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Friend tried shoplifting in Asda via scan and go

199 replies

bunnyhops90 · 02/12/2024 15:23

My friend who I was due to meet this evening rang me in tears and really panicked this afternoon following doing her weekly shop in asda this morning via the scan and go thing. She is a newly single mum to a toddler and twin 14 month old and I didn't realise until we spoke today just quite how much she is struggling with everything, she has been left with a lot of debt from her abusive ex-partner and is very much struggling to get by.

Anyway she said always uses the scan and go but today she said she doesn't know what made her do this but with Christmas coming up she is getting increasingly stressed about finances and making it through, she knows this is no excuse and accepts her unwise decision, she deliberately didn't scan a few things including baby food, fruit and pizza. When she went to go and pay it said she had been chosen for a staff member to go through some of her shopping and check for accuracy or something along those lines. Staff member scanned quite a few which were all fine then came to one of the items that she hadn't scanned and was told her full shopping would need to be checked. She panicked at this point, pretended she was taking an important phone call and swiftly walked away and left the shop with all the shopping behind before they realised there was a few I scanned and she drove home. She is terrified the police are going to show up on her doorstep and arrest her and is kicking herself for her stupid choice and worried she's got herself into even more difficulty now, I said I thought was unlikely the police would be contacted but apparently they will have her details since she used scan and go so thinks they will easily be able to find her. Does anyone agree with friend and think the police will come looking for her? I want to try and re-assure her but I really have no knowledge around this kind of thing!

OP posts:
Soontobe60 · 02/12/2024 18:43

Puppupandaway · 02/12/2024 15:32

Correct me if I'm wrong, but i think the Asda scan and go is only linked to your mobile number. It's not like tesco or nectar who have your home address.

You do need to put your home address etc in when you first register. After that, you inly need your mobile number.

LigamentBandy · 02/12/2024 18:45

@DemBonesDemBones mines dinky a probably why , TV thieves?! What a priority! I'm sure they all needed a new TV and should be forgiven! ( 😵‍💫 What is wrong with ppl?!)

LadyKenya · 02/12/2024 18:49

GoneWithTheWindIsMyFart · 02/12/2024 15:31

How would the police know where she lives?

This. She did not even leave the store with any goods, so why on earth would they be interested?

LigamentBandy · 02/12/2024 18:54

@LadyKenya it's all been covered in the thread .
Technically it wasn't theft
Police won't be knocking on her door

Forgottenwhatitwas · 02/12/2024 18:56

Where I work we have reported much bigger thefts than this to the police and they never even turn up so I very much doubt they will come looking for her. If she goes in the shop again though there is a good chance she will be asked to leave, that's probably the worst that will happen

christmasnotchristmust · 02/12/2024 18:58

LigamentBandy · 02/12/2024 17:52

But she should though, stealing isn't the answer
She's not going to have the police knock her door at 5am but why is everyone trying to soothe this person?
It's ok to steal if you don't get caught? Only took one thing? You "deserve" a treat?!

Edited

Agree, it’s very weird. People thinking stealing is ok. Is it a UK thing? Not come across this mentality anywhere else recently.

LadyKenya · 02/12/2024 18:58

LigamentBandy · 02/12/2024 18:54

@LadyKenya it's all been covered in the thread .
Technically it wasn't theft
Police won't be knocking on her door

Yes, hopefully the OP will be able to assure her friend that she will not be visited by the old bill.

MegaClutterSlut · 02/12/2024 19:01

If it was in my store the shopping would still be rescanned even if you've left the store to find out how much wasn't scanned. Security then might look through the cameras and take a screen shot of you and keep you on file. They sometimes even trace you back to the car park and take your licence plate but thats as far as it would go.

Worse case scenario she may get an instant ban if she goes back in but it really does depend on the value, she will no longer be allowed to use scan and go or nothing will happen

LigamentBandy · 02/12/2024 19:01

LadyKenya · 02/12/2024 18:58

Yes, hopefully the OP will be able to assure her friend that she will not be visited by the old bill.

