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.

A total over reaction from the shop, why didn’t they just wait to tell you next time you came in. Really weird to say the least, when you are a regular customer and work in the hospital.

Personally I would use a till with a staff member in future, just to protect myself.

Can’t believe the Manager went to your boss, how embarrassing, when it was obviously a genuine mistake. I think the manager should be apologetic to you Monday to be honest.

Try to forget about it until Monday OP, don’t let something so ridiculous spoil the weekend

Please don't only use the till with a staff member in the future, go in at lunchtime or whenever you normally would, make your purchase, and then with your purchase and the receipt in your pocket, asked to give the manager £3, if he tries to make you wait just say well there it is, and leave As a previous post to said it's hardly the great train robbery.

@MobyDicksTinyCanoe

What I'd do is print off my bank statements so I can prove I've consistently paid and it was a one off, honest mistake

This is what I'd do too. It's not like you tried to take it sneakily or just walk out. And it's hardly a haul at just £3. You were at the scanner. You've been many times before. I'm sure it will be recognised for what it is.

On a completely separate note, I would buy multipacks of cans of Coke, and crisps, and save yourself the cash!

I’m glad you’re angry OP- you should be.

For goodness sake, what an absolute jobs
worth the manager is. I'd be livid if I were you, I'd be telling them to go ahead and call the police if they think you're some kind of criminal.

This sounds tough OP and working in similar environment, I can totally undnderatand how it happened. A simple apology and offer to rectify sounds fair. This won't be the first or last time this happens with self scan and it's a risk companies know about when they install them.

Reading the thread, I keep wondering about a data breach with them showing CCTV to your boss. Is this not illegal? They can share with police if they think a crime has been committed but I don't understand how they can just share with staff from other companies. Sure there'll be someone on here who understands data protection better than me who can advise.

This makes me so mad. If the company were that bothered about the odd mistake then they wouldn't have self scanners but would have staffed tills... except that would cost them more

You made an honest mistake whilst distracted in the middle of a pandemic! I would labour that point in your meeting. Take your union with you. You more than any of us were probably thinking of the next thing to do then the next. If your intent was to steal it wouldn't be for £3 and it wouldn't be at work!

I've done all sorts when stressed and distracted. I picked up an individual cup a soup years ago and walked straight out with it in my hand! I've bumped someone's car and not even registered it until the owner mentioned it! I left a whole cart full of groceries at the store when my DS was a baby.

None of it and what you did was intentional. It is how you can tell you are overloaded. Your brain can only take so much.

We have bigger fish to fry at the moment. Organisations not paying tax, a pandemic and women continue to be murdered.

No advice I'm afraid, though I agree that you can show evidence that you pay for these items regularly, so why would you steal them now. And if you were going to steal them, why would you actually scan them at the till?
Anyway, my main reason for posting was to let you know that in tesco, 24 x coke/pepsi is around £8.00 and 24x wotsits costs £4.00. That's about a months worth of tea breaks for around a quarter of the price you've been paying the rip off merchants on the premises.

I agree you should take someone with you and record the "meeting" if they insist on it. But really it shouldn't require a meeting, just a quick visit to the shop where you pay, they agree that these things happen, end of.

I do think it’s a valid point that they contacted your boss are they allowed to do that ? I mean if I accidentally forgot to pay in a shop and they saw my work lanyard and contacted my employer I’d be fuming, especially if they know you and go in all the time . Why is it a work matter ? , it’s just the shop happens to be in the same building where you work . You hardly stuffed the crisp and coke under your jacket and walked out .
Saying that my dh is a union rep where he works and a staff member was disciplined because he ‘stole’ a box that is worth nothing and is binned .
Theft is theft was told but this staff member had history ( not theft) but they wanted rid . Wasn’t sacked just warning in the end .
I’d go first thing Monday say you thought paid but will pay and if anything more is said go to your union. I think you probably should speak to your union anyway for the reason they contacted you in the first place.

OP the store manager has breached your privacy by supplying details to your work manager, so he's totally out of line here as it has nothing to do with your workplace.

On Monday if I were you I would 'not' go alone, but take a trusted friend with you as it's easy to forget minor details when you are stressed and don't let him bully your friend into not being involved in the meeting.

Also, I would be tempted to talk to your local police before Monday, to ask their advice just in case this store manager has a habit of making false claims. If that had been my business and I knew you were a regular customer, the correct thing to do would be wait until you come into the store again and talk to you quietly.

