Accused of stealing a bag for life

[MindfulMess]

I went to my local supermarket this afternoon to pick up a few bits and pieces. We’re in a big city and I’m in there almost every day. There’s only one checkout with a person working it; the rest are self-checkouts.

I got chosen for a random check. No drama, it happens a lot. Then I was told I hadn’t scanned my bag for life. No , I said, it’s mine. I just took it out of my pocket. The woman repeated that I hadn’t scanned it, and I repeated that it was mine and had just come out of my pocket. She called a supervisor and they told me to wait.
A few minutes later the supervisor came back, and the first woman said (without looking at me), “You can go”. Nothing was said about what had happened but I assume they reviewed security tape or something and saw that yes, my bag had in fact come out of my own pocket.

I pointed out that they had been quite rude and was pointedly ignored. I was shaking. I’m shy in public at the best of times and I really didn’t know what was going on or what was going to happen. I mean, you wouldn’t expect they’d call the cops over a bag for life but I had no way of proving I hadn’t stolen it. They were, if anything, even more rude once they said I could go.

What should I do? I’m honestly quite scared to go back. None of the usual staff seemed to be working today (I’ve been in there perhaps every second day for over a decade, quite a few of them know me by sight.) But it’s my local shop…

(By the way I am well aware that regulars steal things too, and I have no issue with being checked. The attitude, though, was awful. When I questioned it I was basically told to leave the shop now please madam!)

I nick bags for life as I'm old and decrepit. If you're in your twenties then that's a pretty good deal but if you are in your seventies like me not so good. Bags should have a sliding scale of price based on your age !

You should be running the country !

Blimey! There's some self-righteous people on here tonight!

Surely you don't mean people who are saying that it is wrong - and illegal - to take somebody else's goods without paying for them? I thought people on MN were adults and not toddlers who have yet to learn about basic right and wrong.

I agree that it probably wouldn't get to the CPS, but even if they decided not to prosecute - and don't forget that they are legally required to take money in return for supplied bags - they could very easily ban you from the shop, which might not be very convenient for you - or put their security guards on the alert.

Imagine your photo (from the CCTV) being in a folder under their counter, full of known thieves. They probably don't itemise everything that they steal; they're just known shoplifters.

I was in Asda the other day and I overheard one security guard say to another "Just to warn you, we had 'Mr red shoes' come in a little while ago, so be on the lookout" - is that really how you'd want to be regarded in your own community? Although they didn't use his name (maybe didn't know it), if I'd been minded to do so, I (and anybody else in ear-shot) could have gone through the shop and looked at every man's shoes and pretty quickly seen who the thief was, as men don't commonly wear red shoes.

PP are right in saying that, if you're going to steal a clearly-priced 30p bag from a shop, why not steal something worth a fiver, or £50, or £250? There's no moral difference at all. If your kid leaves their bike next to your gate, can I just take it for my kid? After all, unlike goods in a shop, that won't even have a price on it anymore, so surely it's only self-righteous do-gooders who would tell me that I shouldn't swipe it?

I've no idea why some people treat this as a bit of harmless fun. If you don't like the person who owns a supermarket, take the moral high ground and refuse to ever shop there; don't head for the gutter and steal from him - maybe you have more in common with him morals-wise than you realised?

Sorry that happened OP. You should have got a grovelling apology. Write to the store manager and complain.

As for the “You can go”, I hate it when security guards pretend they have the right to detain you. Only the police can detain you (unless it’s a very rare citizens arrest situation). Security guards can ask you to leave the store, or ban you from it in future, but that’s just it. They cannot detain you or search you.

I really dislike the changes that have been made to supermarkets check out. We used to bring all the stuff to the check out person and they were responsible for everything the shop management wants done. Now, not only do we have to do all their scanning and packing (saving the shop money but we don’t get a discount eh), and we also lose the nice chat with the check out lady which when you live alone was an important part of the day, but we’re also expected to put up with the machine constantly flashing a red light and squarking “something unexpected in bagging area” every five minutes because their technology is crap.

I also recall a few months back seeing a young mum being stopped as she was about to leave the store. Everybody was looking at her and it went quiet as people wanted to see what had happened. She looked horrified and like she was about to cry; her little ones were crying and asking mummy what the problem was.

It turned out that she'd been seen taking two new bags off the hook and not paying for them. She tried to style it out that she didn't know you had to pay, which is obviously a blatant lie, considering that everybody knows it, they have a big '30p' sign above them and the self-service till asks if you've taken any so that you can be charged. That might have worked in the first couple of months after the charge was brought in, but that was years ago now - before she would even have been an adult.

Given her obvious public humiliation, I'm guessing that she would have given anything to be able to wind back time and pay for the bags. Until she got caught, 60p was the price that she considered her reputation to be potentially worth - like some of the people on this thread.