I'm not on her friends side.
I think attempting to steal something is appalling. Just because she didn't manage it this time. I think her friend would have happily stolen her shopping and probably not for the first time.

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 02/12/2024 19:05

I work in ASDA, and often on Scan and Go.

Our security are constantly watching the cctv and can see if a customer does not appear to be scanning every item, the member of staff on Scan and Go will be informed ( along with every other member of staff wearing a headset ) and given a description of the customer.
I then wait on the customer arriving at Scan and Go and will have adjusted the scanning handset to ' scan now ' so when people like your friend arrive she automatically gets a ' random ' check. ( and so will every other customer that arrives in Scan and Go ! )
If your friend had chosen to go through basket shop or trolly shop, she would still have the random check and my colleagues in that area are aware of her arrival as security will have kept us informed as to which section she is in and when she is approaching us.
The random check will be carried out by my colleague in basket shop or trolly shop, unless ' we ' are over staffed in which case I amy come and do it myself.
Security will confirm that I am scanning the correct customer's shopping.

After the scan is completed and the customer pays and leaves, I print out a duplicate receipt and fill in the ' security book ' with details of every item not scanned, and attach the receipt. A description of the customer is also written into the book, i.e. lady with 2 children, long brown hair, early 30's.

Usually it is one or two items that were not scanned, but sometimes it can be £200 worth in a £300 trolly worth of shopping - that is deliberate - no one makes that many ' mistakes '.

A couple of my full time colleagues are very good at recognising customers, and ' we ' will be told via the headsets ' the lady that failed her self scan last week by £200 has just returned to the shop ' .

' We ' can tell from looking at a trolly the rough amount that is spent, and can/will print out a receipt as the customer leaves and if the receipt shows £50 worth of shopping paid for and ' we ' believe/feel there is £200 worth of shopping in the trolly, ' we ' will let security know. And they will perform a random check of receipt before the customer leaves the shop.

Many customers have forgotten / not realised that when they signed up to Scan and Go, that they agreed a. the scanning is done by 18+ and b. that they may have a random check carried out. The agreement is also that c. the shopping will be rescanned by a Scan and Go colleague and they do not have the right to insist on taking their trolly to a staffed check out till instead.

Yes ' we ' often have customers throwing a strop re their shopping being scanned, and threaten to leave the full trolly with me - that's fine, you go to another supermarket and do another full shop. I don't care. You want to drive 10 mins away and trundle around another supermarket and fill your trolly all over again. Good. I will happily find a colleague to put back all your shopping, it will be done quicker than your next shop is done. I don't care.

I would much rather be sat on a be sat on a till serving my customers even if the queue is all the way down the aisle and there are only 2 staffed checkouts open, and I will be serving you with a smile and a ' hello '.

btw the police will not be called as no theft took place.

LigamentBandy · 02/12/2024 19:07

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon that's a lot of "inside" information to share on a public platform

Pinkbonbon · 02/12/2024 19:11

No one will care.
Infact I might have 'accidently' not scanned the baby products for her too if I saw she'd failed to scan it. Maybe not, considering she got greedy with the other stuff.

No one is looking for her. Self checkouts fail to scan all the time. More likely to be a glitch in the machine. Minimum wage service staff doesn't give a fuck. Though, might be pissed off she did a runner and they had to put everything back.
That may make them inclined to watch for her in future. But that's about it.

christmasnotchristmust · 02/12/2024 19:14

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 02/12/2024 19:05

I work in ASDA, and often on Scan and Go.

Our security are constantly watching the cctv and can see if a customer does not appear to be scanning every item, the member of staff on Scan and Go will be informed ( along with every other member of staff wearing a headset ) and given a description of the customer.
I then wait on the customer arriving at Scan and Go and will have adjusted the scanning handset to ' scan now ' so when people like your friend arrive she automatically gets a ' random ' check. ( and so will every other customer that arrives in Scan and Go ! )
If your friend had chosen to go through basket shop or trolly shop, she would still have the random check and my colleagues in that area are aware of her arrival as security will have kept us informed as to which section she is in and when she is approaching us.
The random check will be carried out by my colleague in basket shop or trolly shop, unless ' we ' are over staffed in which case I amy come and do it myself.
Security will confirm that I am scanning the correct customer's shopping.

