Like flavy2ros I have just become a victim of the self scan problem.

I regularly shop at my local Waitrose, four times a week and even now some of the staff. Last Friday I was in a rush doing a last minute shop for a long weekend away with the family. I was picking items scanning and throwing them in the bag. At one stage I noticed the scanner re-booted, I didn’t think anything o it and carried on.

At checkout I paid and went to collect a coffee cup and it was then I noticed that some of the items hadn’t been recorded on my receipt. I stood for a while staring at the receipt thinking what do I do, if tell the staff they will think I might have tried to steal them, so I decided to chance it and leave the store.

Just when I was leaving the security guard approached me and said he would like me to accompany him to the back of the store. I followed and told him what happened. The security guard (someone I also know at the store) told me that he saw me looking at my receipt and thought something was amiss. He then went on to tell me I looked guilty and I stole those items and how long have I been doing this! Took my details and banned me from any Waitrose store. Told me I will recieve a letter in the post!

In hindsight I should have told the staff. Because I have never done anything like this before my whole weekend away with the family was ruined. I kept thinking about what happened and how I could have handled the situation differently. The irony of it all is that only at Christmas I caught I thief at the same store - blatantly robbing items without a scanner. I am still beating myself over this.

Like Flavy2ros I suppose I can expect the next six months to be bombarded with letters, even though nothing was actually taken outside the doors of the Waitrose store.

Hello and welcome to CAG.

If you want advice on your situation, it's best to start a new thread of your own. This one is for advising flavy.

Best, HB

I have just become a victim of the self scan problem.

 

 

.......

 

At checkout I paid and went to collect a coffee cup and it was then I noticed that some of the items hadn’t been recorded on my receipt. I stood for a while staring at the receipt thinking what do I do, if tell the staff they will think I might have tried to steal them, so I decided to chance it and leave the store.

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You were a victim of a scanner problem until the point you “decided to chance it”

If it is a recognised problem with self-scan, the staff will have seen it before and wouldn’t have batted an eye-lid if you’d told them.

“I was worried they might think I was a thief, so I decided to steal anyway” isn’t a credible excuse. You ceased to be a “victim” at that point when you decided to steal, and need to accept responsibility rather than looking for excuses.

That said, it was up to them to refer it to the police or not, and you shouldn’t pay RLP / DWF a penny.

New thread started.

HB

Hi

Unfortunately, I have to agree with Bazza in this case. You had the opportunity to rectify the error but you didn't. You thought about it and decided the wrong way. Having said that, you should consider yourself lucky that the police didn't get involved as 'error of judgement' is no excuse.

Having said that, RLP will write to you demanding some spurious amount which you have no obligation to pay. File any letters away and ignore all requests for money.

I agree with your comments and should have raised it with a member of staff. In that moment I just didn’t think straight. This incident has played on my mind and continues to do so now. I am trying to get past it but I feel I have let myself down more than anything as I have always been a Law abiding citizen. I will never use the scanner again and instead take my shopping to the manned checkout. Over the last 4 days I have done some research into grocery theft and am in shock how many people steal and what it costs the industry - eventually us as the cost has to be covered by increase in prices

I spoke to a solicitor friend and told him what happened. And how lucky I was that the police weren’t called. I was advised the security guard couldn’t call the police as I hadn’t technically left the store and therefore not stolen the items. Also it was just me and him at the back of the store and would be my word against his, he should have had someone else present to identify items not scanned/paid.

Horrible lesson to learn but one I will NEVER repeat again. I don’t know how people risk it!

I spoke to a solicitor friend and told him what happened. And how lucky I was that the police weren’t called. I was advised the security guard couldn’t call the police as I hadn’t technically left the store and therefore not stolen the items.

The security guard can call the police at any point, but the police won’t take action until the “points to prove” regarding theft have been made out .....

Did you give your solicitor friend EXACTLY the same story?

Since you said here:

so I decided to chance it and leave the store.

......

Just when I was leaving the security guard approached me

For a successful prosecution for theft (shoplifting) there is no absolute requirement to have left the store.

There just has to be “dishonest intent to permanently deprive” the store of its goods, “beyond all reasonable doubt”.

If you could reasonably claim you were headed back to the main store to pick up other items that you were then going to pay for all of them, you could introduce reasonable doubt.

If you had passed the last point at which you could pay and it was clear you were leaving, it matters not if you were one step inside the store or one step outside!.