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.

I once accidentally drove out of a local garage having forgotten to pay for petrol. I realised a few hours later, was absolutely mortified, phoned and told them I'd be in ASAP to pay and they were absolutely fine about it. Hence the fact that I have spent hundreds, possibly thousands of pounds at the same garage subsequently. If they'd been dicks about it like the manager you've dealt with, I'd never have gone back.

I bet that it was a pin check. I had it happen in Waitrose and I was chatting to the person manning the self service at the time! I went to pick my stuff up and he had to point out that it wanted the pin and didn’t do the contactless. He said it happens all the time and people don’t realise it hasn’t gone through! Their reaction seems over the top for the amount.

For Monday, print out c copy of your bank statements for the last 3 months that show you paying for these items on a daily basis.

It will quite clearly show that you were not shop lifting and this was either a technology failure (their equipment or your card) or an absent minded mistake.

I have had station car park tickets cancelled on this basis so I don't see why it's not good enough for a shop, at your work, that you use every day.

I realise it was your mistake but if I was you, I'd be really annoyed by a store ringing my workplace and telling them I had stolen something. I know when you are wearing a uniform/ work ID card, you are representing the location etc but this has been taken out of all proportion.

I can only presume the duty manager was/is inexperienced. As for your own manager saying that she 'could tell from speaking to you that was a genuine error', if she doesn't trust you how on earth are you employed there?

I would go back, apologise, pay. ;leave never to return and write a stiff letter to the store's head office outlining how the store embarrassed you by contacting your place of employment, refused to take payment when you returned and insisted you return a second time.

This is so out of order.

Have you checked that it has normally gone through?
It seems a little bit OTT for a regular shopper who has always paid before-I'm confident if that happened in my local Sainsbury's they'd just catch me the next time I went in and I'd pay then.

Is it possible (check your bank statement) that it regularly hasn't been going through?
I suspect that people who do intend to scam the self scanners probably have a way they wave their card which looks like they're trying to pay, but without it actually going through. So they won't necessarily take CCTV footage of it looking like you're trying to pay as proof, however showing you always have paid before will look more like an honest mistake.

My mum asked me to coordinate my weekly Tesco shop with hers this week so I could supervise her learning "scan as you shop". Explained it and left her to it while I did my shop. I warned her she'd have some security checks the first few times.

We both get to the tills, I ask her if anything wouldn't scan (no, all good) and she's predictably flagged for a service check. As soon as the Tesco staff member arrives, my mum blurts out guiltily that she thinks she forgot to scan the last two packets of kippers (why she didn't mention this when I asked her, I don't know). Because of the aforementioned kippers and some pate it transpired she'd also not scanned, she ended up having to have every single item in her trolley rescanned.

As there's not much room in our "scan as you shop" till area, my mum's shopping ended up over every available surface as it was taken out to be rescanned. It was all slightly mortifying though the lady was very nice about it. I really hope she took into account that my mum is 80 in her analysis of our shoplifting efforts. Luckily she's since seen the funny side, there have been a few Richard Madeley jokes made...

I accidentally walked out of M&S with a mother's day card today. I'd done my shopping, my daughter and I then chose a card on the way out and left the shop. I was thinking about whether or not I had a pen in my bag to write it and if I could get to the postbox in time and just forgot to pay for it. It was a genuine mistake. We were a few blocks away by the time i realised and even then I had to ask my daughter if I'd paid. I went back and paid because I didn't want to worry about being on cctv. They just laughed and says it happens.

How many people work in the hospital? - hundreds. If they know you well enough to know your name and manager, you must be a regular. If they're funny with you, I'd want to know why they didn't call or run after you, especially as they know your name, giving you the chance to rectify the mistake.

Sounds like a humongous overreaction in my opinion. I wouldn’t be pleased with how this was handled at all....

How the fuck does a bag of Wotsits and a coke cost £3?

I think you should be accusing them of daylight robbery!

OP, absolutely loads of people have done similar, probably some of the shop assistants have. I can’t see how it would effect your work, as there’s no way it’d be followed up by the police regardless of what shop manager says or does (you shop there most days, can show you always pay, and it’s £3! Clearly an honest mistake).

Bet if you a male consultant they wouldn't have reacted like this. What a ridiculous overreaction for a packet of crisps and a coke.

Its a power trip by the manager, they should have let you pay for it and that would've been the end of it.

