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Original poster

Anyone else fess up to this "crime"?

76 replies

cheekymonk · 14/09/2007 08:10

I was in Tescos yesterday when a security guard stopped the woman behind me at the till and picked up a toy that said mum had disgarded asking her if she was going to pay for it. The mum went blood red and said no because it was broken. The security woman then said yes because you broke it, now you must pay for that and the pastry your child has been eating throughout the store!!!! We have been watching you on video!!!
I was [shocked] at the aggressive tactics but acknowledge mum was in the wrong. I just felt sorry for her. I could see she was skint as most stuff was tesco value.
Its just I've done stuff like that, not necessarily broken the toy but def given ds toys I knew I wasn't going to buy to keep him amused! Anyone else? Just curious really

OP posts:
Original poster
cheekymonk · 14/09/2007 11:58

Yes Speccy you are right. She was behind me and could have "declared" it when it was her turn. Security woman was def trying to embarrass her further. Mean cow!

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 14/09/2007 11:58

No, I'm not guilty of this crime because I do not give my children toys in shops that I do not intend to buy for them. And if I do intend to buy the toy for them, then they can wait till we are out of the shop to play with it.

Ditto food.

Shops are not there to entertain and feed your kids for free.

Being skint is no excuse. A whole hell of a lot of people who are.

Original poster
cheekymonk · 14/09/2007 11:58

Why do you say that vacua?

OP posts:
tiredemma · 14/09/2007 12:00

whats the point in giving a child to play with, only to take it back at the checkout?

Its like giving me a pair of Christian Laboutin shoes to try on but snatching them back off me as I make a dash outside.

pointless and cruel.

Original poster
cheekymonk · 14/09/2007 12:00

Wow expat. Strong words.

OP posts:
Original poster
cheekymonk · 14/09/2007 12:02

I will buy ds the toy if he particularly loves it and hasn't got bored within the usual 2 minutes. I take the point that it is not up to shops to entertain kids for free but on the other hand- its not like supermarket shopping is thrilling is it?!

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 14/09/2007 12:04

How is that 'strong', cheeky.

Eating food that you don't intend to pay for is stealing.

So is playing with things that you don't intend to pay for, breaking them and then discarding them.

Tesco is morally bankrupt, but that's no excuse to steal from them.

gringottsgoblin · 14/09/2007 12:05

i agree shops are not there to entertain and feed your kids for free. they are there to suck as mouch money out of you as they possibly can. if they want any of my money then they can make my life easier by allowing my small child to chew the end of the baguette before i have paid for it. they need to realise customers have a choice of where to go and customer service (or lack of it) is one of the most important reasons for choosing where to shop for me

expatinscotland · 14/09/2007 12:06

Goblin it is your responsibility to keep your child entertained, not the supermarket's.

MaryBleedinPoppins · 14/09/2007 12:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

gringottsgoblin · 14/09/2007 12:08

i agree, but then i wont use the supermarket if they are not willing to help me out, i will use small shops instead as it takes less time so they are not as difficult to manage. i have asked at supermarkets (not tesco) if they are happy about scanning the packets and they have said yes. if they said no i would have voted with my feet

Beachcomber · 14/09/2007 12:10

Cheeky you say you were shocked at the aggressive tactics used but it really only sounds like security were doing their job in a normal fashion.

Stealing is stealing, being skint is no excuse.

expatinscotland · 14/09/2007 12:10

I find it tacky and trashy to eat food in a shop and then hand over a wrapper to pay for it.

Also a waste. I mean, when I eat food, I want to enjoy it, especially as it's going to make my arse even bigger. Not shove it down my throat to make my arse even fatter whilst I'm walking around a supermarket.

evenhope · 14/09/2007 12:10

DH gave DD a stuffed toy to "play with" (read: chew) as we went round Asda yesterday. The checkout girl was very surprised to be given a damp and slightly chewed label on its own to scan

I agree with expat. Theft is theft.

Yes supermarket shopping is boring but there is always the internet option which didn't exist when my older kids were tiny.

MaryBleedinPoppins · 14/09/2007 12:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

serenity · 14/09/2007 12:11

No to both (I'd take my own food with me, until I discovered the joys of internet shopping) The food's not 'ours' to keep until we've paid for it.

harleyd · 14/09/2007 12:12

but if you are giving a toddler say a banana out of a packet to keep them quite while you get round and do the shopping whats the roblem. i mean, you are paying for the stuff.
i have done it before and im sure i will have to again

southeatsastras · 14/09/2007 12:13

my son always used to eat the middle of the french bread round the supermarket. it was ok though as it still looked intact to the till operator, though it was like a crusty tube once he'd finished with it

Speccy · 14/09/2007 12:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
cheekymonk · 14/09/2007 12:24

I will now think twice about the toys- didn't ever to do it to be cruel obviously just a quick option to entertain ds really but I still will give ds a yoghurt out of a muilti pack if really necessary. Now he is almost 3 hopefully can get out of this stage too.
I just felt security guard was over the top and enjoying it a bit too much!

OP posts:
bookwormtailmum · 14/09/2007 12:26

Strictly speaking, you have only 'stolen' something when you intend to permanentely deprive the other of their property. So in theory you could take home toys without paying for them as long as you returned them later or paid for them in due course. In practice, I wouldn't advocate trying this! The thing about stopping you past the last reasonable point of payment in the store is to give you enough chances to pay for the goods so you don't have a defence you were tyring to see what it looked like in daylight etc and/or stop the security guard from having to chase you across the carpark.

However if you enter the store intending to nick something (even if you subsequently change your mind and don't do it) then you have technically committed a crime (of trespass), however one that can never be proved unless the security guard has ESP.

bubblagirl · 14/09/2007 12:37

nevr toys or he would create when taking back off him would feel really mean i take colouring pad out with me or a book or his etch a sketch so he has something to keep him amused but have given him food which i always pay for as most of time part of a multi pack

Theclosetpagan · 14/09/2007 12:44

Wouldn't give a toy but used to give DS an apple from one of those multi bags as it didn't affect the price. Less of a problem now he's older.

Meridian · 14/09/2007 13:36

I think that there could be a whole background story to the woman that you don't know, otherwise they woulden't have gotten to her so quick or watched her. There are way too many mums goign around shops with small kids you can't watch them all but if its a repeat offender? I used to work retail and whenever certain customers entered the store (Target chain in usa) they called all the tills and watched every move they made to see what happens otherwise the cameras weren't really used that much security was a bit of a joke then.

THe only toys ds ever got to play with are ones he is going to get. though I admit that he has lost a few in the shop, but we did try to pay for everything that he chewed on when he was a baby if we forgot to bring soemthing with us.

as for food ds always says he is hungry when helping (hindering) the shopping so i do give him those prewashed ready to eat bags of apples but I always pay for them.

Tinker · 14/09/2007 13:40

God, yeah, I'd do this. But then it is horrible Tesco so what do you expect.

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