Has my mother grounds to sue primark?

[Wanttobehappy123]

My elderly mother went upstairs in penny’s (primark ireland) to purchase a hot water bottle. She paid for it upstairs refusing a bag and paying cash. She didn’t take the receipt from the assistant.
She went down the escalators(still in the shop) and was approached by a member of staff asking to see the receipt for her purchase. She told the lady the sales person had put it in the bin and was then sent back upstairs to the sales person to retrieve the receipt from the bin. This was all in ear shot of other customers and she was mortified and upset after the incident. I am very angry she was treated this way. Would anyone know has she grounds for legal action?

Yeah JCPenney legally prevented them using Penneys outside Ireland (especially since the spelling was the same)

I think that’s incorrect. Years ago when I worked in a shop we were told we couldn’t approach someone inside the shop and accuse them of theft….because theft doesn’t occur until they’ve left. But you don’t say she was accused of theft? But that she was asked to show a receipt/had she already paid for it? So when she says she’s paid of course they will ask to see the receipt.

Elderly lady here. I'm known to most shops and shop assistants in my small town, so when I refuse a receipt and walk out with things I've bought they know I've paid.

However, I did go to a major city the other day, paid for flowers and wine etc for my hosts at a small Tescos and refused receipt (yet another bit of paper) and went to a corner to pack it into my satchel (bar flowers). Elderly guard questioned me quite rightly since in that store it might have looked suspicious. Luckily cashier came over to confirm I'd paid.

Yes, I was briefly offended as everyone is questioned about what they've done... but I learnt my lesson. Take a receipt when you're in a big shop or somewhere you are not known. The guard was just doing his job.

That was a small Tesco. Plenty of people walk out of Penney's without paying.

You should all read the Irish Press every now and again in order to understand that this is absolutely a serious question from the OP. It is absolutely hilarious but also incredibly sad to see how much litigation has become the norm in Ireland.There seems to be no accounting for any sense of personal responsibility anymore , somebody is always to blame or has to pay. The solicitors and law firms are creaming it and it seems to be an acceptable development somehow .There was a politician a couple years ago that sued a hotel in city centre Dublin because she fell off a swing (that she had got on herself ) 'pain and suffering' and all that .I have forgotten the details but she was found to have fabricated the whole episode and the case was thrown out .I am Irish by the way .I don't live in Ireland but that aspect of society in Ireland is just shocking and as already stated is driving up insurance premiums in Ireland and causing many especially small businesses to close. Just sad .

I had no idea - always assumed Primark was American. That's interesting - thanks

I'm pretty sure OP knows what it means and wants to get her day in court and the compensation. It's more a lack of understanding of why you might have a claim which might then be successful!

I should be more careful, actually, reading this.

I usually refuse bags and tend to lose the receipt within a nano second of being given it.

I absolutely do believe she should sue. And that you should fund a very expensive and extensive legal team for her to do so. Don’t worry about the cost, what price is justice after all?

Besides, I’m 100% sure you’ll definitely win and that the court would award your full costs to be paid, in recognition of the strength of the case and terrible injustice served. Get on it first thing tomorrow. Who dares wins, eh?

FGS this mindset is why insurance is unaffordable in Ireland and why almost no one can have homebirths. Wise up. Stop suing everyone.

She has no grounds She refused a bag and a receipt, so her own behaviour is the reason she had to go back for proof of purchase. She caused her own problem .

As this happened in Ireland, it would fall under Irish law, not UK law (in any of its varied forms). However, you are wrong. This is a common myth. There is no legal requirement for staff to wait until someone has left the shop before asking to see a receipt. It is, of course, easier to prove that someone intended to steal if they have actually left the shop. However, staff can approach someone while they are still in the shop and, if they are able to show that there was intent to steal, the individual can be convicted of shoplifting.

Of course you should sue - your mother is elderly and therefore beyond reproach.

Unlike a young person who is, by the virtue of being young, a criminal waiting to happen.

Unless she is Gangster Granny?

I bet OP has chosen the wrong words. If it was my elderly mother it happened to I would be upset for her having to go through that. What daughter wouldn’t be protective and upset if this had happened to their elderly mum especially if she was alone at the time.

Give OP a break I bet she’s being protective and just could have worded her post better.

To sue is ridiculous but I'm pissed off at the responses on this thread

I rarely ever accept receipts for things unless I know I might want to take it back etc. it isn't on the OP's mum to go and get the receipt surely it's the security person/member of staffs job to get the proof if they want it?! Not send a customer back up?

Sue? Sue? What a an absolute overreaction.

So often shops don't give receipts. Even self service machines you have to ask for one within x seconds. I was in Tesco and bought some clothes needed tag removed no receipt. Shop assistant just removed the tags anyway, I did offer to wait while she checked machine purchase history.

It would be perfectly reasonable of your mother to decline to go back upstairs and fetch her receipt. Then the security guard/ shop assistant has to make a decision about whether they'd like to perform a citizens arrest if they believe she has committed a crime, fairly unlikely I'd imagine.

When I've been abroad some shops tape your till receipt to your purchase which seems sensible.

No she doesn't. Hope that helps.

@Leftbutcameback Penney's do not use that name outside of Ireland because JC Penney's - the US chain - owns the brand name elsewhere.
So it's registered as Primark in the UK and US.

No, your receipt (the customers copy) is proof that you have paid. If you don't want to get stopped, you should carry it. Of course it is on the customer to prove they have paid.

Really? If this happened to my elderly DM this would be comedy gold. I could well imagine the retelling of “the day grandma got mistaken for a thief” getting seriously embellished over time to entertain the grandkids.

Sue them? YABU. Madness.

But.

I always take a receipt, as I usually have a reusable bag of my own. Otherwise, how is the shop security to know if you've paid or not?

It always surprises me when the person at the till or the self-checkout machine asks if I want a receipt. Of course I bloody do. But, if they make it optional and even toss it in a bin for you, they shouldn't be demanding to see it at the door!

Wrong, wrong, wrong. It's not "on the customer" to prove anything.
If I've bought and paid for something, it's my property. No-one has the right to demand I prove my ownership. (Well, they can ask, and I can refuse.) I continue to be absolutely amazed at most of the responses on this thread. What a bunch of bootlickers.

One Christmas I did my customary Primark shop, getting socks, gloves and pants to fill stockings. After leaving Primark I wandered into M & S, at which point I realised I was clutching a full Primark basket. My sprint back to Primark would have made Usain Bolt proud. But I wasn’t challenged at any point.

I obviously have an honest face.

However, if you refuse to prove ownership, they are entitled to believe that you are stealing the item in question and make a citizen's arrest. They don't need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the item isn't yours to make an arrest. All they need is reasonable grounds to suspect that you are committing an offence.

How stupid do you have to be to walk out of a store with an item unbagged and no receipt and expect to not be asked for proof of purchase?

She was practically impersonating a shoplifter. They did exactly the right thing.

No-one has the right to demand I prove my ownership

How does that work for you if you want a refund?