Now, not only do we have to do all their scanning and packing (saving the shop money but we don’t get a discount eh), and we also lose the nice chat with the check out lady which when you live alone was an important part of the day, but we’re also expected to put up with the machine constantly flashing a red light and squarking “something unexpected in bagging area” every five minutes because their technology is crap.

Almost all supermarkets still have staffed tills that you can use, if you prefer. You've actively chosen all the above if you opt to use a robot till - nobody is forcing you.

I love your honesty 😂

I work for Waitrose, and no, we definitely can't afford to 'lose plenty of bags.'

The original plan of charging for bags was obviously for environmental reasons and that the money would go to charities

there are loopholes such as “bags for life “ despite still being made of plastic meaning non of that money needs to be donated

supermarkets are making millions in profit selling carrier bags that used to be free because you know we need a way of actually carrying the goods out of your store

honestly can’t get worked up about people pinching a bag when the supermarkets have rather unsurprisingly used it to make even more money off the customer

This is why Aldi have had to remove their carrier bags from public display 🙄

Mind you I kept getting charged for a bag for life every week even though I brought mine from home as they assumed I'd just picked it up, rather frustrating as you don't notice when they are throwing your food at you.

I bought a whole heap of naice bags from a rather swish gourmet grocer where I used to live that has since closed down. I use these and only buy spares if needed. I then use these for things other than shopping.

In your case, OP, I think you should complain.

Haha, you're fun 😂

I alway keep the receipts from previous shops when going into another shop, in case I get accused. The only thing that will deter shop lifters is strict laws. The increase in prices are due partly to shoplifters, in my opinion.

have you been back yet today OP for your 30p and/or second bag?

I hope so!

supermarkets are making millions in profit selling carrier bags that used to be free because you know we need a way of actually carrying the goods out of your store

honestly can’t get worked up about people pinching a bag when the supermarkets have rather unsurprisingly used it to make even more money off the customer

All big successful businesses make millions in profit selling things - many of which used to be much cheaper. Asda (at least) have also consistently reduced the quality of their bags for life whilst increasing the prices, so they're not that much thicker now than the old 'single-use' ones. Maybe they need to keep the extra plastic back so that they can flagrantly and wantonly use it to wrap bunches of already-nature-wrapped bananas.

I agree that they've also cashed in on the government's scheme to reduce plastic used in carrier bags. BUT, the way to show displeasure is to boycott them and not to just shrug and steal from them. The fact is that they might be using 'sharp' and arguably unethical business practices; but people who take bags without paying for them are actually committing a crime, so in no way taking the moral high ground.

They should have apologised. The whole point is you reuse the bloody things!
I try and pick a different shop bag if i need one, it is ridiculous. I also use my fabric bag as much as possible as well.

i was over charged for something - charged twice for something i bought one of.
the next time i was in the shop i told them, they made a big deal about it being a week ago, and having to call the supervisor and then gave me a credit on a card
no apology!

they used to turn a blind eye in lidl if you too the bags
but then they stopped

Some people call the self-service tills "scab tills" by using them you're denying folk a chance to earn an honest, but admittedly dull living.

Some people call the self-service tills "scab tills" by using them you're denying folk a chance to earn an honest, but admittedly dull living.

That's entirely their opinion, to which they are of course fully entitled. Their obvious solution is to refuse to use them and queue up for a staffed till instead.

I wonder if these same people refuse to ever buy/do things online that they could still do in person or on the phone, to make sure that somebody gets a visible chance to earn a living from - even if it's slower or less convenient for them?

Not that online provision or installing/maintaining/running robot tills somehow doesn't require people to work and earn a living, of course.

I’m going to do this, then act suspiciously, in the hope I get stopped.

Which is about as ridiculous as complaining that smart phones mean people are denied the chance for a career as telephone operators using switchboards like in the 1940s.

Things move on, usually resulting in greater consumer convenience, choice and lower prices.

There’s only one staffed till at this shop and about 6 self-service tills, so the decision had basically already been made for me. Often the staffed till isn’t even open (I think it was open yesterday, though I’m not 100% sure).

Don’t do this. Head office will back the staff and you will get nowhere. It’s all hearsay, I’m afraid.

My friend , who is a very calm and polite person btw, was accused of fraud! by Sainsbury because her card was refused and a message came up to confiscate it. She offered to pay cash or with another card but the security people appeared and ‘escorted ‘ her ( without shopping) from the shop. It was horrid. It transpired that there had been fraudulent activity on the card earlier when she had been abroad, she hadn’t looked at her phone so didn’t know the card had been cancelled and recalled.

She wrote to Sainsbury saying that the matter had been badly handled and she felt upset and humiliated by the security guards. Sainsbury responded by ‘banning her for life’ from their stores! Though they didn’t say how they were going to identify her for this purpose, idiots.

I d just let it go OP. Or get a non branded bag to carry with you. ( IV got one that folds up into a little fish, very cute.)

Just to warn you, we had 'Mr red shoes' come in a little while ago, so be on the lookout

What happens if he changes his shoes? They'll never find him.