Boots security accusation.

[Startyabastard]

I live in a major city and I very regularly go to Boots inside a shopping centre. Sometimes I have a big shopping trolley that I push (relevant because when I 'complained' that security followed me to a neighbour they said that it was a method that shoplifters use and security are aware that they do this) but there are also many times when I don't use it.
Anyway: I am a hoarder and I have adhd, so I can be a bit eager with products, but I always display them clearly in my hands and go to pay at the checkout. I prefer the manned checkout rather than the self check out for the exact fear of being accused of shop lifting, but sometimes the staff direct me to the self check out and I pay there.
Sometimes I forget my receipt, but I am always happy to go back and get it/prove which self check out/manned check out I have been on. One of the staff asked me which self check out I had used when the security alarm went off when I was exiting the store and he showed me how he could prove the last purchase on the particular till.
I don't always wait for the receipt or if I do, it I accidentally take the No.7 voucher 10% off print out instead. Sometimes I also have the receipt.
The lip glosses randomly have those stuck on security tags and they often beep when I walk out. After payment, I openly ask staff to remove them.

Last time I went to the Boots that i most regularly go to and the one where the security commonly beeps when I exit with my most bought product lip gloss (not sure if relevant), I was in the middle of the shop going to buy exactly that and security was watching me very, very closely and hinting to the other security guard to come closer to me.
I didn't want to be dictated to by them (or appear 'guilty' by quickly exiting the shop), but the more serious security guard 'edged' me out.
They did not 'accuse' me or even talk to me, but they both towered over me and got so close as that I felt I had to leave the shop. One of them (can't remember about the other) was security with a high vis vest and walkie talkie. I wasn't taken to the back of the shop or asked not to come back again, neither did other staff do anything to help.
Most of my purchases would be able to be seen on my Boots advantage card, but there was a time when I didn't have one because they stopped working due to not being registered online.
However, they do also have CCTV, which I am guessing they haven't consulted.
When I have been stopped by a security guard before, because the product still had the tag on and it made the alarms go off, he asked me for my receipt. I didn't have it on me, but he said it was fine to leave the shop. I went 'above this' because I have paranoia about this exact thing happen and I told him I could go and get someone to prove it. He said it didn't matter, but if I insisted, I could show him my online banking purchase and I did. I said I was paranoid about being thought of a shoplifter and he said that if I was one, I wouldn't have taken the time to show him.
After this, on another day, this I incident happened.

I have consulted two staff members from two other Boots stores, one being a manager and they didn't think it was appropriate that security behaved in this manner. One of the staff suggested to me that I call/email the customer care line.
I will probably complete this, but I don't know if they will be thorough/able to find the records of me paying etc.
I could go back to the shop where the incident happened and talk to the manager as the other manager of the other Boots advised, but I suspect that I might be edged out again and hence unable to find the manager.
Thanks for reading.

Your post is quite weirdly written and worded. If your post translates to how you act in person, perhaps they were picking up on bizarre behaviour and didn’t want you in the shop. I really can’t understand what your post is saying.

Because I was scared and didn't want to draw attention to myself.

If you know this with such certainty just...don't buy more? Sounds like you're making your own life more difficult to me

You’re clearly struggling to carry all of the products you want to buy though, so just get a basket? It’s not that deep? Or buy less? They clearly have a reason to suspect you..!

You know some store detectives are plain clothed and they have cctv? Likely your behaviour has attracted attention and they radioed the security team. It is unusual to take a trolley from store to store.

"sometimes I forget my receipt"
"I don't always wait for the receipt or if I do, it I accidentally take the No.7 voucher 10% off print out instead."

I don't get it. If I'd had multiple accusations of shoplifting the absolute first thing I would do to try and avoid it again is remember to always get my receipt. It doesn't take a second, it's right there, it's not hard to remember. Usually there's even a prompt "please take your receipt". It seems like you're needlessly making things more difficult for yourself.

Then when you go OTT about 'no let me take you back to the machine' you (together with your other behaviours as you've described) mark yourself out as someone who is acting unusually, which is exactly what security are supposed to be looking out for. It's not even just shoplifters it is someone who could be physically or mentally unwell, on drugs, aggressive....their whole job is to keep an eye on people who are acting unusually and, unfortunately, that is how you present.

In this specific instance security guards didn't accused you of shoplifting or even speak to you at all. They just came up close to you. It's both possible that this was specifically intended to be intimidating and they were being inappropriate and overzealous or that they were acting appropriately in the way they have been trained to discourage shoplifters and you (because of your other experiences) misinterpreted it, whereas someone else wouldn't have even noticed or would have just said 'Um, are you following me?' or 'Can you step back please?'

