Wrongly Accused Shoplifting In Tesco - Help

webtalk

bwahahaha - what a laugh - haven't read the entire thread though. All I can say is that now that you've had dealings with the police this'll hve to be declared to the American authorities should you ever decide to go there.

Oh, and you'll now have to get a visa to travel.

What joys.

hamblettamaud

i have no sympathy with the OP who could easily have stopped the situation escalating by showing the receipt but instead decided in this ever-increasingly litigious world that there might be some compensation in the offing & i really hope that tesco refuse to give the OP anything as they were quite right to stop him/her if they suspected him/her of shoplifting as it's me & honest people like me who finance the shoplifting thieves by inflated prices & let's be honest who actually believes the OP's story anyway as it sounds like a wind-up!

DaisyNelson

I can't believe that so many posters can't believe they have spent so much time reading this thread. Please, just let it die. No-one agrees with the OP, do they?

DCFC79

DaisyNelson wrote: »

I can't believe that so many posters can't believe they have spent so much time reading this thread. Please, just let it die. No-one agrees with the OP, do they?

I dont believe the OP, i couldnt read the whole thread as it was very long when i posted my reply

hamblettamaud

actually i have a great deal of sympathy for the OP who in being asked for a receipt was put in the difficult situation of being implied to be a shoplifter & so (s)he should consider taking tescos to court for defamation of character & it is only right that the good & honest shoppers of this world should pay for this abuse by tescos in artificially raised prices as it could be them next & not just the OP.

DCFC79

hamblettamaud wrote: »

actually i have a great deal of sympathy for the OP who in being asked for a receipt was put in the difficult situation of being implied to be a shoplifter & so (s)he should consider taking tescos to court for defamation of character & it is only right that the good & honest shoppers of this world should pay for this abuse by tescos in artificially raised prices as it could be them next & not just the OP.

i was asked by a store detective ages ago for a receipt for some chewing gum id bought from woolworths, the guy did follow for 5 - 10 minutes before he asked me for a receipt, i didnt have a problem showing the receipt but i do think the detective should have asked me at an earlier point than he had done

Tom125

webtalk wrote: »

bwahahaha - what a laugh - haven't read the entire thread though. All I can say is that now that you've had dealings with the police this'll hve to be declared to the American authorities should you ever decide to go there.

Oh, and you'll now have to get a visa to travel.

What joys.

I don't think this is true. The OP wasn't arrested. It is true that if you are 'arrested', even if not convicted, you may need a visa. However, as he / she wasn't arrested, they should still be able to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (should they wish to....).

Just having 'dealings with the Police' does not affect eligibility for use of the Visa Waiver Program.

Pollycat

DaisyNelson wrote: »

I can't believe that so many posters can't believe they have spent so much time reading this thread. Please, just let it die. No-one agrees with the OP, do they?

Daisy, I don't think many people (if any) agree with the stance the OP took.
I don't actually have any sympathy for the OP for putting him/herself in such a silly position, but I DO think it's time this thread died a natural death.

The OP isn't a newbie and is continuing to post on other forums, let's just stop flogging this ad nauseum and give up bashing the OP for what, I'm sure, he/she now realises was a stupid mistake.

phlogeston

A security guard at Tesco's has no more rights to stop someone than any other civilian.

If a stranger walked up to you in the street and told you you had to wait while they searched your bag - would you consider it reasonable?

If a stranger forces you to stop going about your lawful business, then they have unlawfully detained you. If they threaten force or use force to stop you then they have assaulted you. These are criminal offences.

In this case, unless the security guards had a reasonable belief that a crime had occured then they had no RIGHT to detain or arrest the OP. At NO time did they the right to search his belongings. Another customer, thinking they might have seen a theft and then telling security, is not a reasonable belief for a civilian (ie Shop Security Guard) to carry out a citizens arrest.

For all those that helpfully point out that shops are allowed to protect their stock, yes they are. In this case however, they were not protecting their stock. No theft had occured and the goods belonged to the OP. In general, no citizen has the right to interfere with another based on a vague hunch that they might be doing something wrong.

=========================================================

If someone approached me in the same circumstances, politely explained the situation and politely requested sight of my receipt, no doubt I would happily
acquiesce.

Alternatively, if someone was rude or aggressive when approaching me, or in any way accused me of shoplifting, then they might find my response to be less than polite. Any attempt to unlawfully detain or arrest me would be met with any reasonable force required to protect myself and continue on my way.

=========================================================

So in answer to the OPs question, NO they staff at Tescos had no RIGHT to treat him in the way they did.

If the security guards chose to disregard the law, then why all splenic comments from other Money Savers towards the OP?

phlogeston

A security guard at Tesco's has no more rights to stop someone than any other civilian.

If a stranger walked up to you in the street and told you you had to wait while they searched your bag - would you consider it reasonable?

If a stranger forces you to stop going about your lawful business, then they have unlawfully detained you. If they threaten force or use force to stop you then they have assaulted you. These are criminal offences.

In this case, unless the security guards had a reasonable belief that a crime had occured then they had no RIGHT to detain or arrest the OP. At NO time did they the right to search his belongings. Another customer, thinking they might have seen a theft and then telling security, is not a reasonable belief for a civilian (ie Shop Security Guard) to carry out a citizens arrest.

For all those that helpfully point out that shops are allowed to protect their stock, yes they are. In this case however, they were not protecting their stock. No theft had occured and the goods belonged to the OP. In general, no citizen has the right to interfere with another based on a vague hunch that they might be doing something wrong.

=========================================================

If someone approached me in the same circumstances, politely explained the situation and politely requested sight of my receipt, no doubt I would happily
acquiesce.

Alternatively, if someone was rude or aggressive when approaching me, or in any way accused me of shoplifting, then they might find my response to be less than polite. Any attempt to unlawfully detain or arrest me would be met with any reasonable force required to protect myself and continue on my way.

=========================================================

So in answer to the OPs question, NO they staff at Tescos had no RIGHT to treat him in the way they did.

If the security guards chose to disregard the law, then why all splenic comments from other Money Savers towards the OP?