I accidentally shoplifted - advice needed

[iamsodumb]

NC as this will be outing.

I work in the NHS and there is a shop on the premises which I go to near enough every day Monday-Friday. Today at about 11am I went and bought (?!) my usual packet of crisps and can of Coke. I used the self scanner as I always do and walked out.

This afternoon I got a call from my supervisor saying the big boss wanted to speak to me. When I went to her office she said I hadn't paid for my items and the shop have me on cctv not paying. I was absolutely mortified and checked my online banking and sure enough there's no charge from the shop today so I don't dispute I have done it. I don't know if I've tapped my card and it's not gone through or if I've absent mindedly scanned the items then walked off with them. I genuinely haven't got a clue. She said the shop wanted to escalate it to head office but advised me to go and speak to them myself.

I went to the shop and apologised and offered to pay but the manager had gone home. The shop assistant phoned her manager and he said I was not to pay but was to come and speak to him on Monday?! So instead of this being resolved on the day I have to worry about it over the weekend.

I'm not particularly worried about police involvement etc, I know I didn't mean to do it and have never stolen in my life so can't imagine it would go anywhere. However, I am concerned about work. Could this impact my job?! I asked my own supervisor and she said she doesn't think so but couldn't say for sure. I'm so worried! I can't believe all of this drama for less than £3 which I have offered to pay!!

If anyone has any knowledge I would appreciate any insight you have on what I can expect the outcome of this to be.

OP I am wondering if you are non-white? Minority ethnic groups very often don't get given the benefit of the doubt in the same way that white people do.

The examples on this thread, where people have accidentally taken something, then returned it and everyone had a laugh about it, might well have gone very differently if the poster was a different ethnicity/age/social group.

[quote iamsodumb]@islockdownoveryet my boss mentioned the shop wanted to escalate it to head office and she advised me to go and have a word with them myself as she could tell from speaking to me it had been a mistake. When I went down to the shop the shop assistant phoned her manager and he told her not to take payment from me and told her to tell me to come and speak to him on Monday. Hope that makes sense! [/quote]
Yeah it makes sense, just think it’s awful that they rang up and said @iamsodumb has been shoplifting I will have to escalate to head office . I think that’s a shitty thing to do without actually speaking to you . So to tell your manager then potentially report higher up what a dick !
Do you know this manager, do you get along ?

Well, hopefully it isn't a BME racial profiling issue as that would be awful.

@Hidinginstaircupboard I also hope not, just speaking from bitter experience.

Dear god this is so clearly an honest mistake! Poor you!
I work in the NHS too and have done this, my pager went off as I was paying and I had tapped but didn't realise the scanner was asking me to insert my card and dashed off.
I went back and paid as soon as I realised and the only thing that happened was the nice lady from WRVS made me sit down for 5 mins with a cup of tea as I was so embarrassed about it all!
Hopefully it's all been blown out of proportion by a sales assistant afraid of doing the wrong thing and once the manager is in it will all get sorted

Something similar happened to me, l was chatting to my friend, who works on self service, as l was scanning items at self service,.I thought transaction had gone through so walked off, next day l got pulled up on it, but they were ok when l said genuinely believed.It has gone.through, l think l scanned my debit card, and thought that was the end ( as busy chatting) but machine asked that l enter pin number. I was highly embarrassed as it was also my place of work.

Op I work nights in a big supermarket . I do part of my shop through the night then scan as you shop in the morn . I'd put a bottle of expensive gin at the side of my trolley as it had a tag on it . Once my shift ended I carried on doing my shop and filling bags on top of my other bags . Completely forgot about the bottle of gin hidden in the corner of the trolley . When the alarm went of I was mortified . Thank fully they knew me and no harm done . I just explained they laughed , I kind of laughed .
I agree the shop manager is being an idiot. Just go in Monday , explain apologise and pay . Please don't spend all weekend worrying x

The shop are making very heavy weather of it, as is big boss.
Go in on Monday smiley and willing, but breezy. Lead with 'Right, how do I make the payment then?' Remember you MEANT to pay. Don't let them moralise at you.