I agree this whole debacle is embarrassing, but for such a small amount he's now lost a customer...and what about other friends and colleagues and who also choose not to go to this store? Lastly, I would 'never' set foot in his store again, no matter how hungry or thirsty I was...buy your Coke at the supermarket and take a can each day in your handbag along with whatever munchies you prefer.

I would just walk in and pay the £3. I certainly wouldn't be going into their back office to be interviewed.

Theres no offence here as there was no intention to permanently deprive this overpriced shop, you tried to pay immediately you realised which he's refused-its not as if it was weeks after the day. Go in on Monday with your manager to pay and get a receipt. If he makes a meal out of it let your manager deal and contact your union and raise a complaint against the store manager.

I hope it works out for you on Monday , but I would in future buy multipacks and take them in everyday , bank the savings and treat yourself to something nice .

Looking through my bank statements I think it must be how my banking app logs transactions after they stop being pending transactions because there are ones from the work shop dated on weekends and I never work at the weekend.

A few people saying it's a breach of my privacy, I wonder where can I find out if this is definitely correct? Am I right in thinking that if he had contacted the police and they contacted my head of department that would be ok but as he/ a staff member did it it's a breach? I am still mortified that my HOD might think I'm a thief! And those kind of labels are never forgotten.

I will take a friend with me on Monday. As other's have said, hopefully it's just a case of the manager wants to be there to ensure it's sorted and paid properly but given how strange the whole situation has been I won't make any positive assumptions. Regardless of the outcome I am going to complain to the company as they have really upset and embarrassed me over the sake of £3 and a genuine mistake when I have spent £100s in the shop.

And in regards to the Coke and crisps, it's a sneaky work habit because I very rarely drink
Coke at home and don't buy wotsits because I have no self control and would plough through several bags in a day if left to my own devices so it will really do my figure a favour to be cut off from my supply!

Just seen that it's WHS...good luck for Monday OP but I think you'll be fine! I worked for them a few years ago, absolute arseholes, every manager (with the exception of one, who was thankfully my manager for a while!) I came across. They like to make a big scene but always get proven wrong, just don't get your hopes up for an apology, I don't think they know what one is!

As an aside, just to give an idea of what a shit workplace WHS is, I'm still friends with someone who works for them. She's been off with Covid, positive test, self isolating...and they're trying to argue they don't have to pay her (entitled to sick pay, she's been there 5+ years). They are the cockroaches of the High St, I've no idea how they're still hanging on to business but the sooner they're gone the better!

Sorry to take over for a second OP but they make my blood boil!

@BearSoFair That is awful. I've worked in similarly awful retail stores before and I really wonder how these big name companies are able to get away with this type of behaviour towards their staff! It makes me so angry.

Good luck on Monday. Try to distract yourself from worry. There's good advice on here but the best is take a witness. Record if necessary and get a receipt. I'd never darken their door again. Bring in a weekly supply instead. Cheaper and nicer.

@BrownMilk

This sounds tough OP and working in similar environment, I can totally undnderatand how it happened. A simple apology and offer to rectify sounds fair. This won't be the first or last time this happens with self scan and it's a risk companies know about when they install them.

Reading the thread, I keep wondering about a data breach with them showing CCTV to your boss. Is this not illegal? They can share with police if they think a crime has been committed but I don't understand how they can just share with staff from other companies. Sure there'll be someone on here who understands data protection better than me who can advise.

What makes you think they shared CCTV?

Chances are that the shop rang the hospital reception and the call went something like.

Hello, I’m calling from WH Smith and I’m calling about one of your employees who left without paying for something. She was wearing a pale blue uniform.

That sounds like one of the cleaning staff, I’ll put you through to the Domestic Services manager.

OP said in first post that her big boss told her that shop has the incident on CCTV. I'd certainly want to know how boss knows it's her or how shop identified OP. Seems likely that someone outside WHS saw the CCTV.

Uniform not enough to identify any member of staff.

Accidentally not paying is not an offence. Breaching data protection is.

I think they must have shown the head of department and maybe my line manager the footage. The head of department doesn't know me so my manager said she was asked to identify me but not told anything else. I didn't think to ask if she identified me from cctv footage because the data protection side of things hadn't occurred to me but I'll get clarification on that from my manager on Monday.