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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To call this an assault?

374 replies

trustyrustie · 27/06/2023 21:21

I was shopping in one of those supermarkets, that isn’t actually a supermarket but sells all the stuff that you know that you don’t know you need until you walk in today. When I finished, I approached the till area. There were a few tills with one woman on one till. the other tills were empty. I joined the queue for the till and there were three or four people ahead of me.

I had a trolley with two items in it, and I was holding the trolley with both hands. At some point the cashier left her position at the till to walk towards the customer services desk and look at two ladies working there. I didn’t realise she had done this until she yelled over aggressively to them “I’m sending some customers down to you because I’ve got plenty of them here” or words to that effect.

Without me expecting it she then aggressively physically pushed my trolley while I still had hold of it with both hands so that it spun 45° to the right in the direction of the customer services desk. My arms were pulled and my body was spun around as it went. She then turned around and went back to her till.

I think this was an assault.

I was shocked and upset… A few people that I know agree with me, and a few don’t

AIBU?

OP posts:
ABugWife · 27/06/2023 22:11

45 degrees is barely a nudge! 90 degrees isn't much more than a nudge, neither is anything remotely like a spin!

lljkk · 27/06/2023 22:12

Not assault, but you might have a case for harm caused by reckless action.

Spirallingdownwards · 27/06/2023 22:12

Augend23 · 27/06/2023 21:49

So,.some serious (I am not a lawyer (IANAL)) googling later:

Common assault is defined as a person experiencing or apprehending (believing they will imminently experience) unlawful violence against them. (Ref 1)

It requires an act (rather than just a failure to act) which is met here. (1 again)

Unlawful in this case means without a defence i.e. chastising a child (!), consent, or self defense. (1 again)

Note (and this is where things might get sticky) that case law says "Most of the physical contacts of ordinary life are not actionable because they are impliedly consented to by all who move in society and so expose themselves to the risk of bodily contact: Collins v Wilcock [1984] 1 WLR 1172." however one could probably argue this doesn't apply. (Still 1)

Violence appears to cover the most minimal definition of battery (i.e. no one has to be injured), and doesn't have to be direct - the application of unlawful force. (Ref 2) So I think it would fit this.

So overall it probably does fit the definition of common assault based on my IANAL googling.

Ref 1 - https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/offences-against-person-incorporating-charging-standard

Ref 2 - https://e-lawresources.co.uk/Battery.php

No it doesn't

dontdillydallytoolong · 27/06/2023 22:13

❄️

NeverThatSerious · 27/06/2023 22:13

She was out of order and you should complain but for goodness sake, rein in the hyperbole. You’re being so ridiculously over dramatic in your wording that it’s hard to take you seriously at all.

brunettemic · 27/06/2023 22:13

I’m happy to start a go fund me page for the medical bills after this horrifying ordeal if anyone wants to donate? Physical and emotional scarring is likely to be deep.

InTheGardenShed · 27/06/2023 22:13

trustyrustie · 27/06/2023 22:00

@ProfessorXtra because I also span with it as I was gripping it at the time, like I said in my post

Why on earth were you 'gripping' the handle like that if you were stood stationary in a queue??!

Are you always so fragile?

InTheGardenShed · 27/06/2023 22:14

trustyrustie · 27/06/2023 22:03

@andasthedaysgoby what I did afterwards is it really relevant as to whether it was an assault or not, that’s all I’m asking

Yes and a majority have said no

TheCheeseTray · 27/06/2023 22:15

I would have said to her - what the heck are you doing? Or similar and demanded to know why she felt entitled to move my trolley with such aggression that I was physically spun around and potentially could have hurt me

Heldri · 27/06/2023 22:15

It's a really rude and inappropriate thing to do to a customer and I can see why you would be upset by it. She clearly took her work frustration out on you.

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 27/06/2023 22:16

Spirallingdownwards · 27/06/2023 22:12

No it doesn't

Show quote history

Well, I was convinced. Could we have a point-by-point rebuttal?

InTheGardenShed · 27/06/2023 22:16

I've got Kylie stuck in my head now....'I'm spinning around...' 🎶

NamechangerGamechangerrr · 27/06/2023 22:16

trustyrustie · 27/06/2023 21:28

I am interested to know why you think it wasn’t an assault?

She did not touch you or aim at you in any way. It was the trolley she touched. You've got to see that's very different than hitting someone with a stick. Why do you care about the semantics so much? What are you looking to get out of this?

Butchyrestingface · 27/06/2023 22:16

I am interested to know why you think it wasn’t an assault?

Because the trolley is an inanimate object and can't feel pain.

Spirallingdownwards · 27/06/2023 22:17

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 27/06/2023 22:16

Well, I was convinced. Could we have a point-by-point rebuttal?

Show quote history

Yes if you want to pay my hourly rate.

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 27/06/2023 22:19

Spirallingdownwards · 27/06/2023 22:17

Yes if you want to pay my hourly rate.

Show quote history

chicken!

Strulch73 · 27/06/2023 22:19

If she pushed the trolley hard so your body was jarred by it then yes I would say this is an assault. If you had been elderly or had a balance problem and were relying on the trolley for stability you could have fallen and fractured a hip. I would be expecting her to be dismissed for such behaviour and I would take my business elsewhere. Rudeness and aggression is not acceptable and people thinking this is ok have a no values.

TalkingSchist · 27/06/2023 22:20

trustyrustie · 27/06/2023 21:42

@BakedTattie no, I didn’t say anything to her because I was no longer facing in her direction, and when I turned around, she was well on her way back to her till. I also wouldn’t engage in an argument with somebody in that situation just because their behaviour was poor.

You were turned round 45 degrees. How long does it take to turn back round? Are you actually an articulated lorry?

PrimalOwl10 · 27/06/2023 22:20
trolley GIF by David Firth

I'm speechless.

WonderfulUsername · 27/06/2023 22:21

trustyrustie · 27/06/2023 21:32

Yes, somebody else said to me, it can’t be assault because she didn’t physically put her hands on you which made me think if she’d hit me with a stick would that be any different? Because she hadn’t actually put her hands on me. I was holding a trolley which she spun extremely quickly, and I had no time to react or loosen my grip

I was holding a trolley which she spun extremely quickly, and I had no time to react or loosen my grip

Not sure about the trolley, but you've definitely lost your grip on reality.

TheDinosaurDuchess · 27/06/2023 22:22

I need some points of clarification before making a legal judgment.

OP did she spin you right round? Like a record baby, right round, right round?

allmyliesaretrue · 27/06/2023 22:23

If this is the worst thing that ever happens to you, you will live long and die happy.

ILikeCatsandDogs · 27/06/2023 22:23

From what people have written as the definition of assault it seems like it is. In instances like this I just think what I would feel if it happened to my mother in front of me and no this person would not have got a pass from me if it was my mother I would have been livid and had to say something. I hate in general anyone that pushes their bad day onto everyone else.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 27/06/2023 22:24

MumYourBabyGrewUpToBeACowboy · 27/06/2023 22:07

I have MS and hypermobility that’s caused me to need joint surgeries. This kind of forceful surprise physical contact could really hurt me. If you’re hurt, OP, I’d take it up with the shop and depending on how badly you were hurt get your gp to document the injury.

Likewise if she’d done this to one of my DDs she could have done them real harm.

I’d absolutely be complaining to the store management. That’s an appalling thing to do to someone and could do a real injury.

heartsinvisiblefury · 27/06/2023 22:24

I'm still not over the OTT description of where you were rather than just naming the place 😀