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AIBU?

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Original poster

To Not Report This Shoplifter

66 replies

Tak3n · 09/11/2011 20:27

Was in Sainsbury tonight about 5ish at was at the self service checkout, whilst doing my shopping this young guy roughly 18ish comes next to me he looked homeless in his apperance (if there is an apperance) i.e unwashed and very dirty clothes, anyway I see him put a large bottle of orange squash in his bag but put it through as a different item by manual choosing something cheap on the screen and not scanning it, of course the alarm goes off as the scale says something is wrong, this terribly young girl comes over and the guy gets all aggitated and a little uneasy, so the girl scans her card to allow what he is doing to go through, but I can see in her expression she can see something is not right but she seemingly ignores it. My moral compass is telling me to report it but then I think by the looks of him he clearly does not need anymore trouble in his life and if Sainsburys want to employ tender young girls on min-wage who feel they are not strong enough to confront this issue then why should I do it for them... But now having got home my Moral compass is making me feel bad...

And I expect I have certainly failed the "big society" test :(

OP posts:
Animation · 10/11/2011 09:51

"BTW OP mentioned squash and all the replies corrected it to mention juice. I only noticed as my first thought was that squash for a street sleeper isn't very useful."

Well that could be good news - that he has a place to live.

HedleyLamarr · 10/11/2011 09:53

What LineRunner said up there^

MollyTheMole · 10/11/2011 09:55

I have done the same on many occasion

I saw an elderley man pinch some apples and put them in his coat pocket and only the other week a man similar to how you describe, again putting some pure orange juice and a sandwich into a battered old rucksack

YANBU

LoveBeingAFirework · 10/11/2011 10:39

Animation I thought that but thought I must have remembered wrong as on my phone

bemybebe · 10/11/2011 10:59

You could buy this juice/squash bottle for him if you are concerned about this man.

Stealing is wrong and you helping his stealing is also wrong.
I am also surprised you have so many backers. Clearly not ready to put their money there their mouth is.

TheTenantOfWildfellHall · 10/11/2011 13:02

Well if supermarkets want to 'outsource' checkout jobs to their customers without doing any kind of training or recruitment, then what do they expect!

It's one thing to say "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" but what if you pay your 'staff' nothing?

I got an onion free from sainsbury's on Monday. I was at a self service checkout and only one of the two loose onions registered on the scale, but as I bagged both, there was a disparity in the weight of the bag so the alarm sounded and the lady came over. I tried to explain what had happened but she wasn't listening, authorised it with her card and went off. I wasn't going to chase her shouting "but you don't understand, I'll only be paying for 1 onion!"

Honeydragon · 10/11/2011 13:13
AbbyAbsinthe · 10/11/2011 13:37

How can the 'backers' put their money where their mouth is, bemybebe? Confused

And the OP wasn't helping his stealing. She just didn't report him, and neither would I have. It was a bottle of juice/squash, ffs.

AKMD · 10/11/2011 13:46

As a 'backer' I would say I put my money where my mouth is when I pay an increased price taking into account losses from shoplifting. I don't really mind paying an extra 5p if it buys some poor man a bottle of squash.

cameltoeinlycra · 10/11/2011 13:47

When i use to work in an off licence there was a young boy who would regularly come into the shop to steal, I would allow him to do it. His mother would send him in to pinch her bottles of wine, if he didn't bring her anything she would knock him about. He would never steal anything else only the wine for his mother, so I let him, he knew I knew, he also knew that because I allowed him to do this, the off licence was a safe place to come to when his mother was on one of her drink and drug binges.

Lisatheonewhoeatsdrytoast · 10/11/2011 13:51

No i used to work on tills too when i was 16, poor guy, YANBU i would have done the same!

bemybebe · 10/11/2011 14:55

"As a 'backer' I would say I put my money where my mouth is when I pay an increased price taking into account losses from shoplifting. I don't really mind paying an extra 5p if it buys some poor man a bottle of squash."

AKMD - no, everyone is forced to pay higher prices backers or not. I OP was concerned, she should have offered to pay and so should have everyone who allows stealing.

As for Camel - words fail me. What a 'wonderful' person you are! I wonder what happened to this poor boy from your story. I hope someone with more compassion came along and helped his mother seeking help and this boy to make life for himself. Your "help" is no help at all - just a helping hand over the cliff.

fickencharmer · 10/11/2011 15:05

ny test set by cameron may be dodgy Prig Society? Seriously, be sure and careful before you get involved in reporting the law can be a mares nest. Are you watching the JURY on ITV?

AbbyAbsinthe · 10/11/2011 16:13

Nice attitude, bemybebe Hmm

Moominsarescary · 10/11/2011 16:34

Yanbu I'd have ignored it too poor guy

TeddyRuxpin · 10/11/2011 17:27

"he looked homeless in his apperance (if there is an apperance) i.e unwashed and very dirty clothes"

He could have been a drug addict.

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