After the scan is completed and the customer pays and leaves, I print out a duplicate receipt and fill in the ' security book ' with details of every item not scanned, and attach the receipt. A description of the customer is also written into the book, i.e. lady with 2 children, long brown hair, early 30's.

Usually it is one or two items that were not scanned, but sometimes it can be £200 worth in a £300 trolly worth of shopping - that is deliberate - no one makes that many ' mistakes '.

A couple of my full time colleagues are very good at recognising customers, and ' we ' will be told via the headsets ' the lady that failed her self scan last week by £200 has just returned to the shop ' .

' We ' can tell from looking at a trolly the rough amount that is spent, and can/will print out a receipt as the customer leaves and if the receipt shows £50 worth of shopping paid for and ' we ' believe/feel there is £200 worth of shopping in the trolly, ' we ' will let security know. And they will perform a random check of receipt before the customer leaves the shop.

Many customers have forgotten / not realised that when they signed up to Scan and Go, that they agreed a. the scanning is done by 18+ and b. that they may have a random check carried out. The agreement is also that c. the shopping will be rescanned by a Scan and Go colleague and they do not have the right to insist on taking their trolly to a staffed check out till instead.

Yes ' we ' often have customers throwing a strop re their shopping being scanned, and threaten to leave the full trolly with me - that's fine, you go to another supermarket and do another full shop. I don't care. You want to drive 10 mins away and trundle around another supermarket and fill your trolly all over again. Good. I will happily find a colleague to put back all your shopping, it will be done quicker than your next shop is done. I don't care.

I would much rather be sat on a be sat on a till serving my customers even if the queue is all the way down the aisle and there are only 2 staffed checkouts open, and I will be serving you with a smile and a ' hello '.

btw the police will not be called as no theft took place.

You think ASDA would like you to share this information? Shit employee.

Fordian · 02/12/2024 19:15

Cut to the end- I got a random 'quality check' about a month ago. I'd missed a 80p item. It wasn't a huge shop, so it took 2 mins for the person to rescan it all, no issues.

I thought I'd be 'quality checked' forever after, but not one since. Admittedly, it was the only one I've failed since they started it and we signed on to it.

Tink3rbell30 · 02/12/2024 19:16

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 02/12/2024 19:05

I work in ASDA, and often on Scan and Go.

Our security are constantly watching the cctv and can see if a customer does not appear to be scanning every item, the member of staff on Scan and Go will be informed ( along with every other member of staff wearing a headset ) and given a description of the customer.
I then wait on the customer arriving at Scan and Go and will have adjusted the scanning handset to ' scan now ' so when people like your friend arrive she automatically gets a ' random ' check. ( and so will every other customer that arrives in Scan and Go ! )
If your friend had chosen to go through basket shop or trolly shop, she would still have the random check and my colleagues in that area are aware of her arrival as security will have kept us informed as to which section she is in and when she is approaching us.
The random check will be carried out by my colleague in basket shop or trolly shop, unless ' we ' are over staffed in which case I amy come and do it myself.
Security will confirm that I am scanning the correct customer's shopping.

After the scan is completed and the customer pays and leaves, I print out a duplicate receipt and fill in the ' security book ' with details of every item not scanned, and attach the receipt. A description of the customer is also written into the book, i.e. lady with 2 children, long brown hair, early 30's.

Usually it is one or two items that were not scanned, but sometimes it can be £200 worth in a £300 trolly worth of shopping - that is deliberate - no one makes that many ' mistakes '.

A couple of my full time colleagues are very good at recognising customers, and ' we ' will be told via the headsets ' the lady that failed her self scan last week by £200 has just returned to the shop ' .

