Caught in Tesco

[mighty sword]

Hello all.

 

I'm ashamed to admit the below, but it has happened, and I can't turn back time.

 

Basically I bought a bottle of wine from Tesco a couple of weeks back. The bottle though, fell through the bag on the way home and smashed.

 

I kept the receipt with the intention of going to the store to tell them that their bags weren't strong enough, and to ask nicely if I could get a replacement.

 

Anyway a couple of weeks passed. I am unemployed and I never got my benefit in time this week, so I have been struggling to even get some food.

 

I picked up the receipt today and I am afraid to say I went in store, picked up the bottle of wine from the shelf and took it to the customer services with a couple of other things.

 

Once I got there, I told the lady that i had purchased the wine a day or two earlier, and asked for a refund, and do an exchange with a couple of things. This is when the security guard strode over.

 

He asked what the lady what i was doing. She said I was doing a part refund, part swap.

He said something along the lines of -'You mean this one which you have taken from the shelf' (in front of customers)

I obviously panicked and said that i didn't and was promptly marched off to the back room.

 

The back room was not a security guards room in itself, more a staff room. I asked the guard whether we can go and talk somewhere in private and he said this was not possible. So the whole questioning was taking place in front of other members of staff, some of whom knew me by face as I go in to the store almost every day.

 

The guard had to receipt in hand, which was partly ripped so the date of purchase was not showing. He then proceeded to ask me when and where I had bought the wine.

 

I initially repeated what I had said at the till - that I had bought it in the last couple of days. He asked me how much i paid, what time it was etc

 

Basically he was suggesting that I had picked up the receipt from outside and was pulling a [problem]

 

I eventually told him the real story, which was that it was in fact my receipt but that the purchase was made on a specific day (or two days, as I couldn't exactly remember if it was one day or the next day)

 

The Guard told me that he can go through all of the transactions there and then. He was grilling me on how much exactly I pad for the wine, did I buy anything else, what time I was in the store?

 

I told him i honestly couldn't remember what time I was in there but that It would have been from 2pm onwards. As I told him, I am unemployed and therefore my day is not structured like others, so i could have popped in there at any time.

 

Anyway I asked him to go through the transactions and I guarantee him he will see mine there, paid with cash.

 

- note - I realise that the actual offence was not in doubt as he said he had me on cctv taking the bottle off the shelf and going to customer services.The reason I am focussing on the receipt issue is that this is what the guard was doing. He barely mentioned anything else other than trying to prove that I had picked up the receipt myself and had not bought the bottle of wine originally.

 

Eventually the guard produced a letter for me to sign, which has banned me from going in to any tesco store ever!

 

The letter was signed by me (under duress) - I told him I didn't agree with it- and he said my name and face would be sent to every store in the UK..

 

Whilst i am glad that the police were not called, I can't help thinking that this was not necessary. I did ask him to go through the till transactions to prove that this was purchased on the day I said but it seemed as if it was easier to just get me to sign the letter.

 

I am frankly ashamed that my name and face is to be sent around all of the tesco stores and wondered if I had any recourse at all.

 

Does anybody think it would be worth me writing to tesco, or should I just let it lie given the police were not called?

 

Also - in terms of my data - can this be legally shared around anyone other than tesco?

 

Any help appreciated.

 

I know it is tempting but I would appreciate not to be judged on this. I know I have done wrong.

[rebel11]

Hi mighty

 

Welcome to CAG

 

I wouldn't bother writing to Tesco, there is no benefit in doing that. There are quite a few threads in the relevant forum that are worth reading. There is also the CAB report on RLP that's well worth reading.

 

Please let us know how your problem has been resolved, it could help fellow Caggers.

[mighty sword]

Thanks, I will have a read through. They never asked me to give them any money as I never actually left that store with anything, and had a receipt, so I am not expecting a letter from the RLP.

 

I guess I should just be glad the police were involved right?

[chingola]

How does anyone manage to get to see the CAB? I have been trying for weeks to see someone about an RLP issue with no luck.

[Sidewinder]

They are notoriously under resourced through no fault of their own unfortunately and it is often a case of turning up, sitting and waiting.

 

Is this something specific that you could get help from here initially?