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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Stealing from self service tills

174 replies

user1498912461 · 01/12/2017 13:54

Dh has started to steal from self service tills. Mostly small items such as chocolate bars or cans but today he came home with a new wallet! He bragged about how the wallet was free. He has also on occasion come home with blind bags for ds. He'll pay for one but take 3! I basically told him he was shoplifting and we had a big argument over it. He said "everyone does it" and that I'm no better as we were under charged in a restaurant once and we didn't say anything. I told him he could easily be caught but he doesn't see the big deal in it. AIBU?

OP posts:
Feedmepringles · 01/12/2017 16:18

No I can honestly say I've never done that..but hey tell him not to worry ,I'm sure the shop puts its prices up enough to cover dickheads taking advantage,so basically we are all paying extra for yr dh to have it free..nice man you married

BrizzleDrizzle · 01/12/2017 16:19

As many others have said, he's a thief and one day will get caught. Why does it do it?

FeelingAggrieved · 01/12/2017 16:19

I hope he gets caught. Scum.

WeAllHaveWings · 01/12/2017 16:22

Is risking a criminal record and his integrity worth a bar of chocolate? Obviously not, I suspect if he does it often he is addicted to the adrenaline and thrill of potentially getting caught. He’s playing a dangerous game which could escalate to higher odds and greater risks for bigger thrills.

He’s actually quite pathetic . A very unattractive quality.

eggsandwich · 01/12/2017 16:22

He’s wrong we don’t all do it, just today I got a few bits from Tesco and was scanning them at the self service checkout, paid and as I went to put my purse in my handbag there were to bags of skittles that I’d not seen or scanned so I went and scanned them and paid at self service again.

The way I look at it, it’s theft.

Wishingandwaiting · 01/12/2017 16:27

The way I look at it, it’s theft.

I don’t think there’s much debate about whether it’s theft or not. It clearly is!

MammothMountain · 01/12/2017 16:29

I don't do it so no, not everyone does.

It is theft and how would it look to his employers if he had a criminal record for theft? Is he trusted with anything at work that would now mean he would be under scrutiny?

So not worth it.

BertieBotts · 01/12/2017 16:35

Oh god my ex used to do things like this and it absolutely mortified me and made me so anxious. He once went and replaced a carton full of value battery eggs with organic free range ones, insisting that this was a brilliant trick (because I wanted free range but he didn't want to pay for them). I pointed out that the whole fucking point of buying free range was to show that I didn't support battery farming, the eggs don't taste that different, plus it was stealing, but he didn't get it. Actually, that day he left the carton of eggs behind on the scanner - paid for them but didn't bring them home. I laughed. Karma.

glitterlips1 · 01/12/2017 16:42

It is theft and when a shop loses profit the consumers suffer with price increases!

ICanNeverThinkOfAGoodUsrname · 01/12/2017 16:43

No, not everyone does it. It's theft and he WILL get caught at some point.

amicissimma · 01/12/2017 16:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lightlite · 01/12/2017 16:45

Ive heard of quite a few people who do their best to "fiddle" these tills. I'm often shocked by people who i considered very honest and law abiding who quite openly brag about ways to get stuff for free at self service. Its like they don't think of it as stealing. Ops dh isn't the only one, that's for sure.

Reallycantbebothered · 01/12/2017 16:49

Just wait till he is caught , prosecuted, has a criminal record which then impacts on so many parts of life....hope you never want to holiday in USA cos that conviction won't allow it...does he still think he's clever ?

Childrenofthestones · 01/12/2017 16:49

It's funny how people convince themselves of anything.
Years ago my brother's in-laws both fine upstanding people retired from teaching and within a couple of years we're changing the prices on goods, taking the stickers off and putting cheaper prices on from other tins etc. in the supermarket
this was prior to barcoding coming in, but they saw no problem with this.

AFistfulOfDolores · 01/12/2017 16:50

Where is the OP? Hmm

stuckfornames · 01/12/2017 17:01

@InsomniacAnonymous

The supervisor did know after the second time I saw it. But she said to get her over if he did it again.

My DH still works at that supermarket and they didn't even bother to call the police when someone swapped the stickers on a coat, they put that it was £5. Manager looked at CCTV and even confronted her next time she came in, she denied it obviously..
Manager decided it wasn't worth doing anything about.

Bumbumtaloo · 01/12/2017 17:04

My DH’s (now ex) friend has recently been caught shoplifting at a well known department store. Apparently they had been following him for some time building up evidence. He is now banned from all of that particular chains shops - although I’m not sure how that works?. He had absolutely no shame at all.

lilybetsy · 01/12/2017 17:12

I don't do this. I could not do this. Its theft, and very shameful. I think I would lose all respect for a person that did...

sleeponeday · 01/12/2017 17:15

Everyone doesn't do this - if they did, shops would get rid of self-service tills. In fact my understanding is that studies tend to show that when averaged out, people overpay at them.

The thing about his behaviour is that it's a cost against the shop, and as such, gets passed on to other customers. It's not free; we're all funding it.

I really feel for you, because the entitled attitude of this behaviour strikes me as unlikely to manifest itself solely on this aspect of life. People who feel they can take what they want if others don't notice or stop them, and that everyone else is equally out for themselves, aren't likely to be the least selfish people around. It's fairly normal teenage behaviour. Adult? Not exactly.

mummyhaschangedhername · 01/12/2017 17:20

Sorry your going though this OP.

You obviously know he's a thief. I certainly echo what a few others have stated that it's a massive turn off, I know I couldn't be with someone like that, but I appreciate it's easier said than done.

alianangel · 01/12/2017 19:19

Everyone doesn't do this - I've suffered the embarrassment of being wrongly accused of stealing whilst using scan and shop. I hope your husband gets what is coming to him. And you, for allowing him to continue.

BrutusMcDogface · 01/12/2017 19:25

Where is the OP? hmm

My thoughts exactly...

HickDead · 01/12/2017 19:32

No everyone doesn't do it, I'm scrupulously honest and so is most of my family, it would occur to most people I know to do this. He will get caught, they most certainly will press charges and depending on his job, that may even be in jeopardy too.

Would a few "freebies" be worth it then?

HickDead · 01/12/2017 19:33

wouldn't occur

DianefromDorset · 01/12/2017 19:36

If he's caught it will be so embarrassing for you and your children. Does he not think of that ?