WRONGLY accused of stealing

[KnittingAddiction]

I have name changed for this, as I don't want my other threads linked. I am into knitting, so last week I attended The Stitch Festival in London. It was 3 of us, all about 50 years old, all into sewing and knitting, as you can imagine. We look as normal and as boring as it gets. :-)

At one point, Friend 1 was paying for some stuff, I was standing next to her, and Friend 2 was looking at a stand. Suddenly, security came down on us saying Friend 2 had been seen stealing something. We were taken away, the police was called and in the end, it was obvious that this was just a lie. NONE of us has ever stolen anything in our lives, and certainly not at that show. It was a horrible experience and it really spoiled the day for us.

The security guy said that I should ask for my money back from the organisers, as even though I was allowed back into the show, I was in such a state of anxiety that I actually couldn't stay. I was scared of approaching any stand, just in case people were looking at me. It might sound ridiculous now, but I was in a terrible state.

So, on Monday, I wrote to the organisers to say ask if I could have my money back for the entrance (£15) and they said no, because I was allowed back in the venue. Well, yes, I was, but thanks to their wrong accusation, I was unable to enjoy it anymore and had to leave.

What do you think? Was I unreasonable to ask? What else can I do?

I wouldn't let it go - the principal of the thing !

Security firms are not allowed to just accuse you f things without proof!

and id think you should definitely be getting your money back too!

I took things further after I was accused of stealing a mobile phone at a club night - my phone had died and when I was leaving security said I must unlock the phone to prove it was mine..I couldnt as it was dead

The security woman said I couldn't leave the venue and must go with her to an office - I refused to go and she tried to pull me in there - I said to my husband to call the police immediately and tell them i was being held by security staff

They immediately back tracked and said i could go

it was horrible

I complained to the venue and they ended up giving us VIP backstage tickets for another event to make up for how we were treated!

It is not ok to be treated like that!

Mistakes happen. If your friend then got agitated etc, then that can actually look guilty.

For what it’s worth, we play a game every time we head towards the doors leaving ASDA ‘place your bets alarms or not?!’ As 1:4 times they normally go off. It’s always things like ‘John Frieda Frizzease’ that set it off. I open my bag hand over the receipt and either they let me through, or I have to go back and have it all rescanned. 🤷🏻‍♀️It’s their job, I’m not hiding anything, so have nothing to be worried about.

Don’t take it personally!

If you're not happy with their response, request the details of a senior contact. If they ignore / decline, write to the head of the event organisers and on Twitter.

An awful lot of effort for £15, but if you felt like it was traumatic then it's more the principle than the money.

It sounds like it really affected you.

But if someone, whoever they were had told security they had witnessed your friend stealing, that had to be investigated, that is their job.
They can't simply say "oh, that lady might get upset, let's leave it".
What about more serious situations, they thought they witnessed someone with a weapon?
There is also no reason for you to know the person who has reported the theft, people should be able to come forward without fear of retaliation.
I have had alarms go off when I've left stores, and in a job I had the security had to search a few employees an hour as part of protocol, and as I finished my shift at a weird time, it was usually me. You just co operate.
There wouldn't have been a scene if you'd cooperated.
Everyone is saying there wasn't any evidence, but someone had come forward and said they had witnessed it, that is evidence to the security staff.
And I would call the police too if while trying to do my job someone started swearing at me and using threatening language.

I know of someone who was wrongly accused of shoplifting, they sued and received a couple of grand in compensation.

”It sounds like it really affected you.”

It doesn’t sound like that to me. It sounds like the security person was mistaken and instead of politely showing her bag to correct the mistake, the OP’s friend became aggressive.

It’s never a good idea to become aggressive when questioned by security. In a large London venue it’s very risky.

The OP can certainly write a letter of complaint, and the venue will presumably respond. End of story. The friend’s state of mind seems the more concerning issue. Next time, the outcome could be serious, for her and for others.

Put it on Twitter.
Then they'll have to take notice.

Good grief, there’s some entitled people on here! If a security person asks you to turn on your phone to prove it’s yours, then why wouldn’t you? If it was dead, then just ask if they have a charger in the office, don’t refuse! I’ve had my phone stolen in a club, they stopped everyone who was leaving to show them their phones. Surprise surprise, a very ‘naive’ woman had got if. She also made a fuss.

Good grief, there’s some entitled people on here! If a security person asks you to turn on your phone to prove it’s yours, then why wouldn’t you?

What is entitled about not giving your private property to someone with no authority to take it? What's entitled about not wanting someone who's allegiance is to a commercial organization that has no allegiance to you to be the arbiter of whose property something is?

The entitled person in that situation is the security guard who is acting outside their lawful authority (or those trying to use the security person to further their own agenda).

”The entitled person in that situation is the security guard who is acting outside their lawful authority”

The owners of the premises are entitled to make entrance conditional on compliance with the security provisions. Don’t go to the club if you aren’t willing to comply.

The club encounter described upthread might well have been dodgy - they should have had a charger ready for dead phones, and if it was fully legit and they really did suspect the phone had been stolen, they should have called the police themselves instead of backing down when the customer threatened to call the police.

And yet the customer was quite happy to get a discount ticket as compensation, so evidently was not put off from wanting to enter the premises another time.

Oh I get you. You/ your friend is black/ Middle Eastern, mentally ill and agitated. One might suspect racism.

The club encounter described upthread might well have been dodgy

The club encounter was dodgy. You can't hold onto people and try and stop them leaving (let alone drag them somewhere) unless you have grounds for a citizen's arrest. That's assault. Asking for compensation isn't unreasonable. Whether you are unhappy enough to never enter the premises again or whether you assume that the place will take steps to retrain its staff, or think it shouldn't have happened but I managed and I'll manage again, is really on the individual.

”The club encounter was dodgy”

That depends if they were trying to intimidate the customer into leaving the phone, or were just incompetent/poorly trained.

”Asking for compensation isn't unreasonable. Whether you are unhappy enough to never enter the premises again or whether you assume that the place will take steps to retrain its staff, or think it shouldn't have happened but I managed and I’ll manage again.”

Obviously. The customer indicated (upthread) that they were happy to get a free ticket as compensation, so evidently they’re not too bothered.

That depends if they were trying to intimidate the customer into leaving the phone, or were just incompetent/poorly trained.

I didn’t mean “dodgy” in the sense she may have had some other agenda that wasn’t clear on the surface. I meant dodgy in the sense that what the security staff did was criminal and she shouldn’t have done it.. Trying to pull KaptenKrusty into the office was assault. Her being poorly trained trained doesn’t change that.

Agreed. The security person was certainly out of order.

I shouldn't laugh but your username is funny in the context, OP. As if you're a knitting addict, out stealing some needles, to feed your addiction.