Hi all,

I'm not sure if there is anything that can be done, but I thought I'd check.

My wife does our weekly shop in Tesco's using their scan and shop service,

where you scan your items and pack them into bags and then pay at the till at the end.

She has done this for over a year with no issues at all until last Friday (23/01/15).

My wife did the shopping as normal but put a pack of Pampers Night Pants (£5.97) into a bag which she ended up not using otherwise.

As a result, she inadvertently failed to pay for them. She left the store but didn't even reach the car before she realised her mistake.

Turning around, she walked back into the store to pay for them.

As soon as she stepped inside, a security guard took her aside and asked to check her shopping.

She tried to explain her mistake, but the guard led her into a back office and called the police.

Upon their arrival the police viewed the CCTV and even the police officer admitted

that she looked as though she was coming back into to pay for the item.

Unfortunately, because the item was over £5 Tesco policy was to involve the police,

so my wife has ended up receiving a police caution

and a Fixed Penalty Notice for £90, over a £6 item that my wife was coming back in to pay for!

We've paid the Penalty Notice, but

I was wondering if this is something we should have (or even still could) challenged?

I mean, they say crime doesn't pay, but it seems in this case, neither does honesty!

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

as I am unable to work and recieve medical benefits and my wife is my carer,

so £90 is a lot to lose for an honest mistake.

Thanks in advance!

The police officer should have explained that there is a choice: accept the fixed penalty, or go to court, where the allegation can be defended. If the FPN was accepted, that is usually the end of the matter.

She can't "appeal" as such

- the penalty notice is in effect an offer to avoid prosecution by paying £90.

She had the option of declining it and opting for a court appearance instead

- and if she'd done that the prosecution would have had to prove, to a criminal standard,

that she took the nappies with dishonest intent

- difficult I would have thought if she was coming straight back in to pay for them.

However it's worth mentioning that if she'd gone down that route she would have been risking a much harsher penalty,

and a criminal record, if she had been convicted of shoplifting.

In any event though it's academic now as by paying the penalty notice she accepted it,

and that's the end of the matter.

There's not much she can do now except chalk it down to experience and shop somewhere else in future.

She can't "appeal" as such - the penalty notice is in effect an offer to avoid prosecution by paying £90. She had the option of declining it and opting for a court appearance instead - and if she'd done that the prosecution would have had to prove, to a criminal standard, that she took the nappies with dishonest intent - difficult I would have thought if she was coming straight back in to pay for them. However it's worth mentioning that if she'd gone down that route she would have been risking a much harsher penalty, and a criminal record, if she had been convicted of shoplifting. In any event though it's academic now as by paying the penalty notice she accepted it, and that's the end of the matter. There's not much she can do now except chalk it down to experience and shop somewhere else in future.

Also worth pointing out that accepting the FPN will not raise an entry on a DBS file (the old CRB check)

- even an arrest and charge for theft (even if later disproved in court) might be disclosed in future if your wife needed a clean record for a relevant job application or to enter certain countries as a visitor.

Unfortunately, because the item was over £5 Tesco policy was to involve the police,

That is NOT Tesco policy!

Thanks for all your replies, I guessed that there wouldn't be much else we could do, but always worth checking.

I've read enought threads to know to ignore them, but should we now expect letters from RLP?

quite probably!

the police have fined me already

go bugger off!

dx

You might want to make a formal complaint about how the incident was handles to the ceos office and that they have undermined your trust and confidence in the tesco brand and that you would like to know what they propose to do about it.

Also

Press?

I'd love to take this to the press, but my wife is horribly embarrassed by this and just wants ít all to be over with. She won't even go back to Tesco now, we've switched supermarkets. Which is a shame, because we use our clubcard points for day trips etc.

However I do like the idea of making a formal complaint, as that won't necessarily be a public thing. Are there any threads with templates for complaints etc?

RLP policy is similar to ppc policy, this can be dealt with should it arise