WWYD - I want to return these shorts but realised I didn’t pay

[Aneena]

Bought some shorts in the sale at a supermarket a few days ago. I tried them on at home and they didn’t fit well so I want to return them. Now I have got out the receipt I realise somehow I haven’t paid for them? Honestly no idea how as I could have sworn they were scanned. I am absolutely mortified

I really want to just bring them back to customer services and explain. I want to buy them in a different size if they still have them so I would be giving them back and spending money on top of that - so surely that would show I haven’t done it on purpose.

I am just so paranoid they will think I have done it purposefully and now I’m only bringing them back because they don’t fit. Am I massively overthinking this?

YANBU - yeah they will think you’re a thief
YABU - just take them back

I highly disagree with the people saying go to the shop and hang the shorts up on the rail. That is suspicious behaviour and will get picked up on.

This.

When I’ve accidentally not been charged for something I just take it back if it’s from a shop. I’ve never had an issue. I’ve never felt’mortified’ by it though. It’s usually the shops fault. Lots of people are honest.

Just take them back. It was a mistake. Explain you checked your receipt when you got home and they weren’t on it. Then go buy whatever you want.

I find it interesting what people get embarrassed by. This wouldn’t embarrass me in a million years.

@Aneena have you thought about posting this on the “To ask what your biggest problem in life is at the moment” thread?

what a fuss over nothing!!! Take the “stolen” ones back, explain, buy other pair, pay, leave shop.

I would take them back to the supermarket and tell them you were wanting to return them for a refund, but now having looked at the receipt more closely you realise they weren't actually scanned, so not paid for, so now you just want to return them.

Get that bit sorted, then go and look for the size you want

I accidentally picked up 2 lots of plant pots that were wedged together, scanned one and went home. I discovered what I'd done when I got home, I was mortified.
I kept forgetting to take the spare pots back for a while, but when I did I explained what happened, they were fine and grateful I took them back. Just take the shorts back and explain.

I wouldn’t try to sneak them back onto a rail because if you get seen looking shifty, you’ll be in a whole other level of a situation!
I’d probably just buy the larger size.

This. It’s the obvious solution.

They won’t care, just say you are returning them but can’t spot them on the receipt

I’d be chuffed with my free pair of shorts - to either sell on or donate depending on price 🙃

Just donate them to a charity shop and buy a new pair. It saves the shop staff time trying to figure out what to do with them. You can bet your bottom dollar that if security see you putting clothes back they'll want to know what you're up to.

I would take them in with the receipt in case they have a weird name that you haven’t spotted and let them look. If they can’t find them on there then just leave the shorts with them and buy a new pair.
No need for long explanations and they won’t suspect you at all. Shoplifters never come back to change the size, nor are they prepared to pay for another pair.
You could go to a different branch of the supermarket than your regular one if that helps feeling awkward.

If you havent paid for them in the first place just go and buy a pair in the right size! Total non issue.
And yes you are massively overthinking this.

There is minimal chance that anyone would even notice the OP putting shorts back on the rack. Let alone think it was suspicious enough to report it. I think that’s probably what I would do as it’s just the easiest and quickest method.

But as others have said, if you go to customer services and give them back they’ll just say thank you for your honestly and think no more of it.

If you're that bothered about it just leave your pair back on the rack when you pick up your new pair. Can't believe you have to give this so much thought

Just explain to customer service what happened. If you were a thief you wouldn't be taking the shorts back! Neither of you realised the payment hadn't gone through. An honest mistake

Yeah. Wondering if something that she can't remember happened, like she bought the shorts separately, maybe as an after thought. She should check for a second receipt. Also make sure everything else on receipt matches as they could have been mistakenly coded by store as something else.

I can’t believe this is all people have to stress about atm 🤣 if you’re that worried just put them in the bin and go and buy the right size . It’s not really a big issue is it . And I genuinely don’t mean this to be rude but come on … if you haven’t paid for them don’t worry about it .keep the Stress for the bigger stuff …

Stealing, even accidentally, is bad but, whataboutary warning - clothing shops throw tons of brand new clothes into land fills/out for incineration every year. Most of those end of line, out of fashion, perfectly good clothes are destroyed deliberately and we are tricked into wanting different clothes five minutes later because… fashion. So there’s a good chance your returned shorts will never cover anyone’s bum in their short lives. If you give them to charity they might have a better chance and at least generate some income for a good cause rather than a few more cents for an already loaded supermarket shareholder. You made a little mistake. The supermarket won’t care and the charity shop will be happy. Think of it as donating them on the supermarket’s behalf. They are always asking customers for our money to donate on our behalf to their causes. This is just doing it the other way around.

I was in similar position recently but in my case I had paid for the item but thought I had left it in the shop, as it wasn't in my bag when I got home. Went back and explained; they invited me to take another one without paying, so I did that. Then I discovered the original item had rolled out of my bag into a fairly hidden place in my car. Went back to shop and asked to pay for the one they gave me without paying. They thanked me but told me to forget about it. In your case, they will likely say thank you for your honesty and no worries.

Take them back and explain what’s happened and they’ll just take them from you leaving you to pick up another pair. I guarantee you they won’t think you are a thief, contrary to popular belief self service checkouts miss a lot of things. If this happened in my store we honestly wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

This is what I’d do @Aneena yes I’d be a bit apprehensive but it’ll be fine!

Exactly - why the angst??

Mountain out of a molehill