I accidentally stole an entire big shop

[Rayoffingsunshine]

I spent about £95 on a big shop 3 weeks ago. I went through the scan and go. I had my two boys with me (2 and 3 months) and I paid using contactless. I didn't grab the receipt which I didn't notice until I got home and was annoyed because the supermarket had an offer for money off voucher if you spend so much that I had intended to grab but only realised I didn't have it when I got home.
I budget everything and wrote the shop on my budget app straight away so I noticed the discrepancy on my account within a few days. I thought it was just taking a little longer than normal to process but 3 weeks later there's still no record of it. I've checked every account I have including my husband's just in case I had his card though I'm certain it was just my day to day debit card. The only thing I can think is that the payment didn't process and I just didn't notice and walked straight out. But surely someone would have stopped me! I remember a friend telling me once, with a tiny shop, just a quick lunch on the go kind of shop, this happened to her once and she was stopped in the car park by security. I don't understand how this has happened. I wouldn't have been quick to leave because my 2 year old moves at a snails pace.

If I go and talk to customer service in the shop will they believe that is was a genuine mistake and just let me pay for it or will I get in trouble?

This. If you can't go back then contact them another way - actually maybe do that first in case you get stopped on the way in.

I would be honest and go back. They might even have a record of it if your shopping is still showing on the screen. They know if someone hasn't paid. I returned a kettle that came with my online order. I had ordered 1 kettle but had 2 delivered and only paid for 1.

I simply couldn't make use of the shopping without feeling enormous guilt and shame. I suggest contacting them incognito and asking them what to do.

if you accidentally forgot to scan your bread, I’d shrug it off. But £90 odd quid on a shop you probably frequent, with your kids? I’d absolutely try to reconcile this.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Unbelievable that a store can not see you didnt pay - when there is another thread on here where the OP got stopped for not paying 30p for a bag after actually paying for her shopping!

Just go back and pay what you owe.

It's quite depressing that some posters think that if you don't get caught, no wrong-doing has occurred.

It's entirely possible that the store could have noticed & reported it to the police. The police are not that quick at following up on things like this (it takes time to gather the CCTV, get a statement, allocate to an officer etc). You might yet get a knock on the door. I would go back & pay it.

Don’t waste your time trying to go back and pay. I would put the money to one side for a couple months just incase they get in touch.
In a supermarket the other week I had unwittingly grabbed three of a product, scanned two (two were sort on entangled) realised when I’d paid and was having to put them in a bag. Tried to give the unpaid for item back to one of the shop staff but it wasn’t easy. I explained I hadn’t paid for it, till hadn’t flagged the weight discrepancy up and I didn’t want the item. She stood there open mouthed and said what do you want me to do about it! I thrust the item at her and left

They will know. The next person to use the terminal would have had to ask a member of staff to clear the screen. On that screen will be the details of your shop and loyalty card details if you had to scan your card to release the hand held device. If it was Tesco then you will have been on camera - I'm not sure what other supermarkets do at their tills.

I wouldn’t say anything. If a staff members got in trouble for it they won’t now be in less trouble 3 weeks later because you came back.
But if nobody noticed then you could very well be getting a staff member in a lot of trouble.

The people at the top stealing millions must just read threads like this and laugh. Everyone reacting like the social contract wasn’t broken years ago.

I don't believe the vast majority of people would go back to pay for the shopping and I think most people who say they would go back are fibbing. You didn't not pay deliberately, so put it towards your Christmas food shopping.

I agree with paying it forward. This is what supermarkets get for having all this self checkout and scan and shop crap instead of employing enough staff.

Mums net is so entertaining. Who the fuck would pay this back in the real world 😂😂😂 get a grip. Donate to charity if you’re losing sleep. So pathetic.

Sounds like the honest thing to do but - stores have done away with real humans and this is a natural consequence of outsourcing the role of a cashier to the customer! I don’t feel too bad for them.

Applies both ways though.

To add, no staff member will get in trouble for it. They cannot see everything and there is usually one person dealing with many self scans and other customers constantly calling them over .

I think most of the people saying they'd go back are probably fibbing.

I once accidentally hung a top for dd on the side of my trolley and didn't scan it. Went back in and paid. The person on the till laughed and said they mark everything else in the shop up to cover small amounts not getting paid for. By small amounts she did mean groceries and not TV or expensive electricals etc. Don't worry, Mr Tesco will still get his big bonus.

I would never sleep if i didn't go back and pay it.

Oooh, these things can be such a dilemma when it's happened in all innocence.

I found a fiver on the pavement yesterday. I picked it up, looked all around, couldn't see anyone who might have dropped it, panicked that I may have been caught on a cctv camera for 'theft' so dashed up the the road to the the Salvation Army hall and bunged it in their collection box in the porch.

Imo, three weeks on, the shop would have contacted you. As others have said, pay it forward.

I would and have. I got out to the carpark and unloaded my paid for groceries into the back of the car recently. I found a small item I'd missed underneath. We went back into the store and paid for it. Honesty is important to me.

This happened to me once. I didn't notice but the next time I went back to my usual supermarket they told me d what had happened and I paid then.

I was using a self scanner though, so it was obvious who I was.

I would call or go to the store and tell them what happened

No way would I get in touch to try and pay. Just accept you accidentally got some freebies and don't dwell on it.

Tesco won’t take the loss, @PronounsBaby - a percentage of every price in store covers shrinkage - things that get broken or spoiled, theft from the store and accidents like this one. So basically everyone who shops at Tesco will pay.