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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Undercharged. WWYD?

226 replies

Haffdonga · 31/07/2014 18:15

OK, so what would you honestly honestly do? Not what is the right thing or what you would like to think you would do, but actually really do?

Today I bought 3 items in TK Maxx. They were all processed at the till, tags removed etc. The bill came to less than I'd expected and I assumed that something had been reduced , hooray.

When I get home I check the receipt and find that a pair of school shoes was not included on the bill. I think they were £25-ish. To go back and pay now would involve a return journey into town and parking costs. Plus Dh is facing redundancy for the second time in 3 years so we're feeling very poor.

You'd go back and pay, wouldn't you?

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 31/07/2014 22:28

I see what you're saying Bristol but as I understand it, the continuing decision not to pay for the shoes, is because the OP wasn't the incompetent one. So like many others, she can't be arsed to return to the store.

I seriously doubt they'll have the facilities to take a telephone payment either.

Seriouslyffs · 31/07/2014 22:33

I don't believe in Karma.
I took a Nike bag back to sports direct when they gave me 2 and charged me for one- all wrapped up.
I would take sugar sachets from work and put 20p in petty cash.
Thank you MN for giving my moral compass a spin.
Grin

Coconutty · 31/07/2014 22:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 31/07/2014 22:48

The donate to charity comments that always crop up on these threads crack me upGrin

AmazingBouncingFerret · 31/07/2014 22:50

Keep them! But FGS don't you dare take some sugar sachets from work whatever you do...

WorraLiberty · 31/07/2014 22:51

The charity thing is just bizarre

WorraLiberty · 31/07/2014 22:52

Amazing, what if the OP donated the said sugar sachets to her local women's aid?

That outta sort things right

Aeroflotgirl · 31/07/2014 22:57

They are not stolen, the staff did not scan them! Don't go back!

AmazingBouncingFerret · 31/07/2014 23:02

:D Worra

AmazingBouncingFerret · 31/07/2014 23:08

ha! you can tell I hardly ever post on here anymore, I've forgotten how to do the wee little faces!

Catsmamma · 31/07/2014 23:09

i am very interested in the ethics of not sending my child to school in stolen shoes

if the shoes had been scanned in at a lesser price would that be okay? or even if they were mispriced...alll others at a more expensive price but the size you wanted were cheaper?

to my knowledge I have stolen a cd from tesco....busy christmas tills, I nicked in for a couple of last minute bits, got sidetracked to the self service tills which were newly installed and young chap was demo-ing usage, he took the cd, wandered to the next till detagged it and bagged it...wasn't till I got home and checked the receipt I realised he had not scanned it. ...gave it to dh as a stocking filler.

and also my mother got a bottle of brandy from aldi....till lady was very chatty, asked if it was a nice brandy, other till lady was earwigging and asked which one it was, our till lady brandished it at her, teh conversation continued and then sent it to the bag we had at the back of the till....again it was not till we got home and unpacked that we realised.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 31/07/2014 23:10

I saw a poster on here say that she'd found a large sum of money (some hundreds of pounds) the person before her had left in the cashpoint. She could have taken it into the bank, so it could be returned to the person's account, but she had decided to keep it.

She said that the fact she'd donated half the money to charity made it OK to keep the other half. Hmm

Innermagic · 31/07/2014 23:13

Karma sharma Don't go back to pay for the shoes
You didn't steal them you took them to the checkout items were bagged you payed left the shop no alarms went off = free shoes every woman's dream shame they were only £25

bubalou · 31/07/2014 23:15

Sorry I wouldn't.

I like to think I'm a very honest person - I had a lad in co-op the other day give me over 15 change thinking I had paid with a 20 pound not when I hadn't. I said to him straight away and he was really grateful as in a lot of those places if your till is down you have to pay the difference to discourage stealing.

Driving back to the shop to pay for shows however - nah! Enjoy it. Free shoes.

Wink
SqueakySqueak · 31/07/2014 23:16

I've had something similar happen, and no I didn't go back. Nor would I if I had to do it again.

At a big retailer, there's wiggle room for what can go missing. It'll get written off, and no one will get blamed. It's not going to affect paychecks or employment. The worst that will happen is they'll have a meeting or if it's a problem install security cameras.

At a mom and pops shop, I'd return it because it would actually impact their income.

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 31/07/2014 23:16

I really don't understand the return to an independent, keep from a chain reasoning. Doesn't the same logic apply for means/merits testing about where you shoplift? And I don't get the giving to charity option either, not far off from shoplifting from chains to stock your local charity shop. If it's not yours, it's not yours to give away.

