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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:
Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 08:48

She was a jobsworth. Why the heck was she so bothered. No way would I have harassed a stressed out mum like that for a lousy 30p, and for a bag that actually advertises their store.

YANBU.

NoDought · 09/12/2023 09:00

Oh come on, it doesn’t sound like an active robbery that was going to put her at risk. However reminding someone to pay for something they have obviously taken is not unreasonable. The shop assistant being villainised is unreasonable just because OP was stressed.

BadLad · 09/12/2023 09:07

rowanoak · 09/12/2023 03:10

I think it’s crazy that Brits accept paying for BAGS at a grocery store. I wish more people would advocate for consumer rights rather than judging others.

According to wikipedia, 99 countries have some sort of plastic bag charge. So it’s hardly unusual or unique to Britain.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_bag_ban

Plastic bag ban - Wikipedia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_bag_ban

Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 09:08

I think the assistant could easily have turned a blind eye. All this "she was just doing her job" No that's a store detectives job, Her job in the main isn't looking for shop lifters. As if she'd have got in trouble for something that she could so easily not have noticed.

I'm more outraged that we now have to pay for these damn bags, under the guise of saving the planet, which it doesn't.

Peacheroo · 09/12/2023 09:14

How is this thread still going? Absolutely ridiculous. It's 30p! There are threads going on saying it's ok to keep double deliveries etc but OP is the devil for a 30p overpriced carrier bag.

Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 09:16

retinolalcohol · 07/12/2023 13:35

Paying for bags is a legal requirement, so she could have potentially faced a disciplinary if she'd decided to let you off.

I used to work in a supermarket as a student, and it was things like this (people being rude and aggressive toward me for doing my job) that would really ruin my day and, tbh, make me feel a bit sad.

I understand your frustration with the baby but being a mother doesn't give you any entitlement to behave like this. What you're essentially saying is - she should've disregarded the rules, and potentially gotten in trouble, so your baby didn't have to cry for a couple of minutes. Very unreasonable

She wouldn't have got in any trouble because she could easily have "not noticed". She was a jobsworth and the big company she works for will show zilch appreciation for her huge loyalty to them.

CellophaneFlower · 09/12/2023 09:26

It isn't the fact that it's just 30p though. It's the fact she thought she should be let off as she has a baby. The baby isn't the reason she didn't pay for the bag in the first place. She bought extra shopping and then begrudged paying for a bag she hadn't thought she'd need. The baby wasn't causing her that much stress that she forgot to scan any of her shopping - just the bag 🙄

Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 09:28

The irony of people on here outraged over someone attempting to "steal" a 30p bag whilst the big supermarkets blatantly overcharge us every day with their obscene price hikes.

FrogsWormsandCaterpillars · 09/12/2023 09:34

You still have to scan a bag and put it through the till to goodwill it!

Justfinking · 09/12/2023 09:35

Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 09:28

The irony of people on here outraged over someone attempting to "steal" a 30p bag whilst the big supermarkets blatantly overcharge us every day with their obscene price hikes.

It's not about the bag, it's OPs entitled attitude

CellophaneFlower · 09/12/2023 09:36

Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 09:28

The irony of people on here outraged over someone attempting to "steal" a 30p bag whilst the big supermarkets blatantly overcharge us every day with their obscene price hikes.

You don't think theft accounts for a portion of price hikes?

Unbego · 09/12/2023 09:38

No. I think they're fitting it on with their pricing and have been for some time.

Tessabelle74 · 09/12/2023 09:40

Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 09:28

The irony of people on here outraged over someone attempting to "steal" a 30p bag whilst the big supermarkets blatantly overcharge us every day with their obscene price hikes.

So where do we draw the line as to what is acceptable theft and what isn't? Is a bottle of milk ok, but a bottle of gin off limits? Is a packet of biscuits ok but a packet of dates isn't? You see the ridiculousnes of your argument surely? Theft is theft and those billions of pounds of thefts are passed on the price hikes you mention.

usernamealreadytaken · 09/12/2023 09:42

christmasfoodshop · 07/12/2023 13:01

For those who keep saying I shoplifted, I paid for the bag

You tried to shoplift, and were cross at a probably min wage assistant who prevented you from doing so. YABU.

payens · 09/12/2023 10:23

YABVU and entitled

melj1213 · 09/12/2023 10:44

Castlerock44 · 09/12/2023 09:08

I think the assistant could easily have turned a blind eye. All this "she was just doing her job" No that's a store detectives job, Her job in the main isn't looking for shop lifters. As if she'd have got in trouble for something that she could so easily not have noticed.

I'm more outraged that we now have to pay for these damn bags, under the guise of saving the planet, which it doesn't.

Wrong. Part of the job of checkout staff (both self scan and regular checkouts) is to ensure all items are paid for - part of their responsibility is to be watching people to make sure they pay for every item including bags.

Also, where is the limit for what thefts staff should ignore? A carrier bag is fine but does that mean that staff should ignore any and all theft under 30p? What about if they pay for the bag but not the bread they put in it? Can they take a bottle of milk as long as it's only a 2pt but if they try and take a 6pt then it's not OK? What about if it's a mum with a screaming baby, should she be allowed to take whatever she wants whereas the mum with the sleeping baby has to pay for everything? How about instead of having a sliding scale of who can steal what we just have a simple nobody can steal anything at all so staff should stop any and all theft attempts?

