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…

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!

Hmmmm....yes, there is an economic crisis right now. But yes, absolutely everyone who steals is contributing to rising costs. People, like you, who consider themselves decent people, taking a banana, a packet of nappies, a bottle of wine. How many times a day is that happening in every supermarket the country over? And the cost of that?

It is not a victimless crime in the way you tell yourself. You are part of the bigger picture.

My child has profound SEND and multiple disabilities. It’s not really something I have a choice over if I have to take him to the supermarket. 🤷‍♀️

Well, yes. Like you and the OP. Doesn't mean that all of us are at it!

Occasionally put a pastry through as a cheaper version of - e.g praline croissant as normal one , occasionally as happy coincidence- e.g something didn’t scan - like a birthday card

Haha I can't beleive you asked this on mumsnet, the hangout for every upstanding, morally superior people to exist 😆
In real life I know loads of people who have, people I work with, friends, even someone who worked in asda!
Backfired for one work colleague, it was when a sandwich, drink and crisps came to £3, she stole the crisps and put the sandwich and drink through so it came to like £3.50 😆😆 amateur

This thread brings to mind when Richard Madeley stole wine from Tesco in 1994.

Don't get much more of a middle class theft than that OP! Is that what you're thinking of?

Most people do not steal because it's wrong to.

The only time was by accident. My uni housemate was having a late period crisis so I had gone to buy her a pregnancy test. There weren't many self service checkouts back then but I was embarrassed so i travelled to a shop specially so I wouldn't need to. I bumped into a guy i fancied at the time and his friends. I took the test off the shelf, hid it until checkout, scanned it and then it said "unexpected item in the baggage area". I was panicking a bit. The cashier came over and then said "1 minute be right back". I was mortified by this point, and bright red and nearly crying, the guy i fancied was waiting for me by the door. I was so young, this would not phase me at all now!! The cashier brought the security guard over who looked in my carrier bag. They gave each other a nod and the cashier swiped to let me pay. When I got back home and handed the test over i realised that the static film on the outside of the tests had stuck the boxes together and i had actually brought 4 tests home. I realised the cashier and security guard had actually worked together to do a really kind gesture and let an apparently desperate teenager take the many tests!

What stops me doing it is that I know it’s wrong.

I can honestly say I never have.
We use the hand scanners in the big stores and I didn’t scan something by accident ( it was well under two pounds ) and it came up on a check. I was mortified, but the assistant believed it was a genuine error by me and able to put it through.
I wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been a random check! I have never stolen anything, but I bet people take a chance they won’t get stopped or a check on the scanners as more often than not they don’t do a full check. I make sure it doesn’t happen again by double checking now.

I know people who have done it once or twice when an item has failed to scan, and no staff members have come to help.

Me? - no. It's just not worth it to save, what, a fiver? And you're literally on screen these days, with everything you do being recorded, even if you are that way inclined.

Of course you do - give your child something to eat that you have already purchased, prior to going into the shop, or go to the fridge section at the front, choose something, pay for it, then do the rest of your shopping.

Never in my entire life, even when completely skint

So that’s no different to stealing a pack of bin bags. You’re just stealing them one by one.

I have some bags for life and tote bags for my shopping. I quite often forget to take them to the shop so then I buy carrier bags from the shop, which I subsequently use as bin bags like you do. I also have bin bags though which I paid for, as most people do. Can’t you just pay for the stuff you need like most normal grown-ups do?

Never.

I'm with you!!

You are a serial shoplifter,though, if you’re doing it every 3 months. Just let the rest of us pay inflated prices so you can nick stuff, huh ?

Never. It never even crossed my mind.

I think what people consider to be a “good” or “bad” moral compass differs. I guess some people (most on here!) would think I have a bad moral compass cos I steal things sometimes. Yet plenty of the people on here claiming they’d never steal anything because they have such a good moral compass are the same people that come on here and mock and belittle other women in difficult life situations. Of course they’ll be an outpouring of “I never do that!” but some of you must do because about 80-90% of people on this thread said they’d never steal, and at least 30% of the comments on threads where someone’s asking for help because they’re in an abusive relationship/are lonely/struggling in some way that’s not their fault, are comments putting the OP down and making them feel worse. So if having a good moral compass means you must follow the law to the letter but it’s ok to be a bully, degrade people, and add to their suffering, then I’d much rather have a poor moral compass but have the ability to be kind and compassionate to others.

Never

Never as i am not a thief.

Absolutely never!

Under duress I did once do a shop with an hand held device that you bleep food items as you put them in your trolley and pay at the end. My mistake was shopping with a ‘Frenemy’ who I was terrified would put un-scanned items in my trolley if I wasn’t looking 👀 I did get pulled over after paying although there was nothing unpaid for in my trolley. Nonetheless my stress and fear level were through the roof!

I refuse to use any self checkout for fear of a genuine mistake being made.

The ex-Frenemy … I have very strong suspicions that she routinely takes things she hasn’t paid for. Not because she’s hard up because she isn’t; it’s because she thinks she’s smarter than anyone else and she likes the feeling of power and the buzz.

Anyone who takes anything knowingly without paying is a thief! They are also selfishly putting prices up for everyone else.

I never allowed my children to eat stuff as we went round the supermarket so I guess I can continue to clutch my pearls. 🤗 I don’t actually have any pearls…maybe I could steal some.

Eating food going around the shop is only an issue if it is a weighed item. If it has a bar code that can be scanned and therefore it can be paid for, there is no issue. It’s not considered theft.

The above is actually in induction training at supermarkets.

Saying shoplifting is ‘victimless’ is such a thick and immature thing to say. I would not expect anyone over teen years to come out with that crap.

Literally never 🤷 Once accidentally stole some soup under the buggy and I walked back down to pay for it