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Original poster

To think that the free fruit offer in tesco shouldn't be abused

215 replies

Frazzled50yrold · 27/07/2017 00:11

Was shopping in tesco about half hour before closing last Sunday. I noticed a 30 something yr old female filling a plastic bag with the oranges/apples/bananas which are provided free for children. Initially I wondered how she would pay for them as they were all mixed together then realised she wasn't going to as she went up to her husband at the self service till and walked out with him. I'd estimate she had at least 20 pieces of fruit, it made me so cross

OP posts:
WhamBarsArentAsFizzyAsTheyWere · 27/07/2017 08:56

I wish I had thought of doing this when my tax credits suddenly stopped with no warning and i had barely any money for weeks.

I was very grateful for the food bank delivery I got, but obviously there was no fresh fruit.

Had I thought of this I would have been embarrassed but I absolutely would have taken the fruit for my kids.

I would find it hard to judge someone doing it, it would be far less embarrassing to go and spend £3 on fruit, she was probably desperate.

Original poster
Frazzled50yrold · 27/07/2017 09:06

Of course it makes sense to use the free fruit in situations where you can't afford to buy it but it's not legitimate to fill a bag and remove it from the store when you don't even have a child with you.It's shoplifting and it's worrying if anyone thinks otherwise, not because I'm any particular fan of large supermarkets, but simply for the potential issues for yourself.

OP posts:
PlinkyTheFairyWitch · 27/07/2017 09:08

Oh come on, it's one piece of fruit per child, not an entire bag of fruit per anyone who feels like it.

If my son were deprived of his Tesco apple, there'd be a shitload more screaming as we went round. Those things are bleedin' genius.

So I am not inclined to feel generous towards someone taking more than their fair share, no. YANBU.

DS eats the entire apple, btw, so no Tesco employees have to pick up his manky cores Grin I'm convinced he's got fruitbat genes in there somewhere...

GirlOnATrainToShite · 27/07/2017 09:10

So if you are skint it's ok to basically steal?

eubyru · 27/07/2017 09:10

Perhaps she had asked a member of staff as it was closing time was it ok to take them

PlymouthMaid1 · 27/07/2017 09:11

Seems a bit rude to scoff more the one piece and the lady with the bag is well cheeky as its for kids to have whilst shopping.

lanouvelleheloise · 27/07/2017 09:13

"So if you are skint it's ok to basically steal?"

From Tesco, yes.

WhamBarsArentAsFizzyAsTheyWere · 27/07/2017 09:14

So if you are skint it's ok to basically steal?

It's not ok, but it's understandable.

Original poster
Frazzled50yrold · 27/07/2017 09:18

Ironically our tesco has had the same problem with discarded Apple cores etc and provide the bags to reduce the problem, the lady involved was using the bag to carry her haul away. References to the breakfast buffet remind me of being in a lovely hotel with a sumptuous breakfast buffet which was being replenished so much that the staff were run of their feet. A serious gentleman in all weather gear and rucksack queried why they had no fresh fruit, Polish waitress politely said they did and pointed to the fresh fruit salad, melon etc. No, he said I want it for my rucksack as I need it for lunch,a confusing conversation ensued about what was fresh fruit, taking gentleman over to the fresh fruit salad etc😂

OP posts:
scissormister · 27/07/2017 09:25

This thread is eye opening. don't have a Tesco locally but was in Scandinavia a couple of years ago where I saw the free fruit thing for the first time. Kept at till and handed out to kids. That might be a better way of doing it, but even so I didn't see any of this entitlement / who cares, keep your nose out, there. Maybe this is just why we can't have nice things in this country.

chocatoo · 27/07/2017 09:37

I guess we'll never know her reasons for taking so much. It's annoying when that means there's less or even none left for others though. I think it's greedy, and unnecessary, to take more than on piece per child.

MeltorPeltor · 27/07/2017 09:39

2 or 3 pieces of fruit during the length of a shopping trip?

DS (age 2) would easily do that, the boy loves fruit.

toomuchtooold · 27/07/2017 09:42

My 22month old Dd eats several free oranges while we scoot around doing the shop

Sure she does. And peels them herself, naturally.

What's that about? Yeah, my kids would have happily eaten their way through several bits of fruit at that age, and they might have struggled to peel an orange but they could certainly peel satsumas and banans if you gave them a head start. In fact they could even eat cherries and plums and spit out the stones, to the great alarm of the children's centre worker who once saw them doing this. Turns out if you regularly give little kids fruit to eat, they eat it. Who knew.

Hudson10 · 27/07/2017 09:49

So if you are skint it's ok to basically steal?

Apparently so according to on here (or in RL it's actually not OK to steal regardless of whether you're skint or not.)

