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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Knowingly stealing - food shop delivery

681 replies

Ponter · 07/11/2024 13:45

We order from one of the main supermarkets. On the day of the delivery (last week), I decided to cancel the shop as many of my plans had changed so i didn’t need some of the stuff that had been ordered.

Anyway, the food van turned up and I had a hunch that if I accepted the order I could get the groceries and still get the refund. Which is exactly what happened. It was a risk but I still needed majority of the groceries ordered so thought I’d chance it. We had similar happen once before but we were honest in that scenario.

Even if the supermarket comes back and want me to rectify the error/pay up I can do so - that’s no problem.

I know it’s wrong but I believe the majority would do the same.

Be honest would you?

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 07/11/2024 15:35

The supermarket made the error.

And you deliberately accepted an order you had cancelled and not paid for.

Theft, plain and simple.

TheFreaksShallInheritTheEarth · 07/11/2024 15:35

JollyPinkFox · 07/11/2024 15:29

People on here are honestly so supercilious, deliberately stealing stuff is one thing, accepting food you cancelled when the shop still sent it is another thing entirely. If they chase it up just say you forgot you cancelled and see if they make you pay but I expect they will write it off if it is ever discovered. It's so weird to me given the COL crisis that people have more sympathy for huge companies who generate a profit over normal people getting the odd turn up for the books. Also do not believe most people would turn the delivery away.

Edited

It's not about having sympathy for huge companies; it's about stealing being wrong, whomever it's from.

You're also ignoring all OPs admissions of doing this deliberately. For one, the thread title is "Knowingly stealing" not "Accidentally stealing."

MumOfOneAllAlone · 07/11/2024 15:36

periodiclabel · 07/11/2024 15:33

So no understanding the COL crisis is in part because of people stealing and the likes of you claiming refunds from JustEat. Why don't we all just steal everything and the big supermarkets will collapse and then that'll serve them right?

I don't believe for a second that the cost of living crisis is fuelled in part by stealing

PiggyPigalle · 07/11/2024 15:36

You are no better, both you and your friend, than the grots who fill their bags under the noses of security staff knowing they can't be challenged.
Lowest of the low.

StandingSideBySide · 07/11/2024 15:36

A thread asking if people would steal !!

Kimmeridge · 07/11/2024 15:37

That said, I'm have placed an order on just eat and claimed the refund under the food being cold etc

So you're a dishonest thief too. And you've probably stolen from a local takeaway - nice

JollyPinkFox · 07/11/2024 15:37

TheFreaksShallInheritTheEarth · 07/11/2024 15:35

It's not about having sympathy for huge companies; it's about stealing being wrong, whomever it's from.

You're also ignoring all OPs admissions of doing this deliberately. For one, the thread title is "Knowingly stealing" not "Accidentally stealing."

I'm assuming you never do anything 'wrong' then, if you've designated yourself the arbiter of moral correctness. It's tesco, who cares
ETA OP didn't say it was tesco. My assumption, weirdly, from the mention of the app.

EmmaMaria · 07/11/2024 15:38

@MumOfOneAllAlone Just think of how many elderly and disabled people are paying higher prices as they can't get to the shop. Disgusting.

As an elderly and disabled person (and who has supermarket deliveries) using me and people like me as a justification for theft is unacceptable. As an elderly and disabled person, I was taught better than to steal as well. I realise that this is an old-fashioned concept these days, but honesty is something to to be desired. If your user name is anything toi go by, I hope that you are teaching your child better than this.

PuggyPuggyPuggy · 07/11/2024 15:38

If someone turned up with a food order I thought I had cancelled, I would tell them to hold fire while I check whether or not I had paid for it. Then I would either send them away with this pile of stuff I haven't paid for, or I would put my rightfully bought shopping away. Resentfully, I imagine. I wouldn't be cancelling a whole shop just because there were a couple of things I no longer wanted, so it would only have been cancelled due to some sort of emergency that meant I couldn't put it away or couldn't afford it. And no, if I couldn't afford it, I wouldn't hope that I would get away with keeping it if the payment hadn't gone out.

Augustus40 · 07/11/2024 15:38

I think you will find the vast majority would be honest.

dragonfliesandbees · 07/11/2024 15:39

I had a similar thing happen where, according to the Just Eat app, a restaurant rejected my order. So I ordered something else but then the original order arrived. I told the delivery driver and he told me to keep it because they couldn’t resell the food anyway. I was never charged.

In your situation I’d have done the same - told the delivery driver rather than accepting food I knew I hadn’t paid for.

MumOfOneAllAlone · 07/11/2024 15:40

EmmaMaria · 07/11/2024 15:38

@MumOfOneAllAlone Just think of how many elderly and disabled people are paying higher prices as they can't get to the shop. Disgusting.

