Lifetime ban from Sainsburys after accidentally leaving with wine in buggy

[TWMumma]

I shop in Sainsburys every week both online and in store. Thousands spent every year. I am the classic Mum who buys something from nearly every dept. Last week I was doing a mini shop with DS & DH in double buggy, having to carry items on the hood as you can't push a double maclarens with one hand. I had put two bottles of wine in the bottom so they wouldn't roll off and smash on the floor. I paid at one of the self service check out tills and headed for the door where I was stopped by a undercover security guard. I had totally forgotten to pay for the wine. I was absolutely mortified and asked to pay for it immediately. I was told to wait for the manager who would decide whether to call the police. The security guard told me they weren't going to call the police but issued me with an immediate life time ban. I was stunned. It was an accident. I feel totally enraged but also let down. No common sense was used at all and the manager could not even be bothered to come and speak to me himself. There has got to be a better way for mums with buggys to shop! We are supposed the supermarkets biggest and most valued customers. I am still in shock....

I have a lifetime ban from Morrison's, due to a postnatal spaced out mistake.

Still go to Morrison's, but avoided that branch for a while.

It happens. I've done it myself with a new baby. I didn't realise until I got home. I went back the next day to sort it.
But this is also a very common trick used by shoplifters. They have no idea if you're genuine or not. So whilst not calling the police the do have to do something. Surely you can see the bigger picture.

Go to the other one, without a buggy the first time maybe. Is be amazed if the same security guards stick around for long.

You leave the buggy in the car, if you drove there, and put the LOs in the trolley seats.
Sainsburys were not being unreasonable...I don't believe that you forgot to pay for the wine.

I'm sorry this happened to you OP

But the way I read it is "Sainsbos treated me very badly. How can I persuade them to let me carry on giving my money to them in their shops"

If you look at it that way, you should be saying "If they're going to treat me like that, and don't want my custom, then f**k em!"

How would the CCTV show it was an accident? [puzzled]

Your problem is it was alcohol which is (a) expensive and (b) gets nicked a lot. So you looked like a seasoned pro

Just shop from sainsbos online for a bit and then try to go back in a few months. They won't know.

I know it's hard - I have a double buggy too and my 14 month o.d also loves grabbing things off the shelf. I never use the self service till and make a point if sayi g to the check out assistant "hold on - I just need to check the pram basket to make sure I've not missed anything" I'm hoping that will make me look slightly less guilty if I miss anything!

Treat her like what, Michonnes? They had every reason to suspect she was on the rob!

I've nearly fond thus many times and wish supermarkets could provide something which enables you to shop with a buggy because it's hard to do. I used to balance the basket on the hood of my p&ts it was always very close to crashing to the floor in this position.

I agree - I reckon every thief that gets caught says they "forgot" and it was a mistake.

Bloody hell. I've done this accidentally before, DS had been holding something and reached down and stuck it in the basket below the buggy, I forgot he'd been holding it. The checkout assistant noticed, laughed and sympathised about shopping with kids. I apologised and check more carefully now. I still shop in the same place every day. I don't live in the UK though.

Just to clarify something said up thread. You don't have to leave the store for it to be theft.

Why couldnt you have put your dcs in a trolley with a double seat?

I push the buggy one handed and carry a basket, but I noticed recently that the trolleys have a little pull out thing that i think allows you to fold and store the buggy on them. When I shop in aldi, which doesn't have baskets here, I use a buggy buddy with a big reusable bag hung off it as an alternative to a basket.

Just shop online if you really want to give them your money.

It does seem odd that they have weighed up the loss of the price of two bottles of wine, which is nothing compared to what you spend there each month (which they could see from nectar card I presume if they were so inclined) and decided a ban is the right course of action.

brand they haven't weighed up anything.

They knew the police wouldn't be bothered about an accidental shoplifter who hadn't even left the shop when she was 'caught'. They felt (probably rightly) on the moral high ground, but the manager was too busy/couldn't be arsed to speak to the OP. so not wanting to loose face the security guard told her she had a lifetime ban.

OP shop online or in the other branch for a month or so, then continue as if nothing has happened.

I meant more generally, presumably permission has been given to the security guard to issue these bans to shoppers.
(Could be interesting to stand at the doors issuing random bans to shoppers - anyone wearing the mumsnet scarf would be first in the firing line!)

I wonder how many people put bottles of alcohol or meat joints on pushchairs and 'forget' to pay for them. I think the OP made a genuine mistake, but I'm sure that the security guards see lots of these 'mistakes' every week. If you paid for a few tins of beans but left the expensive wine unpaid for then it doesn't look good from a security guard point of view.
I'm not sure why the nectar points or CCTV would confirm that you were being honest as lots of people spend lots of money and still pinch stuff.
Just be glad that the police were not called and shop somewhere else.

I wouldnt put any shopping in the bottom basket of a buggy as I know I would end up forgetting. I usially balance the basket on the hood or hook it over the handles.

Or only buy essentials if I have nowhere to put stuff.

I wouldn't go back either. I work in a shop and I've seen a Mum of 3 do this before and just politey reminded her, you could see she didn't mean it, rather than the guy who was hovvering in our fresh aisle (it's a tiny shop) for 20 minutes who had a big pocket then tried to leave the shop after paying for some chewing gum I remember i went into the range with my pram before, got all the way home and there was a can of relentless in there, totally forgot to pay for it but had paid for everyone else to, I think quite a few of us have accidently done it on here!

I really want to buy some relentless! (What is that really?)

I'd guess old cctv could prove that you regularly put wine in the bottom basket and then pay for it, but it wouldn't be worth their while to check.

There is no separate offence of 'shoplifting', it's 'theft' and to be charged with theft, there needs to be intent.
It would be hard to show intent in these circumstances so they wouldn't try and prosecute so they use another deterrent - lifetime ban.
'Forgetting to pay' is a standard shoplifting technique just because it is easy for people to forget in reality & may get them off the hook. Therefore stores have to find some deterrent for this unfortunately that will also end up applying to most people who really do forget.
Some stores deal with it better & with more discretion than others but some have such a big problem with it they hand out judgement every-time to try to deal with it.

This has happened to me a few times (forgetting) obv check properly.
Supermarkets could do with putting up a sign or something 'have you remembered to check trolley, pram etc properly? ' if I would see that at checkout I would never have got home with a packet of vests I got from tescos once. The next time I went (didn't drive then so itwas bus job wwith double buggy on my own) which was thr next week I explained at the till and asked them ro charge me for them.