"So if you are skint it's ok to basically steal?"
From Tesco, yes.

I really hope that that last bit was as a Hmm to some of the posters on here and not actually serious.

Hudson10 · 27/07/2017 09:51

but even so I didn't see any of this entitlement / who cares, keep your nose out, there. Maybe this is just why we can't have nice things in this country

Agreed. I bet the grabby ones would be the first to moan too when it inevitably gets taken away as well!

gotthemoononastick · 27/07/2017 09:57

THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED!!!sticky filthy trolley handles have been such an irritant !
Adult Dgs told me it was rats urine! Sticky kids hands marginally better I suppose.

Three pieces though!!And I will not be D Fing OD...meh!

Dancingfairy · 27/07/2017 09:58

My mum told me she got told off by security for helping herself to the free fruit. I'm not sure why she thought it was free for everyone as it clearly states it's for kids. She was with mine at the time so I guess she thought you could take it if you had kids with you.

singalilsong · 27/07/2017 10:03

I won't even allow my children to take one piece because I have 5 of the little monsters and I see that as taking the piss. I wouldn't dare take two or three pieces each. Why can't children just not eat for 20 minutes??

elevenclips · 27/07/2017 10:11

I think it's a bit odd. We have it in our Tesco.

Only children are allowed to take it so an adult helping themselves to even one piece is against the rules.

In the old days it was rude to eat whilst walking along. Personally I don't give a shit about that aspect of it, however it is a choking hazard for a kid to wander around eating.

I would hope the people that take this fruit either have a hungry child with them or budget every single last penny for the shop and a free apple or banana helps them out.

There will always be pisstakers in life though. The woman sounds like one.

elevenclips · 27/07/2017 10:17

To the poster upthread who seems to think that people only follow rules because they went to a private girls' school - ShockShock - it's basic respect and decency to follow rules. It's unbelievably arrogant to ignore rules which have generally been made for the good of all

You don't like the rules in a particular place, you shouldn't go in there.

lanouvelleheloise · 27/07/2017 10:25

The entirety of capitalism is based on theft and exploitation, and it is absolutely NOT for the good of all.

CorbynsBumFlannel · 27/07/2017 11:33

Are there really people on here who wouldn't let their child have an orange because they've already had an apple and it's greedy? Jesus. I let my kids snack on unlimited fruit or chopped carrot/celery etc between meals and they are perfectly healthy weights. I doubt anyone ever got fat from overeating fruit and veg!

elevenclips · 27/07/2017 11:34

That's a very academic and general argument lanouvelleheloise.

Do you think that rules in a play area dividing up sections by age/height are put there for safety? Or that they just don't apply to people as clever as you?

Generally rules help people have an expectation of how something works. In Tesco, most people would read that the fruit was for children and not just randomly take it themselves. In the absence of the "for children" bit, many more adults would help themselves to free fruit because it was allowed.

We have rules like "pick up your dogshit or risk a fine". Again, this is meant to preserve a public area for the majority of people. To protect us from the ignorant and selfish minority who think it's ok to leave dog shit as it doesn't impact them.

I don't understand your objection to rules.

AwaywiththePixies27 · 27/07/2017 11:55

I'm not sure why she thought it was free for everyone as it clearly states it's for kids.

DancingFairy As I stated upthread when they started this they never stated it was just for kids. That's why they've introduced the just for kids bit.

so if you're skint it's basically ok to steal

Well of course not. It's called mitigating circumstances. I am skint. Have been on the bones of my arse many times. Have I been tempted? Of course. Have I? Never. I'd be the one person they'd choose to make an example of and then my children will be growing up with a mum in prison. Not worth the risk.

A cass I remember well was where a defendant had been charged with theft - they'd stolen a sandwich and a alcoholic drink from a shop. Their life had spiralled out of control when most of their family had died (I won't say how as triggering and outing) in short succession of each other and they'd been homeless for over two years. (not priority). I'm basically teatotal but even I could have seen myself reaching for the bottle had i been in the same harrowing circumstances.

lanouvelleheloise · 27/07/2017 11:56

I agree, some rules are necessary for social cohesion. However, I do not believe that just because something is a rule we should all follow it for the sake of it being a rule. Rules are there to be questioned, and I think they can be broken if breaking them is more just than it is unjust. If we imagine for a second that this woman is struggling to feed her children in the school holidays due to having insufficient income to do so, then I have no problem with her taking a huge bag of free fruit from an extremely wealthy capitalist retailer to ensure her kids aren't hungry. Particularly given that the retailer is hugely wealthy and the fruit is often second quality, I am quite comfortable with the idea that this outcome would be more just than those kids going hungry.

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