Sainsburys think I’m a thief - AIBU?

[OreganoOregano146]

Something really odd happened to me the other day and I want to see what others think of it. I’ve been shopping at sainsburys for over 3 years now using scan & go (extremely convenient!) Been selected for a random check maybe 3 or 4 times in all this time, all clear, no issues at all.
Recently I’ve noticed that every time I’m shopping the security guard seems to be following me. For instance last week I was looking for my DD’s formula on the shelf and when I turned around I noticed he walked right past me. I was the only person in that isle. Yesterday I was looking in the meat section and surprise surprise, he was there again. Now, having finished my shopping I went over to the self checkout till to pay and I suddenly get a message on my device saying “hold on, we just need to do a trolley check” - I thought okay, never mind, it happens. I suddenly notice the security guard talking to the guy who’s about to scan my shopping, they were having a random chat about something laughing. The guy comes over and says “oh today we need to scan 40 items” .. I thought whaaat? They usually scan 10max, where did 40 come from? (Unless I heard 40 but in reality he said 14, not sure now). Anyway, he starts scanning my shopping and then goes “oh shit sorry I think I’ve scanned the Maltesers twice, you’re gonna have to do a full trolley re scan now”. So I proceeded to a separate till where they scanned all my shopping again, the woman didn’t say anything at all, just apologised, I paid and that was it. When I got home I realised that my shopping ended up being £18 more expensive than what it said on the hand-held device, making me look like a thief? I did buy a lot of the same items twice so perhaps it didn’t register properly.
AIBU to think this whole experience was a bit strange?

If I understand correctly, by putting it through the till they got to charge you an extra £18 because the scan offers don’t apply? If so I’d be going back to complain.

People hiding things in prams is one of the most well-known ways of shoplifting. Don't put things in the pram. You made yourself look like a shoplifter.

£18 is a huge discrepancy between Scan&Go/SmartShop discounts and normal prices though. I only get 5 offers at a time and this week the discount adds up to a grand total of £2.80. Unless by 'a few' you mean you got 6 shampoo bottles?

Anyway contact customer service, Sainsbury's not Nectar, they need to know how ill-thought out this scan/app only discount is.

Meat and baby formula are some of the most-nicked items so they always keep a close eye OP. Don’t take it personally!

Annoying that you missed out on Nectar savings though.

The best thing to do would be to stop stealing food from Sainsbury's.

I never use them but I do know quite a few people who work at supermarkets and they all say they get their scanned items checked every now and then just like everyone else.
I've stopped going in one shop in town where the owner started appearing in every aisle I was in or immediately looking up like a meercat when I walk in.
I think sometimes we start to give off vibes, your saying
"Fuck off I'm not a thief" and they see "I'm a thief"

I shop at Tesco and use self scan everytime
Often don't get checked but sometimes do and they often have to scan several items
One employee did tell me a check is more likely if you remove items from your scanner

@OreganoOregano146 It's a known issue with Nectar if you have to go through the rescan and if you go to Customer Services with your receipt, they'll refund you the difference.

But you had to rescan because something the person scanned you hadn't scanned, not because they scanned it twice. They could scan it eight times and it wouldn't make a difference - they can't scan multiples. If they scan something you haven't scanned, the whole shop needs a manual check.

So I wouldn't expect a whole £18 back, but probably £18 - Maltesers; perhaps.

You are absolutely right - I will go to sainsbury’s today and show them the current offers that I have on my app against the receipt. I just checked again and none of them were applied. It was a few bottles of shampoo and conditioner which came to £12 and the rest were a bulk of kitchen towels, asparagus, and a few bottles of tomato passata.
I just feel really embarrassed about the whole thing, even if I did nothing wrong. The security guy seems to hate my guts for some reason, maybe it’s my DD who’s always shouting and screaming when we’re in there.

That is what happened to me the other day in Asda, 2 items were over £5. Didn't want them in the end, so took them off. Got to self scan and had a check done on some of my shopping.

This.

If you can work out the £18 difference is due to the smartshop nectar discount you should have had, but didn't apply when you went through a normal till then I would go back and complain. Especially if you have bought multiples of a particular item due to the discount.

Indeed!

And how do you accidentally not scan £18 worth? That's more than just the odd thing. I bet it was reasonable percentage of the total price.

Could it be Nectar card offers that explain the £18 difference? The Sainsbury’s scan app automatically captures your nectar card details but you have to manually show it when shopping in store and perhaps it slipped OP’s mind? Nectar gave me an £18 off reward recently, albeit off an online shop.

Did you definitely put your clubland card on? I had an issue a couple of weeks ago when the checkout tried to charge me about £20 more than the total that the handset displayed, the worker told me it’s an issue with the new system that the Clubcard doesn’t always register at the time of payment. Did you defo give your Clubcard to the cashier when they rescanned all of your shopping?

Strangely, and maybe unrelated, but since having DD I always have to do full re-scans whenever I use the scan and shop. If I ever buy baby things, they have to check the whole lot. I now don't bother if I have to pick up baby bits, I just go to a proper till check out person. I think maybe they have a problem with people stealing baby items, which is kind of sad, really.

How does your comment make sense?

The discounts were legal so why was it a good job they checked when OP hadn't done anything wrong?

Them messing up the shopping check meant OP missed put on discounts, great for the store I guess but not because OP was stealing.

I find that's what happens if you try and use your clubcard in Sainsburys, who knew 😂

definitely go back complain and get your £18 on the nectar deals

I’ve had this issue. Had to have a full rescan because I’d missed something (fair enough, but the only reason I’d messed up was that the app is shit). Going through the till gave a total about £15 higher (I’d got good vouchers on cat food and nappies so I was stocking up on both!), so I complained and the woman on the till had to manually change the price of every item I had a voucher for, taking me back to a total within 75p of the self scan total. It’s not as simple as scanning a nectar card like in Tesco.

OP be aware that you’ll have to have a check next time you use the scan app (at least I assumed I would and I did), but after that it should hopefully reset you to non-suspicious customer!

I've given up on that Scan and Go app because of being flagged constantly. I've never missed an item, but usually when I try to scan items that have a special Scan and Go price, I get flagged for "double checking". Being hauled over to a check-out lane is embarrassing. It's not worth the hassle and the embarrassment anymore. It doesn't save me any time.

I was at the customer service desk at Waitrose in a very "naice" Cotswold town and and a very posh women was was getting very shirty moaning quite loudly because she couldn't get the scanner released and was being advised to go to customer services. The guy behind the desk looked it up and said politely last time you were caught not scanning £400 worth of alcohol. The women didn't look embarrassed she just said it was an "understandable mistake" that anyone could have made. The guy again politely asked to explain how she'd made this "understandable mistake" I was dying to hear how she was going to justify it but unfortunately my click and collect had turned up and I couldn't think of a reason to carry on hanging around. Later I saw her doing her shopping minus self scanner and looking very disgruntled.

I would be offended by anyone thinking I was liberating the smoked salmon out of unleafy Sainsbo's.

Waitrose or die.

naemates "I also tried to return a cushion cover that I hadn't paid for once."

Please explain. I'm puzzling over that.

Is it always the same security guard? If you think he’s not being professional (targeting, harassing, etc) contact Sainsbury’s costumer service. Just because someone wears a uniform doesn’t mean they are right.