Shoplifting - not nice subject but...

[Lorraine]

:oWas in Woolworths today and my mate who works there was having a bad day. A customer had come in a couple of days ago and bought a load of items for her children. One item, a skipping rope, was too short and she decided to bring it back in to get another one. Unbelievably, it was not listed on her receipt!!! :o

Looks like the sales assistant was going a bit too fast for the till to keep up and missed this item.

Spoke to assistant and the reply was " that if she had left the store the other day and had her bag searched by their store detective - she could have been done for shoplifting " :o - even though it was the shop assistant's fault!!!

Luckily for the customer, they changed it!

Dont ever suspect you have paid for all your items without checking the receipt first (lovely to get a freebie now and then) but the ending does not sound very nice - getting a record for shoplifting which you did not even do!!!! It does happen

[martinwhite]

Not too much chance of this happening I feel.

Definition of theft as per Theft Act 1968:
"A person is guilty of theft if they dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive them of it."

The shop would have to prove dishonesty. The Act doesn't say what "dishonest" is, but does give defences and examples of where honesty can be mistaken for something else.


ps This definition of theft is why the term Taking Without Owners Consent (TWOC) had to be invented. The original joyriders (circa 1960s) used to nick a car if they missed the last bus home. No intention to permanently deprive them of it, hence not theft.

I used to be a manager in a shop, and you have to actually watch them take it and walk out without paying, its near impossible for an innocent person to get accused of this, even if they did, it would never stand up, and the Police would laugh about it after!

[Spiceskull]

If they were searched on the way out, and this situation had arisen, it is likely that the security camera would prove the customer's innocence. Sad as it is, the security cameras are there to prevent theft by staff as much as theft by the non-paying public...

Sorry - I didn't finish - the 'staff' cameras tend to focus on the tills, and it is inconceivable that the 'unpaid for item' would not be recorded going into the bag...

[martinwhite]

I think the key thing would be that it's in the bag, not hidden in their pants or whatever.

[deemacperth]

Hiding a skipping rope in their pants??????

[funkyparott]

The only person who can search you is a Police Constable; unless you give your consent to another.

You do not have to let a security guard search you. If they want to arrest you thats their business, - but I can bet you most are not up to scratch on the new SOCPA powers in relation to arrests.

FP