' We ' can tell from looking at a trolly the rough amount that is spent, and can/will print out a receipt as the customer leaves and if the receipt shows £50 worth of shopping paid for and ' we ' believe/feel there is £200 worth of shopping in the trolly, ' we ' will let security know. And they will perform a random check of receipt before the customer leaves the shop.

Many customers have forgotten / not realised that when they signed up to Scan and Go, that they agreed a. the scanning is done by 18+ and b. that they may have a random check carried out. The agreement is also that c. the shopping will be rescanned by a Scan and Go colleague and they do not have the right to insist on taking their trolly to a staffed check out till instead.

Yes ' we ' often have customers throwing a strop re their shopping being scanned, and threaten to leave the full trolly with me - that's fine, you go to another supermarket and do another full shop. I don't care. You want to drive 10 mins away and trundle around another supermarket and fill your trolly all over again. Good. I will happily find a colleague to put back all your shopping, it will be done quicker than your next shop is done. I don't care.

I would much rather be sat on a be sat on a till serving my customers even if the queue is all the way down the aisle and there are only 2 staffed checkouts open, and I will be serving you with a smile and a ' hello '.

btw the police will not be called as no theft took place.

Surely you don't get paid about to be that involved and bothered about people not scanning a few things.

DemBonesDemBones · 02/12/2024 19:16

@LigamentBandy I'm told they steal to order for quick cash to buy what they 'need' 😬

Tink3rbell30 · 02/12/2024 19:17

*Enough

CrazyAndSagittarius · 02/12/2024 19:19

There is no way the police will contact her. She needs to get some advice urgently if she's feeling so overwhelmed she's resorting to stealing. There are loads of places to get free debt advice from including Stepchange and Citizens Advice. She can also contact Trussell Trust for food bank vouchers - they will also refer or signpost her to debt advice.

DV charities can also still support her with emotional support and with referrals and signposts where appropriate.

HealthyPumpkin · 02/12/2024 19:24

This happened to us once because my husband scanned 2 bottles of raspberry water as elderflower (same price we’d bought 2 of each). Everything had to be rescanned but it was fine

StMarie4me · 02/12/2024 19:37

murasaki · 02/12/2024 16:39

I have slightly more sympathy for the baby food (although baby products are some of the most frequently stolen for onward sale) than i do for the pizza. I very much doubt this is the first time she's done it, just the first she got checked. Walking out basically confirmed guilt.

Baby food for a toddler and twin 14 months though? What baby food are they eating? Mine were all eating normal food at that age!

FrankieStein403 · 02/12/2024 19:44

All that will happen is the frequency of 'check scans' with her basket will go up - it'll take quite a few ok checks before the frequency drops.

I missed items on two consecutive checks (about 3 shops apart) and was then checked virtually every other shop for around 8 weeks. (sainsbury)

As for walking out and leaving the shopping I'd be surprised if that wasn't an unusual reaction - it's annoying/frustrating to realise you'll have to wait for a full scan - you could be tight for school pickup, dentist - whatever.

dancinginthedark123 · 02/12/2024 19:48

Lovelysummerdays · 02/12/2024 15:29

I mean obviously not ideal but I don’t think it’s theft till you leave the store. Pretty sure most they would do is ban her or take away her scan and go privileges. I don’t places prosecute until a certain limit is reached. It is cumulative though so will be fine if this time but if it’s an ongoing issue they may have cctv evidence.

Police family here! Exactly this

StMarie4me · 02/12/2024 19:50

@hamsterchump

murasaki
Amazing that it's never economy brand tinned tomatoes and pasta, isn't it.

I don't think young babies eat tinned tomatoes and pasta do they?

I think 14 months old do.

Keepingittogetherstepbystep · 02/12/2024 19:50

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon is it always a member of staff or is it sometimes algorithm driven? Not asking to con the system just curious as surely algorithm driven would be more efficient. I accidentally failed to scan a reduced bakery item didn't find out until I got homembutni went back and paid for it. Was petrified I'd get into trouble.

Op your friend is lucky but she needs help to sort things out. Can't be easy for her.

Spaffitupthewall · 02/12/2024 19:51

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