Just to put everyone's minds at ease, I am white so not a case of racial profiling thank goodness!

This all sounds very fishy to me - is it a shop run by the hospital, how did they find out so quickly you hadn’t paid, and why did they feel it acceptable to contact your manager rather than you directly.
I’d be beyond cross about this - surely it’s a matter between you and the shop. I can think of no reason why they felt they had to involve others.
Try not to worry over the weekend - as soon as you knew what happened you went to apologise and pay and it’s not your fault that the manager had gone home and whoever was left in charge refused to take your money.
FWIW after Monday I wouldn’t bother boosting the shop’s profit any more. I’d be taking a packet of crisps and a can of drink in from home, and even if you have to buy a cool bag to keep it in you’ll soon be quids in.

How did they know your name and who your manager is?

I'm wondering if they've got a problem with a till or card machine and they've actually not been paid by a number of people, there's something else going on hence the big hoo ha and total overreaction of calling your manager, etc.

Many years ago everyone on a particular team in a shop I worked in was interviewed by the assistant manager over money missing from the tills. I had no idea about it and was completely innocent. Turned out the supervisor was stealing from every till on the shopfloor in turn over a number of weeks.

Anyway the reason the manager has asked you to go back on Monday is probably because the staff member there when you went back can't do whatever is needed on the till/card machine to take your payment. Even so, I'd complain if this was the case and just not explained as it's not on to have you worrying over the weekend over this.

This wasn’t M&S by chance? I only ask as my mum is a nurse and the exact same thing happened and they called the police on her for shoplifting!!

Well, I think it’s completely reckless of the manager to leave it until Monday, when OP is clearly a hardened criminal who could commit all kinds of Wotsit related burglaries over the weekend. Do the right thing, OP, and hand yourself over to the authorities tonight.

Well nobody would scan items they had no intention of paying for surely!

The shop manager sounds an utter fool of a jobsworth.

Filter your bank statements for the last 3 months to that store. Download and email it to yourself. Print it if you can. If it shows daily payment for the same items I think it will easy to write this off as a mistake. Their tills night not be good enough at alerting when contactless hasn't worked.
Don't worry about it this weekend.

Sounds really over the top. In future bring in stuff from home. I doubt you will want to go back to the shop anyway.

A very short apology - you thought you HAD paid. Don't over apologise (I hate it when people go on and on and on about what you did wrong. How many times do they want an apology???!!

There's been many a time when I nearly waltzed out with a magazine under my arm, then wondered why something was sticking under my arm! But also, when i am already collapsed under the weight of other shopping, I leave things behind!

It wasn't as if you had a whole chicken under your hat and did 'v' signs on the way out!!! If the jobsworth goes on about nearly taking it higher you can say that YOU will definitely be taking it higher!

Yes to getting union involved if you have one! Don't let them feel you are in the wrong.

@BrownbearK

This wasn’t M&S by chance? I only ask as my mum is a nurse and the exact same thing happened and they called the police on her for shoplifting!!

Nooo what happened?

Sounds ikea the manager of the shop is on a little power trip to be honest. If they escape this it's absolutely ridiculous. Can't see anyone taking this seriously.

Like, not ikea!

To be guilty if theft you have to have shoved them up your jumper etc you can be the first distracted / tired nhs worker who has done this
I went to walk out of Tesco and the security guard called me back because it hadn't gone through , the manager is a massive dick if he escalates this

You do wonder if this would happen to a large, burly man. I somehow doubt it.

The shop manager sounds like a class A knobber tbh.

Don't let this spoil your weekend. As others have said, you can prove you shop there on a regular basis if they want to see that.

The amount of daft stuff I have done in my local shop while distracted would probably land me in broadmoor if the manager was anything like this one.

Don't worry, it was a mistake just pay on Monday.
I once filled the car with petrol and forgot to pay. I got a phone call from the police who just told me to go back and pay, apparently it was obvious on CCTV it wasn't deliberate plus I lived locally etc etc it's a common mistake, Mistakes happen!