Help tkmaxx cctv!

[Sunshinerainbowslollipops]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can Help! I believe my phone was pick pocketed as I shopped at Tkmaxx as I had it in my pocket on entering the shop and it's disappeared. It was busy and crammed in there and no chance it fell out. Do you know if I can request cctv or do I have to go via police? Or do they have someone watching the cctv constantly so I could ask if they've seen anything? I don't know if I can go to the police because I didn't see anyone take it but know it must have been taken. I'm so peed off and upset. Any experts on cctv in tkmaxx?! Thanks in advance!

Go to the police. The store doesn't have to divulge their cctv to the public but it can be requested by police.

Ok Thanks! I'm unsure if I can go to the police because what if they say I've just lost it or something? I have zero evidence. I wondered if I could just ask in store if they watch the cctv and at least I could say to police they've caught it on camera. I know it was taken in there, so it MUST be on cctv somewhere. But I suppose they don't have someone watching it and it would take ages to go through it. Can I just call 101 or is that not for this kind of thing? I don't want to waste their time but I'm so upset about my phone. I don't even know if I can claim on the insurance to get a replacement. So angry someone would do this!!

The normal staff won’t have access to the CCTV, only general and area manager would.
Best bet is to email or call thier head office and take it from there.

There are strict legalities for viewing CCTV. It's covered, you can request it :

www.gov.uk/request-cctv-footage-of-yourself

You have the right to request closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of yourself.

The CCTV owner must provide this within 40 days, and can charge up to £10.

You need to make a request in writing to the owner of the CCTV system. The owner’s details are usually written on a sign attached to the camera, unless the owner is obvious (like a shop).

You should tell them you’re requesting information held about you under the Data Protection Act, and provide information to help them identify you, like:

a specific date and time
proof of your identity
a description of yourself

The CCTV owner must provide you with a copy of the footage that you can be seen in. They can edit the footage to protect the identities of other people.

The CCTV owner can invite you to a viewing of the footage if:

they’re unable to provide you with the footage itself
you agree with that arrangement

They can refuse your request if sharing the footage will put a criminal investigation at risk.

Thank you so much. I've clearly watched too many films and imagined a team sat round watching constantly looking for shoplifters!! I kind of now think what's the point as when they find the person doing it on cctv they will have no idea who it is and no way of tracing them. My only hope is it is someone the police will recognise ie someone who's done it before and targets shoppers. But I guess the chance of that is slim. I know I need to do it out of principle but it's not going to get my phone back or catch the person. I've got photos on there I hadn't backed up. I'm not usually emotional but taking a minute to sit and cry at the unfairness.

It’s horrible and annoying but I cannot see the point in seeing who stole it. That won’t help you get it back.

You could email the manager and ask them to have a look and check if they can see anything. If they can find you and evidence of pick pocketing you would have to get the police involved anyway, but it’s worth letting them know now that you think they might have evidence so they can save the particular footage for the investigation. CCTV footage often gets automatically deleted after 30 days so it’s worth saving it somewhere should the police want to look at it later on.

A PP is right about requesting footage of yourself but it is a massive job to edit everyone’s faces (or anything that might reveal identity) so would take ages and a lot of resources, and I think they would have to blur the potential pick pocketer’s face too.

So yes, a heads up to the manger and a call to 101 is what I would do. Good luck!

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the advice.

It is a slim chance but possible as this worked for us. My daughter left her soft toy (which had been with her since birth) in Asda. When we realised we went back to the store and spoke to the security guard to see if it had been handed in. It hadn't. We told them the approx time it had been left and where and as it was near the tills, there was CCTV in that area. They reviewed the CCTV and actually saw who picked up the soft toy and instead of handing it in, left with it. The person who took it was known to the security guard who spoke to them and the soft toy was ultimately returned to us. I know we were very lucky.

As a warning on quite a few mobile phone insurance policies you need to have reported to the police within 24 hours of the theft to be able to claim, you may be able to log it online with them.

Not to victim blame (and I hope the thieving fucker gets their just desserts), but keeping a phone in an outside pocket is a bad idea for this reason.

TKMaxx used to only employ security a few days a week (obviously depending on if the store is in London or another very busy city)
So the security will only be watching the cameras on those set days. If it happens to be a day they’re not working then the cameras will just continue to record (or maybe not record at all) which would make it a nightmare to find the footage you need.

They won’t allow the general public to view the film but would show it to the Police so definitely worth a call to the Police to explain the whole thing and to ask them to view the footage with or without you.

You will need the rough time to make it as easy as possible though.

Do you have a phone that you get a preview of the text message on the home screen when they come in? So you can read the first few lines of the message without unlocking it, IFYSWIM?

You could try sending a text that says: REWARD Call (friend's number) to return this phone. It's probably the best chance of getting your phone back. If it has been stolen, they will probably turn it off ASAP (so you can't use "Find my phone" apps) so do it straightaway.

If the person who stole it happens to get picked up for other thefts,you might be lucky and get it back
Its possible the thief has been stealing from the store too