Thanks again SIlverFox - we do have shop watch as another of my children works in a shop as a Saturday job - they share names only if you are under 18

Thanks very much for your help and advice. I am gutted by his actions/poor decisions, especially as his friend at school been caught 2 years ago and I thought we had put the fear of God into him then.... there will be some BIG sanctions put in place. Do you think the police will come round to the house? or most likely take no further action? We live in a small town with 2 Sainsbury's - so I will make sure he stays away from both... Can Sainsbury's pass his name to other shops in town too? or would this also be in breach of the DPA? Thanks

Hi Firstly I am extremely upset/embarrassed by my son's behaviour - but I am trying to be practical in this post..... My 15yo son was caught shoplifting in our Sainsbury's Local this morning He was stopped by a shop assistant as he had put packs on condoms (!) in his pocket. He was stopped by the sandwich section near the door. My son admitted to nothing, nor made any excuses. Just handed the packs back. The store assistant took his name, address and mobile number, and said he was calling the police (he made a call, there and then at the till, and then bragged to the person on the other end of the phone about how good he was as this). All this happened in the store, he wasn't taken anywhere, no other member of staff was involved and there was no paperwork shared or anything, just a scrap of paper with my son's details taken. He was also told he was banned for life. So my questions are Why was there no paperwork? Surely there s some sort of official documentation? I would have expected that he would have been sat down, explained the seriousness of the accusation, told what happens next etc? Why was he accused when he hadn't left the store, he could have been buying a sandwich and put the condoms in his pocket as he was embarrassed about carrying them in the store? Did the shop assistant really call the police? Surely my son would have been detained first? Others on the forum who have been banned have been given a piece of paper -my son was given nothing Will the shop tell the school - just so I can be prepared for this when they go back after Easter. Also, they let my son go before my husband was called, and he was obviously very upset by what happened he didn't come home for another hour and we were very worried about him.....it feels irresponsible for a shop to allow a minor to leave without a parent coming to get them..... Any advice gratefully received - do we need to get legal representation? Would it nake a difference? Thanks for any help and advice