Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Made to pay for a bag in the supermarket

698 replies

christmasfoodshop · 07/12/2023 12:43

Just picked up a few bits for Xmas food shop.

Had baby with me and she was tired so getting a bit irritable.

Scanned all my shopping at self checkout, ended up with a quite a lot more than I needed (as you do).

Baby crying. Paid for my shopping.

Realised I needed a bag at this point so got one and put all my stuff in there.

Go to walk out.

The shop assistant said I needed to pay for a bag. Fair enough.

She said I had to rescan it.

Baby now screaming and wriggling out my arms. Heavy bag of shopping in the other hand.

She made me wait there until she'd scanned a bag, pressed 'check-out' , selected 'pay by card' and then I had to scan. All for bloody 30p.

In hindsight, I do understand I had to pay for the bag but I was so bloody frustrated and just wanted to get out of there that I paid 30p for the bag and stormed off. Left my giant trolley in the middle of self checkout. I was at my wits end. I felt like I was at school being held back by the teacher.

It's 30 bloody pence. Let me go!!

She acted like she was earning money out of making people pay for bags.

YABU - everyone ALWAYS must pay for bags no matter what

YANBU - in the circumstance, she should have just let me go all for the sake of 30p plastic bag.

OP posts:
Tibbb · 07/12/2023 17:35

I never pay for a single 30p bag at self service, usually it's quite easy simply to not scan one.

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 07/12/2023 17:36

Tibbb · 07/12/2023 17:35

I never pay for a single 30p bag at self service, usually it's quite easy simply to not scan one.

So you steal them?

Sebsaloysius · 07/12/2023 17:36

Heronwatcher · 07/12/2023 15:47

Good lord. Yes because I had a screaming toddler I decided to try to walk out with some cheese, a hoover, 6 scented candles and 3 bottles of vodka the other day and a staff member had the audacity to stop me…

It’s not supermarket sweep you know!

Oh and prams/ pushchairs are very useful especially if you’re inclined to shoplifting.

Oh my....I LOVE this 😂

jannier · 07/12/2023 17:38

You pack as you scan the shop when the bag is full you get another and scan before you pack it isn't rocket science .....people go to amazing lengths to steal a bag.

CellophaneFlower · 07/12/2023 17:39

Mikimoto · 07/12/2023 16:26

So if your kids start whining, you can slip
a bottle of Baileys under your frock?

No. But it's perfectly acceptable to open it and have a few swigs prior to paying.

jannier · 07/12/2023 17:41

Unbego · 07/12/2023 13:05

Yanbu. I always take them if I need them and I never pay.

Take a couple extra next time to make up for it. 30p a bag is a pisstake and she didn't need to do that.

Do you steal other things too or just loads of bags?

jannier · 07/12/2023 17:46

Peacheroo · 07/12/2023 13:20

These bags are a con anyway. Remember when they used to be free? Then the government wanted to stop single use and all the supermarkets upped their bag for life to 20 then 30p. Single use plastic has gone down 98% but now we use something that uses 40% more energy to produce and 4x more plastic. And their profits soar. They're far worse for the environment.

And all because I have the attention span of a gnat so forget to take a bag and have a cupboard worth £10 mil.

They used to charge 5p a bag in the 80s then made them free. Most people used shopping bags and only got a bag if they brought too much.

abominablesnowman · 07/12/2023 18:09

It is a legal requirement for shops to charge for bags. They can get in trouble if found to be giving them out free. The idea is to prevent people using bags as much as possible. I know it was a stressful situation but ultimately they were doing what they had to do

WestwardHo1 · 07/12/2023 18:10

Tibbb · 07/12/2023 17:35

I never pay for a single 30p bag at self service, usually it's quite easy simply to not scan one.

Or you could remember to bring one instead of stealing them?

WestwardHo1 · 07/12/2023 18:13

Have never been able to work out why bringing their own bags is apparently too hard for some people.

Or is it another case of "I HAVE A CHILD!"? (in which case I'd have thought they'd be more invested in helping create less of a plastic and litter strewn environment, but somehow it doesn't seem to compute for them).

Peablockfeathers · 07/12/2023 18:15

WestwardHo1 · 07/12/2023 18:13

Have never been able to work out why bringing their own bags is apparently too hard for some people.

