that simple isn't it...

How do you know it isn't? There is a cost of living crisis. If you don't know someone's circumstances you shouldn't judge.

I wonder how much PP thinks a wholesaler would charge for the goods, if after selling them at half their usual price the addict would still make enough money to fund their habit 😃

I would imagine your friend is probably rethinking her friendship with you. I know I would be. You are associating with drug addict criminals and putting yourself and children at huge risk for some scent balls.
You are part of the problem. If you honestly think that this is fine and a good example to set your children you really need to take a long hard look at yourself.

I can see why people buy from them, but no, you shouldn't do it. You are funding his habit.
You don't even need big brand names. There's cheaper store versions for most things now, even laundry bits and they're just as good - I use them.

Well that’s ok then 🙄 Honestly OP, just give it up. You haven’t had the response you were hoping for, you need to accept this is wrong. You’re no better than a thief yourself.

But 'they' do miss it. Supermarkets turn over a lot of cash, a lot of money but the profit margins are actually pretty low as it's a saturated market and ultra competitive.

All of the big supermarkets now spend more and more money of thefts deterrents and that's only going up.
Security guards, CCTV, tags, boxes, security doors, body worn cameras, staff training.
Police are spending more and more of their resources of dealing with the same relentless thieves

All because you want stuff cheaper from.a.drug addict.

It's crazy and the number of people that Its ok to steal from 'supermarkets' - it isn't. It really, really isn't ok.

And it costs us all money, so the rest of us are subsidizing your shitty choices. I really hope you've lost a friend over this, you deserve far worse.

Honestly you sound a bit thick if you don’t understand the connection.

Unless I was literally on the bones of my arse (eg, down to my last tenner) I would not commit reset, no. Or want a drug addicted thief on my doorstep regularly.

OP said he is stealing to order so at least some of those items would still be on the store shelves had she not given him her shopping list.

I can understand people behaving in a certain way when they are desperate. But OP seems shocked by her friend’s response and wants to know whether she’s morally wrong OR other people would do the same.

The two are not mutually exclusive. One could do something because they’re absolutely desperate that they would never otherwise do, and whilst it’s completely understandable and some would turn a blind eye to it, it’s still morally wrong.

And OP has no idea whether or not her supplier has passed her name on to his mates as a soft touch, either. Plus, as people have said, he knows the inside of her house and if she has anything worth stealing if his other side hustle dries up.

You don't know that though. Who's today he hasn't pushed over or punched a security guard or member of staff trying to escape?

Also you do realise your cheap goods means shops are raising prices for everyone else? So other mums and babies struggling that don't buy off the local addict are having togo without or go to food banks?

I can’t believe you’re asking if you’re wrong to buy stolen goods, you’re no better than he is. Money is tight is no excuse, maybe you should have thought of that before having another baby.

You can attempt to justify it all you like, but you’re essentially just as bad as he is.

Unless you’ve got 10 children, you’re going through an inordinate amount of washing products a week. Not all of them necessary. Ditch the scent balls and fabric conditioner for starters. I’m amazed you’re using such chemicals if you have a baby.

The food bank isn't there to subsidise someone's scent ball habit.

Absolutely not would I buy stolen goods from him and fund his habit. You know they are stolen and yes money is tight but pop to home bargains rather than stolen goods

It doesn't make stealing right though .

To the posters justifying the OP's actions - she isn't on the bones of her arse. She is spending unnecessary £££ on unnecessary laundry items when she could buy cheap washing powder (which is better for washing machines and washes clothes more efficiently).

The OP is not the only poster on this thread with a dodgy moral compass. Thankfully, the vast majority are not like this .

@AmiABadPersonn you can justify your actions all you like but what you are doing is morally reprehensible. You are a terrible role model for your children and have a very apt user name.

There are other things you can do, don’t handle stolen goods and fund this guys addiction. And don’t encourage him round your house.

you can buy washing stuff for a week way less than a tenner. Can you shop at Aldi/lidl? This stuff is great and £2.79? Way more than a weeks worth of washing.

you don’t need all the scent balls nonsense. Particularly if you can’t afford baby food - that’s where you need to put that money.

https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-almat-super-concentrated-non-bio-liquid-wash-147l42-washes/4088600220420

every time shops raise their prices because of shoplifting impacting their revenues - big corporations or corner shops -it’s because of people like YOU, buying from scumbags who go on the rob.

It wouldn't bother me especially if I was tight for money, there's worse things happening in the world

Your friend is right.

All well and good saying 'if you didn't buy it someone else would' that saying and attitude is why most crimes of this sort take place.

Stealing cars = higher insurance premiums for everyone
Stealing goods = higher prices for everyone
Stealing household goods = higher household insurance

The list goes on, it will only stop when people like you stop buying. Supply and demand

You are massively unreasonable.

Dont come crying poverty when you can spend £10 a week on knock off laundry crap that you dont need. Be honest, you want it and like the fact you can get it cheap so try and justify yourself.

If you were genuinely struggling, you wouldnt waste money on all of this stuff that you like. You would buy basic brands legitimately for quater of the price. Then you could put that money towards milk for your baby.

But instead, you choose to fund crime, and be a part of it yourself. You are contributing to the problem. But you know that already. You just dont care.