Knowingly stealing - food shop delivery

[Ponter]

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?

If this is even real, then they’ll charge you anyway but it might take a few weeks.

We cancelled on the day once due to a family emergency that we had to travel for. Whilst we were away dealing with that, they delivered the shopping and our son accepted it. We cancelled as we didn’t know he would be around to accept it and didn’t really need a full weeks shop when 3 of us were not going to be home for We returned a week later and never thought about the shopping. They contacted us about 3 weeks later to say that they could see we had accepted a shop that had been cancelled and would be charging for it. Obviously we then checked with our son who said he’d been home and accepted it. So it may take them a while but they do identify these things. Obviously I’m our case, we didn’t realise it had been delivered as from our point of view it was cancelled and our son didn’t think to mention it. They did give us a voucher, I think £10, as they made the mistake delivering it.

They’ll catch up with you OP even if you’re not honest.

No, she hasn’t stolen anyone’s food shop. She’s just joined the happy band of thieves that push the prices up for the rest of us. So yes. It does affect you. It affects all of us in the ‘shrinkage’ calculations factored into supermarket prices. But worst of all it affects those people who are already unable to make ends meet and are relying on ever decreasing donations to food banks. I’ll leave you to work out the reasons why those donations are decreasing for yourself, since you don’t think there’s anything wrong with what OP did.

The fact you're "astounded" that so many people are appalled by stealing says a lot.

You'd pass the savings to a food bank would you now? Are you Robin Hood?

I don’t agree with what op did; but the “ we pay for it” argument could cut both ways really. I guess she could argue she’s recouping what she has paid over many years in increased prices because of other’s shoplifting so this helps even her score.

But you can rationalise any wrongdoing to yourself if you think hard enough and I don’t think there was any logic beyond the fact she thought she’d get away with it. It is just theft.

Robin Hood! 😸

Yes really.

I wish everyone would channel this passion into supporting our farmers from these big supermarkets. Big supermarket chains are stealing from our farmers knowingly on a BIG scale KNOWINGLY.

Don I think OP should do this again? Absolutely not.

Do I think OP should pass this saving on to people who it would BENEFIT absolutely.

I’d call it the redistribution of profits from those who steal contractually to a family it would really benefit (via the OP sadly).

I don't have much like thieves but I really hate ones who brag about it, try to justify it and then claim that everyone would have done the same.
Do whatever you do to make yourself feel better OP but you stole those groceries, at least own it.

OP isn't coming back because she invented this to get a rise

I don’t think it would even occur to me, if the delivery turned up I’d just be like errrr I cancelled this?!

If it had been the other way round - you'd paid for stuff and it never showed up - would you be happy for the supermarket to say, "You know what - she might never notice. Let's just keep her money and see what happens..."?

@periodiclabel She certainly succeeded. I wonder what people get out of this.

Trying to equate OP’s actions with the unfair practices of the big supermarkets is a bit of a jump.

Of course support farmers markets, local businesses etc where you can and if you feel so strongly about the big chains don’t give them your business.

But please stop the nonsense about redistribution of wealth in this way. It’s still theft.

Do you mean Stanley Milgrams experiment on how far people will go.in obeying perceived authority ?
I don't think anyone was ordering OP to steal .

@WinterFaye2 - these losses do not come out of the supermarkets' profits. A percentage of every price shops charge is to cover shrinkage - losses due to theft/shoplifting, breakage, spoilage etc - so the cost comes out of ordinary shoppers' purses.

You have completely misunderstood the purpose of that study which was so show that people obey authority even when they are being told to do something they think is wrong. It wasn't about people's basic honesty.

Correct DD has recently looked at that study as part of her Psychology course and it was about obeying authority rather than stealing as well as how people are gradually persuaded to do bad things by a gradual process

I found myself in a similar situation when I was a single mum except the value was much higher (about £350), it was cash, and it was their big mistake.

Oh yes of course it was tempting but what stop me was telling myself that if I was going to be dishonest, how could I expect my kids not to be. I was their main role model and it was very important to show a good example. So I didn't cash the cheque.

I have no regrets at all. Ultimately, the cash was long forgotten but being able to tell my kids, this I still remember.

So, you did what you did to get away with it and not because of something out of your control.

Disgusting. You and your friend are a large part of why prices keep going up. The store is not going to eat/absorb the losses from people like you who thieve. When their bottom line is too low, prices on everything will go up to make up that loss and other losses they assume they will have because of cheats and thieves.

Maybe your friend can figure out a way to steal from neighbors and friends. I'm sure she'll teach you.

You are stealing.

I hope karma bites you where it hurts. You need to take a long hard look at your moral compass!! Your an absolute shame to society, lowest of the low.

You know it's dishonest, it's obviously wrong. But you can cover your soul by telling them their error I'm pretty sure they'll still refund you and they don't want their groceries back at this point. Remember delivery in the groceries was their error, just say you weren't expecting them when you were caught off guard and you accepted them, all of which is probably true

Asking for a friend?

I think if you had phrased that differently you'd have got a different response
If i had cancelled an order and it turned up, I'd have assumed that I'd left cancelling too late and would expect to be charged
If i sent it back I'd expect a refund.
If I took it in expecting to pay then got refunded, I'd say that's on them. They're taking the piss with so many price increases making the cheap range inaccessible to online shoppers blah blah blah....
But you took it in only because you wanted a freebie. That doesn't make you sound very decent. Sorry

Majority wouldn't. It's stealing and most people aren't thieves. You posting on here hoping that everyone is a scummy as you didn't go to plan did it? Would you tell your kids what you did?