Be honest, zero judgment - how often do you steal from supermarket self-checkouts?

[Alwaysthelastone]

My theory is, “decent, up-standing” people do it a lot more than they’d ever admit. Let’s try to stop this thread descending into judgement and criticism of people who are just answering the question honestly. Otherwise they just won’t be honest. No judgement from me, as long as we’re talking large chain supermarkets only. I’ll admit that I sometimes forget to weigh fruit & veg, get to the till and can’t be bothered going back so don’t bother paying. Occasionally in the past when money’s been tight I haven’t paid for a few of the more expensive items like laundry detergent, nappies, the odd bottle of wine. But we’re talking 3 or 4 times I year. I’m not some sort of serial shoplifter and I consider myself a decent person (although I’m sure I’ll swiftly be told I’m not on here 🤣) anyway, would be interested to hear how often the mostly upstanding, middle-class MN population really does it…

Never, I’m not a thief. I should be shocked by how casually you confess to stealing, but given the generally decline in morals and standards in the country that’s just me being naive. I sincerely hope that you are caught one day, and no, I don’t think that you can consider yourself a decent person.

Im the opposite. I challenge/question rules all the time. Have done since I was a little girl. If rules don't make sense to me I won't follow them. I'm a 'but why?' person...which can be annoying, even for me, and certainly for my parents growing up lol.

I never steal though. Its not some great moral thing, its just that I would be worried about getting caught. Ive heard people say they always add a little something in because why shouldn't they - they have had to checkout themselves, and saved the supermarket the cost of a checkout person. like a payment for them going DIY! I kinda get that logic. Still wouldn't do it, as I just wouldn't want the embarrassment of getting caught. Its no deeper than that really.

If someone was struggling to feed themselves and their kids and they let a few things slip I wouldn't see that as a moral failing though. I think it would make total sense and in the scheme of things isn't that big a deal.

"I’ll admit that I sometimes forget to weigh fruit & veg, get to the till and can’t be bothered going back so don’t bother paying"

This is stealing because of laziness not poverty.
If you're trying to get by on a budget there are many cheaper places to buy fruit and veg than the supermarket. I can fill a bag with fruit and veg from our local market for about half the price of the supermarket and it's much fresher and nicer too.

But then if you're too lazy to weigh fruit you're probably too lazy to pay a visit to the market.

This is a very interesting topic!

Truthfully I never ever steal, it wouldn't even occur to me.

I don't know what circumstances would change that.

If i was desperate and needed food for my DC I might risk it. I would still feel morally ok with it. Sorry OP but a bottle of wine - come ON!

If the machine was malfunctioning and staff ignoring me for ages - I would feel justified.

But that's it I think.

I don't steal. Sometimes, I don't have enough money at the end of the month, so I end up eating one meal a day. Like oatmeal or some weird mix out of the cupboard, but I won't be a thief. I'd feel like shit, and I'm the one who would have to live with it.

Why do you do it once a year? If you were on the breadline, you’d be doing it much more frequently. Doing it once a year suggests it’s like some sort of special treat 😂 Can’t you think of any other ways to enjoy yourself?

I have a caution for shoplifting..got it when I was 17 ..I'm 53 now .
Never is the answer to your question op
It was so humiliating being driven of in a police car ,and having finger prints taken ..then the 6 weeks wait to see if it was going to court or if I was getting a caution ..
I did it because I was in an abusive home and only stole nessessities what I wasn't provided with by care givers .
But it was still wrong ..
I feel sorry for shops now .. police don't even both coming out ..
I remember one Christmas watching some bloke wheel his trolly out of Tesco without paying,and so many social media posts where people walk in to Greggs or co op and just take what they need
Police need to come down hard ..that one interaction with police was enough for me to never do anything like that again...don't know if it would be for repeat offenders

I would have said never, but the other day I bought a packet of file dividers and at the checkout they were the wrong weight. The woman came over and fiddled with them and then let them go through. It wasn’t until I got back to the office that I realised there were two packets stuck quite firmly together. So accidental and unwitting theft, once.

i was in Tesco last year when a woman I used to know from baby group, 16 years ago, came over and said hello because she recognised me. Afterwards the checkout supervisor came and asked me if I knew her name etc because she’d walked out without paying 😬

So I guess it can happen, wittingly or unwittingly. I don’t do it on purpose though, although I could make a moral case for some people shoplifting certain items from big chains (as opposed to tiny shops, and we’d be talking about things like nappies for someone on the poverty line rather than wine - or indeed stationery), I can’t make that case for myself and would feel desperately uncomfortable about it. I do feel uncomfortable about the dividers but people I have asked about it said there’s no mechanism to return them in this situation, so trying to do so would create more problems than it might resolve.

Never. Its scummy behaviour.

And many, many, many more people don't.

Don't try and justify stealing. It affects everyone.

Well maybe you could reconsider referring to it as generous. Im on UC and I use community tables -because I'm poor. I did not say anywhere in any previous posts that it was ok to steal. Just that benefits aren't generous.

Honestly OP. Never.

Many many years ago as a young single parent I once had some nappies at the bottom of my trolley that I had forgotten to put through, and the cashier didn’t notice and I only remembered as I left the till. But didn’t go back.

As I said that was many years ago and still remember the fear and guilt.

What I’m interested in OP is why you do it? The thrill? You’re skint? That’s the interesting bit for me.

I think it’s all of the above. If I didn’t think it was wrong, I wouldn’t be bothered if anyone caught/saw me doing it.

I’m normal? So I don’t do it.

They weren't trying to justify stealing. They were talking about having a criminal record

If the triple lock goes, I might start shoplifting.

thought this was supposed to be a non judgemental thread? Have plenty of ways to enjoy myself thanks

Yeah, sorry, never.

I've occasionally accidentally not scanned something, but never on purpose.

I shoplifted a book from a shop 40 years ago and I still feel sick when I think about it

It would never cross my mind to steal anything!

I didnt justify stealing. I said I'd be mortified to have shoplifting on my record and I never do what the OP is asking. So what are you talking about?

If something hasn't scanned when i've tried to scan it and not realised , when i got home i've realised took it back told security who knew me only been cheap tomatoes they told me not to bother and didn't need to come back but i did and went and paid for it, happened with my dads paper during lock down where you had to queue to go in went to the front and head of security was there gave her the money told her what it was for and told her what happened

I ran back in the other day to pay for a bit of ginger I forgot to weigh. I wouldn't steal anything now. BUT when I was very much younger, before I became a person of integrity, I probably would have. In fact I do remember stealing a lipstick one time years and years ago while doing a supermarket shop. At the time I would have rationalised it that Tesco or whoever could afford it.
I've repented of all that behaviour now though.

Honestly... Never.

Never

My friend's dh does this. He's generally not a nice person