The staff member is not going to be fired for a single occasion where they haven't stopped one person walking out without a bag but if it happens too frequently, or they are seen to be actively ignoring blatant theft without even a cursory "Excuse me, you need to pay for that" to say they at least tried to get the customer to pay (regardless of the value of the item or whether the customer complied) then they can and will be pulled into the office and disciplined.

Managers don't expect staff to wrestle customers to the floor to pay for a 30p bag but they do expect them to at least make an effort to stop theft as part of their job. If they ask someone to pay for something and they don't then they're not going to chase them out of the shop but it will be noted down. If the same person repeatedly comes in and repeatedly refuses to pay for small items like bags then they're not going to get the police called but security might have a quiet word and/or they will be spoken to by a manager and told that if it happens again then they will be formally banned from the store. The alternative is to ignore all the "small" thefts

Whilst it's "only 30p", my store has thousands of customers every day, we are open 6am-10pm so we are open 16hrs a day. If even just 3 customers an hour/50 customers a day take one single bag without paying that's £15 a day, if that happens every day thats £420 a month and £5,040 a year. Thats £5k loss on "just bags" before you've even accounted for "real" theft and that's if I'm being conservative with the number of people who take bags without paying. Not only does that £5k loss come out of the store budget and therefore the cost gets added to the consumer price but it also comes out of my annual bonus meagre as it is - so someone stealing literally is my business because the more thefts that are prevented the more bonus I get, and as someone on just over NMW, even the meagre £150-200 annual "bonus" helps out in a tight month.

People go on about "confronting" customers or making a scene - you can ask people (of any size, shape, colour, creed or reputation) to pay for something without making it a big performance, being rude or drawing lots of attention to yourselves. A simple "Did you stil want the bags as I notice they haven't been scanned yet" or as the staff member hands the items over they wait a second to make sure they're scanned and if the customer doesn't go to scan them then they just say "You need to scan the barcode on the bottom left before you put them on the scale or they'll set the machine off" is often more than enough to remind people that they are actually being watched and self scan doesn't mean "scan just what you feel like paying for".

WanderlyWagonInWales · 09/12/2023 11:29

You only paid for it because the assistant reminded you to. Then you got in a huff about it and tantrummed out of the store leaving your trolley behind as some sort of warped punishment. YWBVU to think you should have a free bag. FFS it’s only 30p so why even moan about paying it?

Unbego · 09/12/2023 13:26

Thats £5k loss on "just bags"

... yeah, that cost 0.0001p to produce.

Lots of talk about entitlement on this thread. How entitled are supermarkets wanting to make £5k of no-cost clear profit out of charging customers for bags to carry shopping that they have paid for?

Tessabelle74 · 09/12/2023 13:44

Unbego · 09/12/2023 13:26

Thats £5k loss on "just bags"

... yeah, that cost 0.0001p to produce.

Lots of talk about entitlement on this thread. How entitled are supermarkets wanting to make £5k of no-cost clear profit out of charging customers for bags to carry shopping that they have paid for?

https://blog.carrierbagshop.co.uk/2023/08/31/what-happens-to-the-plastic-bag-tax-money/#:~:text=Many%20retailers%20have%20chosen%20to,food%20banks%20and%20homeless%20shelters.

Most larger retailers don't pocket the carrier bag charge

What happens to the plastic bag tax money? -

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the money that is generated by the use of carrier bags in stores through the plastic bag tax?

https://blog.carrierbagshop.co.uk/2023/08/31/what-happens-to-the-plastic-bag-tax-money#:~:text=Many%20retailers%20have%20chosen%20to,food%20banks%20and%20homeless%20shelters.

twilightmoon3 · 09/12/2023 13:46

I'll be honest here I normally try to remember bags but if I don't and I can easily I will nick them and I won't stop and as I'm not a Catholic I don't need to confess though I just did. Only the cheapest ones though not the expensive or insulated ones I have standards.

BustyLaRoux · 09/12/2023 13:47

I often buy more than I intended and realise I need a bag. Know what I do??? Buy a bag.

CellophaneFlower · 09/12/2023 13:50

BustyLaRoux · 09/12/2023 13:47

I often buy more than I intended and realise I need a bag. Know what I do??? Buy a bag.

Ah but do you have a baby? This makes you exempt from paying, apparently. Bonus points if it's crying!

LighthouseTheme · 09/12/2023 13:52

I got charged for a paper bag in Superdrug.

OP, I'm on your side.

This is just where all the knitting guillotine watchers hang out.
(And on my Tesco thread as well...)

Thistlewoman · 09/12/2023 13:54

Totally this. Having babies doesnt mean you have special rights as a customer. If shopping for groceries is that stressful, do it online & get it delivered! I dont think most people on here give a rats about the 30p, its the OPs sense of being a special case which has riled so many into bothering to comment. Classic sense of entitlement, very unattractive.

Shootin · 09/12/2023 14:10

FFS It was the situation. Yes the shop assistant was doing her job. But I agree with the OP- she shop assistant could have turned a blind eye.
All these goody two shoes on here would think she was running off with the Crown Jewels. 😱