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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:
Redebs · 07/12/2023 13:41

You used a 'giant trolley' for 'a few bits'?
I don't think anyone can carry much in one hand with a baby in the other, so you must have intended to get a bag, surely?

Did you go by car? Why couldn't you have put the shopping back in the trolley and wheeled it, with baby in, to your car? You could gave unloaded the loose itens inti the car then without a bag if you didn't want to buy one.

Jl2014 · 07/12/2023 13:41

YABU

youwouldthink · 07/12/2023 13:41

Unreasonable to presume you don't need to pay. Then petty leaving your trolley there in the middle of it all inconveniencing not only the checkout operator but also any other customers waiting.
People keep saying customer service is going down but is it any wonder when people treat them as you have!

LittleGreenDragons · 07/12/2023 13:43

It's the law they have to charge for bags and it has been the law for years.

You tried to leave without paying so you were attempting theft. This just means the rest if us gets charged more.

Are you having fun with this goady thread yet?

AmyDudley · 07/12/2023 13:43

Lol at the idea they're doing this to heal the planet for all the little children. Have you seen how much plastic Tesco gets through every day?

It isn't the shop that made the rule, obviously we as a nation and a planet need to do far more to cut down on plastic, most shops including Tesco use far too much plastic packaging, so we need legislation on that as well. But just because there is still much to be done, doesn't mean we should abandon or moan about a measure in the right direction.

LOL at the idea that someone is so petty and dense that they are irritated by the minor inconvenience of buying a bag (when they could bring their own) that they can't see the bigger picture.

RealBigBarbie · 07/12/2023 13:44

CalistoNoSolo · 07/12/2023 12:52

The funniest thing about this thread is you posted in AIBU because you clearly thought you were being perfectly reasonable. I'm not sure if this makes you very entitled, completely lacking in self-awareness, or both.

Hahaha literally😂

So you shouldn’t have paid for a bag just because your baby was crying? I’m confused?

Londonrach1 · 07/12/2023 13:44

Yabu. Legally you have to pay for a bag ..bring one with you if you don't want to pay for it.

HardcoreLadyType · 07/12/2023 13:45

Kittylala · 07/12/2023 13:36

I'll try nicking a 30p choc next time - might get lucky!

You might be blimmin lucky to find a chocolate for 30p! 😆

Ellaelle · 07/12/2023 13:48

But you knew the bag wasn't free before you started shopping and you want to complain about the shop assistant?

NeedToChangeName · 07/12/2023 13:49

christmasfoodshop · 07/12/2023 13:01

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

But you weren't intending to. You were walking out of the shop when you were called back

YABU

CustardySergeant · 07/12/2023 13:49

YABVVU. You need to grow up.

SkySecret · 07/12/2023 13:49

@Peacheroo thats still inappropriate and I’ve never experienced that! That’s like the security approaching you in store saying “don’t forget to pay for your shopping!” I’d definitely not be impressed at the insinuation that I’m going to steal something.

You’re innocent until you’ve committed an offence, the assistant was probably hoping to be able to avoid conflict, but sadly OP is too entitled to behave like a reasonable person.

Unbego · 07/12/2023 13:49

AmyDudley · 07/12/2023 13:43

Lol at the idea they're doing this to heal the planet for all the little children. Have you seen how much plastic Tesco gets through every day?

It isn't the shop that made the rule, obviously we as a nation and a planet need to do far more to cut down on plastic, most shops including Tesco use far too much plastic packaging, so we need legislation on that as well. But just because there is still much to be done, doesn't mean we should abandon or moan about a measure in the right direction.

LOL at the idea that someone is so petty and dense that they are irritated by the minor inconvenience of buying a bag (when they could bring their own) that they can't see the bigger picture.

Yeah it totally is the shop that decides to charge for bags for life and it's them who decides how much to charge for them. They don't have to charge for those types of bags at all. They're choosing to do it because that way all the inconvenience and cost is on the customer, not on them, and they get to call it a green initiative.

mn29 · 07/12/2023 13:52

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.

This is why I think they need to charge more! The whole point of charging is to force people into remembering to bring bags, is it really that hard? (Yes I do have a job and kids). If they started charging £1 or £2 a bag people might make it more of a priority to bring their own, which is a good thing for the planet.

As an aside for those who have a huge stash of bags for life at home, your local food bank would be very appreciative of them.

MissBuffyAnneSummers · 07/12/2023 13:54

YABU - why should you get a free bag?

Gagagardener · 07/12/2023 13:54

I'm with @Grimmz on this. In a parallel universe where the tasks of bearing and caring for children were appreciated, the shop assistant would have said 'Let me carry your shopping to the car for you. Pop 30p in a charity box some time. We're here to help!'

Dream on.

Supermarkets are there to make money by squeezing suppliers, reducing the number of staff they employ and making the customer do a lot of the work.

Unbego · 07/12/2023 13:54

MissBuffyAnneSummers · 07/12/2023 13:54

YABU - why should you get a free bag?

Why not?

Katypp · 07/12/2023 13:54

I am constantly banging on on here about the entitlement of some mothers that is encouraged by posters on MN. This is a perfect example of it in the wild.
When new parents are put on a gilded pedestal where no-one can upset them, contradict them or call them out for ridiculous behaviour, they kind of assume they are always in the right and having a baby trumps just about everything.
You reap what you sow

Cosyblankets · 07/12/2023 13:55

OP it's the way your post is written. It smacks of entitlement.
If you'd written OMG I was so stressed i forgot to pay for my bag, I'll remember next time because I got stopped at the door, you would have had more sympathy.

iamwhatiam23 · 07/12/2023 13:55

You were being a bit unreasonable but she was being a jobsworth! The assistants in my local tesco couldn't give a shiny shit if you have paid for your bags or not. They don't get paid enough to care less weather someone has paid for a 30p bag or not.

Gagagardener · 07/12/2023 13:56

And I didn't even mention promoting unhealthy, adductivr edible non-foods.

Flopsythebunny · 07/12/2023 13:56

christmasfoodshop · 07/12/2023 13:01

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

You tried to get away without paying though.
You are cf of the highest order.

Unbego · 07/12/2023 13:57

Katypp · 07/12/2023 13:54

I am constantly banging on on here about the entitlement of some mothers that is encouraged by posters on MN. This is a perfect example of it in the wild.
When new parents are put on a gilded pedestal where no-one can upset them, contradict them or call them out for ridiculous behaviour, they kind of assume they are always in the right and having a baby trumps just about everything.
You reap what you sow

This thread really isn't encouraging the OP or putting her on a pedestal. It's seven pages of antagonism towards her about a bloody carrier bag.

SemperIdem · 07/12/2023 13:58

Yabu

Peablockfeathers · 07/12/2023 13:58

The reason shops now sell bags for more than the legal minimum of 10p is because if they do they don't have to bother reporting sales as they're excluded if they're a reusable bag for more than 10p. The cost of a bag is absolutely beyond negligible its pathetic.

The law doesn't say anything about following someone to the exit to charge for bags, the general consensus around shoplifting is to let them go as its not worth it. I suspect in this case OP was asked purely because she did have a baby with her and it was unlikely she'd react volatile. Honestly when people are walking out with armfuls whilst carrying knives and whatever else it's laughable that people are arsed about an overpriced bag.

Monitor self checkouts- you must do all you can to make sure that you charge for bags at self checkouts. For example, the checkouts ask shoppers how many bags they used and charges for them.