Although putting stuff through the scanner and not paying is actually a shop lifting tactic, you aren't going to do that in your work uniform. You have been there many times and always paid, you came back and offered to pay.

@TonyGates

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

The regular shop staff in my hospital shop know my name and which ward I’m on. Guess I go in too often for crisps as well. 😂. They know my name as they see it on my ID card, over the years I’ve made small talk with them and the ward I’m on has been mentioned, one of them came to my ward as a patient once as well.

I bet you must feel so worried about the way they’re treating this but honestly they will have no basis to take this further. Things like this are so easily done, particularly when rushed or distracted. I once self scanned a trolley full of shopping and believed I fully believed I had put my card through. My toddler was with me and I was a bit flustered and sauntered off on my way only for a shop assistant to call me to say I hadn’t actually paid. God I was embarrassed! And that’s Tesco, with a ton of shopping and they were fine about it as it was obviously unintentional. I really would just apologise politely and leave it at that, you really haven’t harmed anyone and should not be made to feel terrible for a minor oversight.

NuclearDH that makes sense, thank you.

mmmmmm sounds like someone trying to make a name for themselves !!!
for goodness sake 3 quid ?? well see what they say and I would query why this was moved to upstairs so rapidly ...
I have done something similar and when realised it was resolved without any drama, do what has been advised ie HR/union etc

you might find out that they have a reputation for doing this...
aand don't bother going in there anymore good luck let us know how you get on

I find it rather suspicious the manager has said don't pay. Make sure you question that. It all is very stressful when it doesn't need to be.

Can’t believe how they’re acting. I walked out of our local shop with nearly 40 pounds worth of things as my baby was crying and when I got home I realised I hadn’t paid and went back completely hysterical and the manager was so lovely and said I didn’t have to pay!! I insisted and every time I go in she makes sure someone is on the checkout as she know I can’t handle the crying baby and self service. She is so lovely and really understands customer service.

@PuppyMonkey

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.

Plus it's a well-known fact that Wotsists are just a gateway snack to cheese footballs and . . . God forbid . . .POM BEARS.

For OP's own sake she needs to be stopped NOW!

Seriously OP, it seems obvious that this was an accident. I'm sure that there is nothing to worry about, but I can quite understand why you are upset and stressed - most of us would be the same.

When I worked for a bank I accidentally took a bottle of Coke from the staff restaurant as I put it in my bag as I was carrying mine and a colleagues food and forgot when I paid. Nobody even noticed but when I got back to my desk I went back up and paid and everyone was fine.... the shop at your work seems abit OTT... you have apologised and offered to pay... honest mistakes happen, not sure why they need to be so harsh about it. I’d like to think your big boss would understand that too if it was ridiculously escalated and this would be paid for a moved on from quickly... it seems very over the top when you visit daily and haven’t done that before.

[quote iamsodumb]@partyatthepalace I'm a domestic so yeah, I did wonder if that had something to do with the drama of it all! [/quote]
I hate to say this OP but I do think it has something to do with the drama. Don’t worry about it, go in and see the shop on Monday, pay and say it was an honest mistake,

And then I would absolutely write a calm letter of complaint to your senior line manager and HR (or go via Union if you have one). I would point out calmly you are a known regular customer, it’s an honest mistake that pretty much everyone has made at some point, and it has been escalated out of all proportion in way that is disrespectful to you. And I would personally pose the question of whether a doctor, manager or nurse would have been treated in this way.

I feel very angry on your behalf OP.

What a nightmare! I've noticed that in the tesco near me, when I tap my card, it beeps so seems like payment has been accepted, only sometimes it doesn't register. I think this sounds like a really innocent mistake that anyone could make, especially if you are thinking about work etc. All you can do is tell them that it was an accident. It would be ridiculous for work to take further action over this!

Over the weekend I would down load your bank statements showing you buy a meal deal every day Monday to Friday. If you can manage it make it a nice big old stack of paper and take it in with you in one of their carrier bags.
They probably do have an issue with theft and are understaffed.

This so OTT, the manager sounds like he wants you to grovel or he’s wanting to make an example of someone and because you’re identifiable he’s picked on you. But you’re a regular customer, you’ve never done this before. You’ve offered to pay, it was very clearly a mistake. He is being unreasonable and I hope his Head Office laugh at him.

Sadly, in many supermarkets with self-service tills people do go these tills, scan stuff through, make it look like they are paying and then simply walk out with the goods.