Accidentally came out of shop without paying for something

[Spottyrainbows]

I bought a load of items at the self-check out in a home store this morning. It took a while to sort the security tags on the clothes. As they were removed I packed it all into a paper bag. The bag split during packing so had to sort it. When I got home I checked my receipt and two items in the bag are not on it. I must have forgotten to scan them in the fuss of the bag breaking.

Now panicked! The value was about £7. I paid by card so the store will have my details and because the bag broke I’m sure I’d be noticeable on their cctv. How does it work in stores? Do they do a stock check and review CCTV if they are missing items?

We are away for half term now, would it be too late to take them back in a week and explain and pay?

Agreed

To all those saying they’d write it off, I’d love to but have feel guilty since I realised and don’t think Id feel comfortable unless I’ve made it right. If my friend goes in my behalf and explains and pays, there’s no evidence of me on cctv returning, not sure if this could cause a problem down the line?

how long do stores keep cctv for?

Don’t worry, OP. Some people will have done similar and genuinely not realised. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be worrying now. I remember feeling awful after going through the self service tills once years ago, baby and toddler in tow, and getting home and realizing that something hadn’t scanned. But - I had scanned the item, to the best of my knowledge, I wasn’t trying to steal anything. If shops make customers do the work for them, they have to build in contingency for people making errors. If you can’t assuage your feeling of guilt, put the equivalent money in a charity box.

I purchased crisps and fruit and cake in M and S for a work event. Shop assistant called me over to collect the platters I had preordered and paid for.
Everything went in big M and S bags.
When I got back to work realised I had not paid for crisps and fruit etc.
Rang up the store to confess and pay.
Told they had no ability to take payment and to enjoy the items.

I would not worry about it to be honest, i rarely get a receipt. Don't worry nothing will happen, you could put £7.00 in in a poppy collection to make you feel better, accidents happen

You are overthinking this, honestly you're not going up at The Old Bailey! Who is going to be comparing CCTV 'evidence'? How long do you think they'd spend doing this for £7?

Just phone them and take the stuff back when you can.

Well you can either sort it yourself or ask someone else to pay for you. There aren't any other options.

It will be sorted today as it’s making me too anxious to have it hanging over me! 🙈

It's the right thing to do to go back and pay for the items you missed but you really are overthinking - as above, no one is combing through shop cctv checking this stuff and if someone else paid on your behalf that would be that. You could present the receipt if ever asked and I'm sure whoever paid would corroborate. In any case most cctvs overwrite in a few days.

But yeah, it's £7. Maybe worth reflecting on what's causing you to feel so worried about it!

Oh dear OP, if you’re really going to stress out so much about this, just go back now and stop posting on MN. Otherwise, go off on your trip and don’t give it another thought.

I agree with the previous poster who suggested popping the £7 in a poppy collection box. You are overthinking it though.

I walked out of a shop having not paid for the £20 book I'd tucked under my armpit as my hands were full. The till cashier didn't notice it either.
I went back as soon as I noticed and paid.

How long do stores keep CCTV for? LOL! It really doesn’t matter one jot.

Cute that you’re talking about them tracking you down from your credit card but it’s laughable. No one will give a shit.

That’s the best suggestion so far.

If it was independent then yes I’d go back and pay. But a big store like tesco or b&m… fuck em. They won’t even notice.

Thanks all. The items have now been paid for and all was fine 😊

It would cost way! more than £7 to track you down and sue/lock you up for taking the items by accident.

Drop them off when you can if you feel you should. You're making this much bigger than it needs to be

They won't notice and no one will care. Stock gets written off left, right and centre in a busy store and they are likely to have 1000s of pounds worth stolen.

If you need to clear your conscience next time you go in take the items with you or just their barcodes and say you noticed they didn't scan properly when you bought them and can you pay for them now.

It's a non-issue, you aren't going to be barred from the shop or tailed by security next time you go in.

Ring them up & offer to pay.

Where I work every theft from self scan is recorded & reported & an image from the camera saved. If you parked in the town car parks they can pick up your registration number. If you scanned a loyalty card that will have your details on it too.

Where I work any thefts from self scan are recorded. A still from the self scan camera is saved & can be run through facial recognition software by the police. I don't know how long police can store your data for.

We have had warning letters sent by police for thefts under £50 where there is a facial recognition match or the car registration is known.

This is not routinely done but the company profit protection team will do operations in specific stores in conjunction with police during which every theft is pursued.

I wouldn't do anything.

OP I do wonder if you're a chronic pleaser. I'm glad you feel ok now it's sorted but just cut yourself some slack. You're not a bad person in any way. The anxiety over small things like this will make you sick. 💐

We’ll all sleep better tonight knowing B&Q is no longer £7 out of pocket.

Yep! 😉😂

For £7 in a large store, not tiny small business, I would just leave it.

Nothing bad will happen.