Ihatefootball · 31/07/2014 23:16

I wont send ds to school in stolen shoes. I'll send him to school in lucky free shoes - much better karma

That's hilarious! Lucky shoes!

Cookingmonster · 31/07/2014 23:19

A similar thing happened to me at Waterstones except I had placed a book in the top of the pushchair and when I paid for other items, I forgot about this one. No one noticed and I walked out. At home, when I discovered what I had done, I was so embarrassed so I took it back to pay for it. I was made to feel like a petty thief and had to explain the story to 3 staff members. I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN. If ever I find myself in a similar situation, I will not go through the humilation of going back again. (And the book only cost £2.50)
DON'T GO BACK!

SqueakySqueak · 31/07/2014 23:23

Really, it comes down to, you got a free pair of shoes. Technically, it is stealing to knowingly not pay. If it feels wrong it probably is.

But that said, you got away with it. No harm done.

Do what will sit best on your conscious. It's not going to affect anyone but you if you go back and pay. The store doesn't care about $25, and neither do the clerks. The only one it's going to impact is you. That's it. Returning them will only be for your benefit.

So it's going to weigh on you, it might be worth the $25. If not, keep them, enjoy the shop error. I would.

KingfishersCatchFire · 31/07/2014 23:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SqueakySqueak · 31/07/2014 23:32

TestingTestingWonTooFree Because if I steal $1 from a homeless man it hits him harder than stealing $1 from a rich man. $25 from an independent shop could mean budget meals at home, $25 from a rich CEO isn't even a blip in the system.

Cookingmonster I have done this more times than I can count. I have ADHD, so things get forgotten about or I walk out with them in my hand while everyone is watching. I accidentally put a bunch of books in my school bag at a book store once because I was using them for homework and just spaced out when packing up. 99% of the time I return things and no one has ever given me crap for it. They just laugh when I explain, because really if I wanted to steal on purpose I already got away with it. Not once have I gotten shit for it.

The only time I didn't was when I had a bad head cold and I paid for a prescription at the pharmacy and got a separate box of meds. I forgot to pay for the other box and just walked out. I was tired and quite frankly didn't care once I realized my mistake. I just wanted to go home and sleep and recover. There wasn't a point in returning to the store with an open box of meds to pay, so I just forgot about it and have DH do a quick hand check before we leave stores.

salsmum · 31/07/2014 23:41

My daughter met her then BF in a large shopping centre (they are both w/chair users..we were shopping too...When he arrived he had a designer mens shirt that had somehow attached itself to the back of his chair (on full view)...It was tagged at £75. I took it into every shop that I thought might stock it and eventually found it was a H.O.F item...the shop assistant said thanks non-nonchalantly and went to take it back...I asked for the manager and explained that I'd appreciate it if he thanked them personally just so that they could see honesty is always the best option..he shoved a couple of the freebie perfume samples in a bag and mumbled a thanx to them...I must admit that if I'd have known how little 'losing' that stock item meant to him I probably wouldn't have bothered to have made such an effort either. (I was quite strapped for cash at the time and could have flogged it on e-bay) but would always chose the honest option.

DizzyKipper · 01/08/2014 00:06

Darn you OP, threads like these make me ask questions of myself and I don't always like what I think is the honest answer. Would I go back? Well whenever I've noticed at the till I've always had that moment's temptation not to say anything, followed by then saying something and feeling ashamed I had that temptation to lie/steal. But would I go back? I'm not sure I would, going back is effort. I don't go to shops lightly - with 2 year old DD and living in the country going out/doing things are more of an 'event' that I mentally plan for in the week, I'd probably feel quite put out at the thought of going back to rectify their mistake. But the thought that I would be setting a bad example to my DD would get to me.

In all honesty I know what I'd do. I'd mention the situation to DH to gauge his reaction - defer responsibility. Because I'm not as morally vigorous as I like to think, it'd probably be his response to the situation that would confirm my mind more than anything.

Whatever I'd do, I don't judge you for not returning.

BadLad · 01/08/2014 00:12

If I had noticed it at the time, I'd have paid up. By the time I got home, I'd consider returning it more faff than it was worth.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 01/08/2014 00:18

SqueakySqueak - who do,you think pays for the items like this that are written off? Does it come out of company profit margins or shareholder dividends? Of course not.

It is paid for in the price of everything we buy. It is called shrinkage - that includes things like this, where an error either by the cashier or the customer leads to an item not going through the till, deliberate theft, things that get broken or spoiled in the store, or that get returned and cannot be resold. It's one of the overheads that retailers include in the price of everything they sell.

So it is pretty naive to say 'it is just written off' as if no-one pays. We all pay.

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