Have you ever stolen anything?

[inthislight]

This is I guess sparked by the thread about the friend taking glasses but I don't want to derail it! All of the responses have been so shocked and severe... all cut her off this is unthinkable.

But it just reminds me of an incident when I was 17-18 where I did steal £30 from a friend. I of course accept now that it was unjustifiable but I had ways to justify it in my head at the time - I was annoyed at her, she was much richer and flash with her money, she was careless and wouldn't even notice the money was missing, she'd messed up my evening (she'd got into a state on a night out and I'd taken her home - which I now realise makes it even worse in that I took advantage of her vulnerability, god that bit still makes me feel a bit sick that she was probably grateful the next morning I was there to look after her), she'd been a bit lax in paying me back for something else because money just wasn't a big deal to her. I felt really bad in the aftermath - I probably spent most of it buying her drinks! And even now when I treat her to something I think about it sometimes.

I've grown into an adult who is scrupulously honest (I think actually more so than some people I know). I wouldn't dream of doing something similar now. But then again I also have plenty of money now so I'm not tested in the same way - I feel confident that I wouldn't do something like it though even if I was on my uppers. I'm so grateful that she never found out as 15 years on I feel confident in saying it was a momentary lapse. We've got such a close friendship and been there for each other through thick and thin. I always had less money than my peer group and I had a moment of weakness after a few drinks.

So, I'd be interested to know if anyone has anyone done similar? I guess I'm struggling to believe that I'm the absolute minority in having done something so utterly shameful like that... maybe I am?!

Yes I’ve stolen quite substantial amounts of money from employers and acquaintances. I’m very good at appearing honest and trustworthy so I have never been suspected. I suspect I have a personality disorder because I don’t feel guilt either.

Some makeup from a chemist shop when I was about 13.

No. It just wouldn’t occur to me that I might do something like that.

Accidentally.

I tucked some licquorice allsorts under my arm in Home Bargains and forgot to put them through the till then realised when I got to the car, but it was mid December near closing time and I would have had to queue again for ages to get it sorted.

I'm not exaggerating when I say the guilt ate me alive for about a week!

I went back as soon as I was in the area again, picked up the same sweets, put them through the checkout and paid, exited the store then re-entered the store and put them back on the shelf. Like a complete weirdo. Which I am. But it meant I'd paid for the "stolen" ones.

I also accidentally nearly stole someone's boyfriend but I returned him too!

I used to steal chocolate bars and sweets from the petrol station shop when I was at school. I never had any money and was suffering from raging bulimia. Not like that's an excuse.
I have stolen booze from a shop, and once from an unattended bar, a couple times too when drunk. When I was late teens/early 20s.
I've never stolen anything off an individual. Except maybe a lighter by accident.
I've bunked the train and tube fare loads as a teen, but not sure if that really counts.

I used to steel money from my dad's spare change pot. If you kept it under £1 he didn't notice. But you could get a decent hall from the corner shop with 50p.
Did this a couple time a week for most of my childhood so probably amounts to more then your 30 quid. Not sure if it's better or worse that it was my parent I was steeling from.

I also accidently stole earrings from a tesco. Had them on my trolley and only noticed when I got out to the car. I was you and too nervous to go back in so just stole put the trolley back and get my mouth shut.

Went through a teenage phase of shoplifting a few bits of makeup and pens. A mixture of peer pressure, wanting things I couldn’t buy and a slight thrill. Probably did it 5 or 6 times aged around 14.

I also used to steal my brother’s stuff a lot when I was a child - sweets he had stashed in his room, CDs and things like that.

Never stolen as an adult.

The ones that mention shoplifting as a teenager are interesting to me because I remember when I was 13-14 going shopping with two girls who I had gone to primary school with - so was only loosely in touch with. And they both stole some jewellery from Miss Selfridge. I was so horrified and judgemental and didn't really want to go shopping with them again. Much less of a breach of trust though really than stealing from a friend!

Yes. I stole from my friends and family when I was a young teenager. Lipsticks, creams, perfumes.

I stole from the lady I was babysitting for, same kind of things. She reported me to the police and I was cautioned.

It was all down to wanting things we couldn't afford and my friends could, and I was also abused a couple of years before so that may have had an effect. I carried on doing this occasionally up until my early 20s and then it just stopped.

Something I'm unpacking in therapy.

Yes. Apparently, my kleptomania started when I was a toddler in a pushchair. My DM discovered I'd helped myself to one of those old fashioned Chinese bamboo wall hangings. She took it back!

Thank you for sharing.

