First and foremost you should have been able to see/speak to the member of staff who claimed you committed an offence as by law (assuming they are an SIA licenced officer) you can request their name and licence number as displayed on their licence so they could be in the wrong here however that would depend if you requested to speak to the person or requested their details as I have in the past given colleagues licence details to a person requesting them but declined the person face to face contact due to the person being in an agressive state however dont see that to be an issue in your case.I would keep on at the company head office especially about public accusations, I had recently been stopped at a local tesco for activating the aerial alarm but the officer detained me saying I had stolen a dvd player, unbeknown to him I had a tab of tags from my workplace upon my person, he almost lost his job for wrongly accusing me, a schoolboy error he will never make again, out of both embarrasment and also the police warning for illegally detaining me although I found it quite amusing.Best advice is keep on at head office (they will hope you go away so dont), request all CCTV footage of yourself in the store (they have to produce it to you within a reasonable time frame, it can cost so bear that in mind and do it quickly as most CCTV only last 30-90 days before it is written over automatically), write to the mall you were ejected from requesting why you were ejected, and whom had told them you were to be ejected for such 'behaviour'. in relation to offering to be searched unfortunately this is a big no no, only a sworn police officer has power to search a person and property however a security officer may look into an opened bag and request a person move property in bags to ensure no items causing an issue although this mainly applies to door supervisors at bars, clubs, music events etc. With CCTV data protection prohibits playback to any individual without an SIA CCTV Operator licence as well as needing to blank or change other peoples faces on any cctv released to a member of the public which is why it must be requested and can be charged for.

as a retail security officer I can sympathise with both parties involved. However that being said I am inclined to believe you may have been wrongly accused in this case. First and foremost I would write to the retail store 'Head of Customer Relations', and explain what occurred and that you feel you were wrongly accused by their store security officer of theft which as you state was not witnessed on CCTV so wish to know who saw you commit such actions, where they were standing, was their sight impeded in any way as well as what action you would like to remedy this for you. Personally I think the officer may have made a mistake however mistakes can be extremely costly which is why I stick to a simple acronym of ASCONE - Approach item(s), Select item(s), Conceal item(s), Observation 100%, Non payment, Exit. any one of those missing I will not stop the person and detain them, rather the stock go than detain a person illegally. ASCONE is pretty much standard for retail security officers and Store deectives with the exception some use SCONE instead of ASCONE. Hope this helps

work as a security officer for boots and like dx said they cant actually do much, whilst yes it is private property and can request you not enter or that you leave it is a civil matter so police can not really get involved unless doing so would keep the peace.in relation to being stopped and detained why dont some people see common sense, children are curious, will pick things up but if it happens in my store yes I stop the adult outside but i explain why and request the item and probably have a little laugh about it after all what little boy looks good with bright pink make up on lol.wish some security officers would just think first sometimes before going in all guns blazing.

As a security officer working in a boots store I cant believe you were actually stopped and detained without even exiting the building, especially when no offence was committed as by offerring to pay for items later means you had means of payment on you at the time (why I always wait until people leave the building). In short if you were detained without committing an offence then in reality you were held against your will having not committed an offence meaning the officer having detained you has actually committed at least some form of abduction which I would bear in mind if I were you although one of the regular posters can advise to what extent that may exist.Boots and the security company it uses nationwide uses the simple saying ASCONE - Approach item, Select item, Conceal item, Observation 100%, Non Payment & Exit. if one element is missing the officer is not to take any action. Personally I think Goodatresearch last post is bang on and I would consider action against the store, especially in being detained illegally.

as a retail security officer it really irritates me to read stories like this where staff just go to far and over step their role. Firstly you should not have been searched or any item of property been searched by any member of staff, the only person who possesses the power of search is a Police Officer not a security officer who has exactly the same powers as anyone else on the street. I have known some members of the public who have been searched by a security officer to claim assault which in theory it is. Whilst yes I would have probably stopped and detained you regarding the stylus as it could be considered as theft I would have considered all factors such as the reasoning, which in this incident seems extremely plausible. who doesn't put a pen in a pocket? Personally I think you have nothing to worry about and worst case the supermarket have lost two customers, their loss not yours