As an elderly and disabled person (and who has supermarket deliveries) using me and people like me as a justification for theft is unacceptable. As an elderly and disabled person, I was taught better than to steal as well. I realise that this is an old-fashioned concept these days, but honesty is something to to be desired. If your user name is anything toi go by, I hope that you are teaching your child better than this.

I am disabled and had to online shop. Now I can finally get to the shops, I am disgusted. Absolutely disgusted that these bog 'budget' supermarkets hide their just essentials range just to line their pockets.

TheSerenityPrayer · 07/11/2024 15:40

What you've done is nothing to be proud of. You should be ashamed, and if i knew you, you'd go down in my estimation.

I've shopped instore before (using manned tills) and then on arriving home realised that they hadn't put through all the items (had 2 big ticket items costing £30 each, and they only put 1 through). It was a massive shop costing £250, so I didn't notice the discrepancy until I went through the receipt at home.
I immediately rang the store to explain and to ask if I could either pay over the phone there and then, or pay next time I was in town as I lived 40mins away.
They were so surprised at my honesty, which is pretty sad in itself, that they didn't quite know how to deal with it, and ultimately they told me to keep it without charging me as reward for my honesty.
It would never have occurred to me to keep it and not own up as that would be stealing and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I'd done something wrong.
People like you are what's wrong with this world.

samarrange · 07/11/2024 15:40

Could the people who think that it's OK to steal from large supermarkets tell us the annual turnover above which it's not a problem?

Also, is it then OK to steal a footballer's wallet? After all, they earn loads, they can easily afford to lose a few hundred quid. But maybe it's only OK if they play in the Premiership. Such a moral maze. 🙄

Bluevelvetsofa · 07/11/2024 15:41

It isn’t being supercilious, it’s being confident that taking food without paying for it is stealing.

If the tone of the OP had been different, the majority might have understood. As it is, she knew and said clearly that she knew it was stealing. It was deliberate and it’s also possible that the delivery person got into trouble too.

Dotjones · 07/11/2024 15:41

I'd have told the driver that I'd cancelled it and see what he said. My concern with refusing the delivery would be that I might still get charged. They will probably catch up with you in the end though.

Geranen · 07/11/2024 15:42

@TheSerenityPrayer it's not "a reward for your honesty," are you six? It was just more awkward for them to charge you.

Swivelhead · 07/11/2024 15:42

I don’t believe in karma. Plenty of examples of twats never getting their comeuppance.

Karma is from ancient Indian belief systems that also incorporated reincarnation, rebirth. So how you behaved in this lifetime would influence the lot you got in the next life.

Which is kind of shit tbh. Have arthritic knees? Have a neighbour who blocks your drive? Share an office with someone who wangs on about Love Island? You deserve it because of your misdeeds in a past life!

Abouttoblow · 07/11/2024 15:42

I decided to cancel the shop as many of my plans had changed so i didn’t need some of the stuff that had been ordered.

It was a risk but I still needed majority of the groceries ordered so thought I’d chance it.

No, if you still needed the majority of the groceries you wouldn't have cancelled.

You had a plan from the beginning because your friend, who's also a thief, got away with it.

femfemlicious · 07/11/2024 15:45

Willsnbills · 07/11/2024 13:49

What??! No…good god it’s people pulling these sorts of tricks that ruins things for everyone else when hey decide to change policies etc I don’t quite understand how you did this anyway when my shopping gets ordered I get charged when they pull it the morning off of the delivery. So unless you’re cancelling it literally at the same time they’re pulling it. I don’t understand how you managed this.

I agree, they take the payment from the card when they pick the items. No way to not pay

Tink3rbell30 · 07/11/2024 15:47

You're not going to ring up and pay?! 🤢

Ihateslugs · 07/11/2024 15:48

I think that if a van turned up with a cancelled order, the driver for the supermarket I use would probably tell me to keep it anyway. Any fresh or frozen food would be thrown away anyway as it’s only allowed to be kept in the van for a limited amount of time. I’ve often had items I refuse to accept ( poor condition, short date etc) given to me after the refund was registered.

However, I don’t think I could cancel on the day of delivery even by a phone call. I get emailed my receipt first thing in the morning and I think that it is then, delivery is on the van.

murasaki · 07/11/2024 15:49

It's not just putting up prices for other customers, it may result in lowering what they agree to pay to suppliers.

JustWicked · 07/11/2024 15:49

Waitingforthecold · 07/11/2024 14:20

We did also use the opportunity to ‘give back’ as we had extra cash - admittedly we didn’t give the whole amount but we did do a smaller food bank shop which we wouldn’t have been able to afford ordinarily and that time of year. Perhaps you could do similar OP! I don’t think big supermarket chains can be victimised but you could do something to share the luck around!

Luck?

MoonWoman69 · 07/11/2024 15:51

And then people wonder why food costs suddenly shoot through the roof! Behaviour like this doesn't help the economy at all. Shame on you @Ponter it's disgusting that you're almost bragging about it. I personally think you're a POS...