It was all down to wanting things we couldn't afford and my friends could

This bit resonates with me. That is exactly how I felt, I was so fed up of having weekend job and still having less money than my friends who were just given £50 for a night out by their parents and were probably wearing a new outfit too. And that money wasn't even a factor/concern for them. I felt very ashamed too, and then guilty as my parents worked so hard.

The friend I stole from was particularly well off (and always incredibly generous to me).

I've never stolen from a friend. As a teen we figured out how to steal books/cds from the local library, i only did it once because i felt really guilty and i was in there all the time. They must of lost so many as so many were doing it and taking 'orders' for others.

As a kid i was obsessed with those tiny vials of glitter that sold for like 50cents. I used to take them from the newsagent just because i could really! I had no other reason to as i had my own and would pretty much get whatever i wanted as i was otherwise a good kid. Mum found my stash and oh my god, don't really remember the smack i got but i remember the shame when she told my nanna what i had been doing.

Stole electric. Also had a chipped sky box

Pint glasses from pubs as a teen is as bad as I got - unless you count my boyfriends heart, lol

Not knowingly. I once didn't scan something in Ikea when I had a bunch of stuff in the trolley and a screaming baby sitting in the trolley seat. I'd bought a flat wall sticker pack which was very thin, and I'd slid it in front of something in the trolley and forgotten about it, so I scanned that and missed the larger thing it was in front of. As in I thought I was scanning the larger thing because I wasn't paying enough attention and just saw the plastic wrapped bar code and thought it was for that. I'd gone in to get four specific things, and the wall stickers were something I hadn't gone in looking for, so in my head I was scanning the four things I knew I had.

Didn't realise until I got home, think it was only £30ish. I didn't go back though.

I stole an eraser as a child, in the shape of a teddy. Well I didn't mean to steal it I wanted to ask my mum to buy it for me we were in a huge department store but I went to look at the stationary while my mum was looking at shoes (the departments were close by) I put it in my pocket when my mum called me over to carry stuff for her and I just forgot about it. I was six and I still feel guilty about it to this day.

Bag of tangerines over my arm like a handbag. I went back later that day and they looked at me like I was insane and made me feel mental as they charged me for them.

I think you can probably forgive yourself now for this one!

When I was about 7 or 8 I took a girl's pen from school. My mum made me take it back to school and apologise.

In the middle of baby brain I was looking at baby outfits in Woolworths and hung an outfit on the pushchair handles. Looked around some more, decided there was nothing I wanted, completely forgetting about the outfit on the pram 😮 I was so embarrassed once I noticed at the other side of town. I still often feel guilty that I helped them to go under 😞

This made made me laugh so much. It’s the sort of thing I would do. Hello fellow weirdo 👋

Got a huge frozen Turkey out of Safeway years ago I had put it in the baby seat of the trolley and didn't realise till I got to the car, I kept it I'm afraid - my friend said she was going to try it and put a bonnet on it

That’s so cute in a way
You probably liked the tiny mysterious bottle.

I did a heist at Hatton Garden that involved drilling through concrete to get gold ingots.

They were so heavy I had to leave them behind ~ I’d forgotten my shopping trolley.

This is a lie.
I DID steal an ammonite fragment from the nature table at school and pretended to dig it up in the garden at home.

I was obsessed with fossils at the time.

Got into huge trouble with parents.

Dad took fossil back and explained to Deputy Head.

It was memorable and horrible.

Deputy head was very kind about it though.

Yes. 20 years ago when I had nothing to feed my DC's.. chicken breast as I had sauce at home Local Tesco where they know me
I would do again if In those same circumstances.

I used to steal cigarettes from my Mum. She was an alcoholic so never noticed but would steal a pack at a time. We went withouth clothes, nice food etc as there was never any money but they could afford to drink and smoke so when i was a teenager and started smoking I took hers. Not very honest but it is what it is.

I also used to work in a pub with an off licence, they treated the staff terribly so every so often I would steal a packet of crisps from the shop to eat on shift.

When I was seven I had a friend with a huge collection of Sindy dolls and accessories. Her loft was a playroom and there were boxes and boxes of the stuff. I fell in love with a tiny plastic fan - I thought it looked like ivory and it was the most elegant thing ever. I once planned to take it home. My memory is really hazy whether I did, then sneaked it into her bag the next day (I lean towards this), or whether I didn’t take it after all, but my goodness I wanted it so much.

I also plotted to steal a plastic spade from a friend’s strawberry shortcake play set, although never actually went through with it. I had a really bizarre desire to use it to eat chocolate mousse.

I did take some stationery when I was made redundant, but they were really vile employees and I don’t feel bad about that at all.