Or is it another case of "I HAVE A CHILD!"? (in which case I'd have thought they'd be more invested in helping create less of a plastic and litter strewn environment, but somehow it doesn't seem to compute for them).

Well as OP has even said sometimes you buy more than you plan to and so don't have enough bags, you have to originally get the bags from somewhere to be able to reuse them, and sometimes you just forget- not limited to women with children funnily enough.

Tibbb · 07/12/2023 18:24

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 07/12/2023 17:36

So you steal them?

Show quote history

I'm sure not paying 30p once or twice a month is of no consequence to Tesco.

Pumpkinpie1 · 07/12/2023 18:27

You tried to steal OP having a baby doesn’t give you that right

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 07/12/2023 18:28

Tibbb · 07/12/2023 18:24

I'm sure not paying 30p once or twice a month is of no consequence to Tesco.

Show quote history

That's not the point, though, is it?

Or are you saying that you think it's OK to steal in small amounts from big businesses? How much theft is OK, do you think, and at what point does the stealing become unacceptable?

Ykn · 07/12/2023 18:28

Not paying for a 30p bag at self scan is not as bad as those who happily take from the shelf and then munch on things in the shop and then fail to scan the packaging or go to a till to pay.

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 07/12/2023 18:30

Ykn · 07/12/2023 18:28

Not paying for a 30p bag at self scan is not as bad as those who happily take from the shelf and then munch on things in the shop and then fail to scan the packaging or go to a till to pay.

It's all the same as far as I'm concerned. Petty theft is petty theft.

SFG112112 · 07/12/2023 18:32

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 07/12/2023 18:28

That's not the point, though, is it?

Or are you saying that you think it's OK to steal in small amounts from big businesses? How much theft is OK, do you think, and at what point does the stealing become unacceptable?

Show quote history

Have you never driven at 31 mph in a 30?

Ykn · 07/12/2023 18:36

I think all the holier than thou pearl clutchers on here need to calm the fuck down over a 30p bag and have a bit more empathy for @christmasfoodshop. The assistant sounds like a snooty power tripping, deliberately unhelpful member of staff which are all too common in many supermarkets.

unsync · 07/12/2023 18:39

FFS what is it with people who think they can do whatever they want just because they have a baby / small child and so the rules don't apply to them. Self absorbed, entitled tossers everywhere.

Peacheroo · 07/12/2023 18:53

WestwardHo1 · 07/12/2023 18:13

Have never been able to work out why bringing their own bags is apparently too hard for some people.

Or is it another case of "I HAVE A CHILD!"? (in which case I'd have thought they'd be more invested in helping create less of a plastic and litter strewn environment, but somehow it doesn't seem to compute for them).

You don't know you're going to the shop
You buy more than you plan to
You walk into the shop and remember your bags are in the car so think fuck it
You don't carry a handbag to put them in
You have more important things on your mind than fucking bags

Elfandwellbeing · 07/12/2023 18:56

Boo hoo ! Pay or bring your own

PinkyFlamingo · 07/12/2023 18:59

She was simply doing her job. So what if it's only 30p...it's the law. You sound like one of those entitled people that think it doesnt apply to you because you "have a screaming baby". 🙄

Blondeshavemorefun · 07/12/2023 19:00

Yes you had to pay for it 30p or £30k if you didn't it would be theft

Asiama · 07/12/2023 19:01

Totally totally unreasonable. Would you have expected her to let you go out without paying for any other item costing 30p?

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 07/12/2023 19:02

SFG112112 · 07/12/2023 18:32

Have you never driven at 31 mph in a 30?

Show quote history

Not really sure what that has to do with people stealing things from shops?

I presume you're trying to make the point that most people have probably broken the speed limit at times, either deliberately or inadvertently, and therefore we're all law breakers and shouldn't judge other forms of law breaking?

How far do you want to take that analogy, I wonder? If I have inadvertently driven at 31 in a 30 speed limit, does that mean that I can't condemn petty theft? Does it also take away my right to condemn someone who burgles a house or robs someone in the street? Am I allowed to think that rape or murder are wrong? Where exactly are you going to draw the line?

Swipe left for the next trending thread