If you are going to make a complaint, do so asap so they can look at the security and establish if their behaviour might have been inappropriate but tbh even then it's subjective.

I was coming out of M&S Westfield when the bleep went off. The security guy came over. I said that I had only been to the cafe and could not understand the bleeping. He let me go but when I got home I noticed a lipstick in my bag that I had bought at Boots which still had one of those sticky security strips on it. Even if they had asked me to empty my bag it would not have been a problem as I had the receipt!

This whole thing and the retelling is really bizarre, so I wonder if it's just that your behaviour generally is flagging something up. Frequently in the shop, carrying around loads of items but then from the sounds of it just buying low-value lip glosses, weirdly aware of where security are and what they are doing at all times, strange communication with them, etc. I think your behaviour is probably just making them take more notice of you as it's unusual.

I've never been in a shop and thought I would be looked at for shoplifting.

Perhaps they make you buy more but to me I just find them a handy thing to carry around my potential purchases especially the little basket with a tray in so cosmetics don't fall out.

Either way, YOU are the one being followed around by security. YOU are the one who wants to continue going into store, so it's YOU who needs to play the game and use a basket from now on. If not you will continue to be challenged as your behaviour is clearly odd to attract so much attention.

But what you didn’t do in the past doesn’t matter now.
If you pay be card it’ll show up within moments on your banking App.
And you can just get a receipt each time from now on.

This all sounds a bit strange. Security Guards would not behave like this without a reason. Are you sure you are telling the truth here? I would have thought that someone who is so worried about being accused of shoplifting would always remember the receipt.

I agree with everyone else OP. Your shopping habits sounds erratic. Leaving the shop without buying or saying anything when the security guard went and stood near you makes you look even more like someone who was intending to shoplift.

You know you look suspicious, even if this is unintentional, so just get a basket and put your items in there. If you think you'll overbuy then put a small open container of your own on top of your trolley so everyone can see what you're about to purchase.

When you say they ‘edged’ you out, what do you mean? Did they ask you to leave?

How much lip gloss can a person need

The edging out sounds quite upsetting, OP. I’m sure I’d be unsettled at best if it happened to me. A complaint to the store or head office would be reasonable. But while it might get you an apology now, I’m not sure it would change anything going forward.

What’s your goal in posting here? Your experience in shops is not, I don’t think, the norm. It sounds like you are aware your behaviour/demeanor in the shop may be signaling to security that you’re up to no good when that isn’t the case. If what you want is an experience closer to the norm then you may need to work on changing your behaviour in the shop so you don’t attract attention from security.

This. They didn't actually do anything or say anything to you. Their job is to look out for suspicious behaviour, your behaviour was suspicious to them.

Boots have security tags on lots of items which they don’t remove. I shopped in a big Boots recently, beeped as I left but I thought it wasn’t me so just carried on walking. Went into a different shop and I beeped as I left. This time I was stopped and security took me to one side and went through my purchases. The problem was the stuff from Boots. The assistant said it happens all the time, that Boots staff don’t bother to remove tags. I was embarrassed at being stopped and my stuff examined, so it was really annoying. I sympathise.

Is it a big trolley like this? They're probably shown in training how people will push one of these about and slip things in while walking.
If it is like this, why not sit the basket on top?

You're setting off a lot of red flags OP, and I suspect you'll find yourself on a list to be denied entry soon.

If she just wants to buy a lipgloss though she probably wouldn’t be spending £25. I tend to do 99% of my shopping online, especially if I can get it on Amazon, but if I just want something quickly on the day, especially something cheap I’m not gonna order it online and rather have to pay the postage or spend and unnecessary £25.

I will say Amazon stocks most brands of Makeup now which if you have prime is free next day delivery BUT you can’t see the shades in person and the online swatches aren’t always reliable.

FGS just take your receipt in future. And use a basket. Of course sticking things in your own shopping trolley is going to look dodgy. Shops are losing millions every day to shoplifting - they absolutely have to be vigilant.

You seem to be creating a drama over a perfectly normal event - the security lights beep and someone comes to check . Just make sure you have a receipt in future , nobody is persecuting you personally they are doing their job .

Surely if a product has a security tag on it you don't leave the store until a staff member has removed it? If you just walk out with it and set off the alarms every time that's a bit odd.

How often do you visit this branch of Boots?