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

Absolutely I would do this. No one is out of pocket and it's a lot less hassle, plus it benefits someone else.

No one is out of pocket
The supermarket is out of pocket! That affects the margin for everyone else.

Do you really not understand that raw materials, production and logistics are all paid for?? Did you get any education even as a child?

One pair of shorts taken in error is not going to affect anyone's margins - we are not talking about industrial-style shoplifting that goes on every day of the week and big supermarkets donate to charities themselves. It is up to the OP of course.

Sainsbury's are right arses. They can trace the sale on your nectar card and even if they cant you absolutely have the right to return a faulty item and they can tell by the label whether its this years stock..contact Sainsbury's head office and they will advise you to go back into store and get yourself that refund

Framing accidental theft as charity is some next-level moral gymnastics. The shorts don’t magically become yours because you ‘feel’ it won’t dent profits. That’s not ethical nuance, it’s convenience dressed up as virtue. Shops are not a faceless monolith; they are people, wages, and systems built around trust. Thinking one missing item doesn't matter? That’s how entitlement breaks down the social contract we rely on; so nobody returns the borrowed items, corrects mistakes or owns up. Are you happy with people dipping into your wallet just because it won't send you bankrupt?

I think one low-value item taken by accident when you are a regular paying customer over years is neither here nor there. It's not as if supermarkets don't make massive profits anyway. The OP is obviously worried about taking back the shorts and having to explain herself or she wouldn't have posted here, she would have just done it. So if she can't face it I don't think it's morally bankrupt to take a pragmatic route in one tiny instance. She might get a sympathetic response from an assistant or she might be treated like a thief and feel she can never shop there again. And frankly it's the company's fault for bringing in self-paying tills so they can sack staff and make even more profit - I'm sure people make mistakes accidentally (and otherwise) the whole time. And that is of course factored into what you pay whether you are honest or not.

No, you are quite correct, we’re not talking about ‘industrial’ shop theft or supermarkets, or other retailers, dumping goods.

However, it does make the OP a thief though because doing this means she would knowingly permanently deprive the supermarket of the item or value (payment).

It doesn't make her a thief. It makes her someone who made a mistake and is worried about how she'll be perceived if she tries to correct it.

What, swap for a larger size without paying? Then donate the profits of that fraud to charity? You know that doesn’t stop it being fraud, right?

Why on earth would anyone returning an item they have realised they accidentally didn’t pay for be treated like a thief ? She won’t be asking for the money (she didn’t spend) back.

Blaming the supermarkets for self-service is a new and rather twisted victim blaming.

No, we all accept OP made a mistake, but if she donates the item to a charity it makes her a thief because she would knowingly, permanently deprive the supermarket of the item or value (payment). If she takes it back she’s legally and morally in the clear.

Loads of people hate self-service tills and they have had the unintended consequence of making it much easier to take stuff wittingly or unwittingly. It was a cynical move to cut staff but may well have cost them more in the long run. The OP obviously feels worried about going back and having to explain or she wouldn't have posted here. Personally I don't have a problem with her buying another pair and donating the other one if that is more comfortable for her. Everyone makes mistakes. In my local Sainsbury's I saw a man grabbing about half a dozen bottles of wine and rushing out and the security guard didn't do a thing. However, they have now moved alcohol away from the doors.

When my son was about 5 he pinched something from boots, I can’t remember what but maybe a chocolate egg of something. Anyway I took it back in and got scowled at and glared at and the woman mumbled something like that meant no it is actually not alright… trying to make me feel awful. So if it happened again I’d be put off taking things back 🫤

Hiya, I work at customer service at a supermarket - please just bring them back, buy the new ones & explain what’s happened, don’t be embarrassed! They won’t think you’re a thief, they’ll appreciate the honesty. Trust me we see and hear all sorts at customer service, they won’t be phased by this or think badly of you. 20 years + in the business, we always appreciate customers who are honest & polite! 🩷 Don’t worry xx

I've went back when a tin of tomatoes haven't scanned security just laughed cause i used to be in every day sometimes twice said why bother , said cause im here everyday and didn't feel right not paying

Yes. If they are too embarrassed to admit the truth to Tesco staff, better for the profits to go to a charity than OP’s own pockets.

You didn’t pay for them so you could just go and buy the right size. Then either give yours away or sell them.

But I’ve taken clothes back without receipt before and been able to change them for the right size so you may aswell try, and if they say yes you’ve saved yourself the cost of a pair of shorts!

This has reminded me of when i was a checkout supervisor for Tesco many years ago. A lovely lady came in with some loose tomatoes in a bag and was mortified she hadn't paid for them the day before. She had walked out with the bag on her wrist and not placed them in the basket. So couldn't stop apologising and then further confessed she had eaten one with her evening meal. We let her have them for free.

ds as baby ate a tomato going round tesco, bad tempered woman tried to work out the price to charge me

I wouldn’t risk taking them back. All it takes is a jobsworth. It may have been the cashiers error but Eden so. I’d wither sneak them back in or donate to charity shop. I once accidentally walked out of to Maxx with a handbag over my shoulder under my own handbag. I totally forgot to pay. I realised down the road. The alarms had even gone off as it was tagged but to be fair the alarms are always going off in that shop… to the point that everyone ignores them. So I set off the alarms going back in (no one batted an eyelid) and put the bag back. It was probs all on camera. nothing happened but I was glad to have returned it. No way was I going to confess to someone and give them the power on deciding my fate.

The voice of reason. 😍

If you used a Nectar card - they should’ve been able to look it up. I sometimes don’t find Sainsbury’s very helpful.

Same! The charity shop is a terrible idea! Charity shops charge customers for items (albeit a lesser amount) and having worked for one, I know what ridiculously huge sums the higher staff pay themselves. Not to mention the fact OP would be giving herself extra hassle. Just return shorts to the shop and buy a new pair 🤷‍♀️