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…

Generally never but have been known to steal the odd birthday card. I’m going to hell. Oh, I’ve just remembered, I always forget to count the bananas properly 🤣

Never.

But in the late 90’s early 00’s my mum used to pinch glade candles and steak 😬

Never.

However, I did steal a penny sweet from the sweetshop on my way to school when I was about 11. It was a little experiment on myself just to see if I could do it. I've never been able to rid myself of the guilt 😂

So when can it be justified, and how does this apply to you? And are you saying you're justified in stealing because someone else does not recycle?

I agree with you 100% - and then you find half eaten food just dumped on random shelves. What sort of message is this giving out to those kids?

When my DC were growing up, they knew they could not eat or drink anything until it had been paid for.

Why is it pear clutching to say you have never stolen anything??

op sounds horrendous. So not being a thief makes you “morally righteous”. Ok then.

And this is what people like OP don't seem to get, or don't care about.

When they steal from the supermarket, the people who are struggling with money, along with everyone else, have to pay in higher prices, for what the OP is stealing.

Even though it’s anonymous a lot of people still don’t like to be attacked by strangers online (I’m not bothered about it myself obviously!)

People stealing from shops occasionally is not the reason supermarket prices are rising. The economy is fucked. That’s the reason, and it’s not fucked because of people who nick the odd banana from a supermarket!

Stealing a child’s bike or someone’s jumper is personal and has a direct effect on that person. That is not the same as occasional theft of small items from supermarkets. There is no victim in the same way at all.

You're not in a position where you can't afford these items and you genuinely have nothing left. The fact that you seem to think your stealing is ok but not recycling is is completely ridiculous. Some people can't recycle because they have no recycling facilities other than a black bin.

You choose to take from supermarkets presumably knowing that one day you might be caught.
The fact that you do it knowing that it's very possible you might be caught suggests this isn't just about money.

Never intentionally, nor would I. Maybe as a last resort if all else failed, we were literally destitute and my kids were suffering, but not otherwise.

Never!

Never!

Oh, for goodness sake! Stop with the pearl clutching accusations and grow up!

You are a wrong 'un with low morals who has been badly brought up. Not wanting to steal and judging people who do is not pearl clutching.

Where do you draw the line? Is it OK to steal a car and drive it the wrong way down the motorway? Is it OK to assault someone? Is murder OK?

So you do shoplift then. Why do you think everyone else should pay for bags but not you? You do realise that your fellow shoppers ultimately pay for your bags, not the CEO of the supermarket? I’m surprised you’re ok with that, I’d be ashamed.

Never, and never have.

I once saw someone trying to walk out with a whole unpaid for trolley. I pointed it out to checkout staff and she was hauled back to pay for it. It's us other customers who pay the price for checkout theft.

Absolutely never!

I once accidentally shoplifted some nappies from mothercare, maybe I contributed to their downfall. I’d hung a pack of nappies on the back of the pram, I paid for other items and left the shop completely forgetting they were there. I went in some other shops before getting to the car, finding the nappies and realising I hadn’t paid. I didn’t go back and pay, probably partly because I was skint at the time in combination with having an irritable baby and being at the limit of the car parking time. The baby is in their 20s now.
If anything ever didn’t scan on the self serve tills, didn’t bleep for assistance and I didn’t notice, it’s probably balanced out by the bogof offers that didn’t go through that I either didn’t notice or couldn’t be bothered to wait for assistance.

I know of a few people, one person has over 30k cash at home and owns a 750k home and has plenty in the bank, i struggle to see why he needs to do so.
Another person in on the benefits and steals pasta and cereal, i can understand that.
On another note when did greetings cards become so expensive........ that's a crime in itself

I really don’t think this is as normal as you think it is OP. I would never steal, no matter who from. Or, at least, the circumstances would need to be extreme. I’d steal food to feed my children if the only alternative was them starving. I certainly wouldn’t steal a bottle of wine just because I fancied it but didn’t want to pay.

Never once.

Though I did once steal a pat of butter at a motorway service station as I thought that making me pay 20p for it was ridiculous (1990s student).

I have not read the whole thread, but my answer is Never.
I just would not steal / shoplift or whatever other euphemisms one cares to use.
I once watched a TV prog about shop lifting, and the one I remember caught on CCTV, was in a shoe shop.
A lady sat down on the end of a row of seats to try on a shoe, and obviously put her bag down on the floor.
The person behind her (chairs were back to back, etc), just picked it up and walked out with it as though it was hers.
The thing that shocked me, was that she was obviously an older woman, whereas I had presumed most shoplifters were likely to be teenagers, etc.
Remember, if you have a criminal conviction, then this could affect your employment prospects, though frankly, not sure the police take it seriously, now.

WTF?!!

NEVER!

I live in fear of accidentally missing something and getting accused of stealing to the extent that when using the zap guns I count all items pre check out to make sure they're all scanned.

Absolutely NOT!

Never. Ever. Because it’s not right, and I have an active moral compass.