Your rights in the UK if accused of shoplifting?

katie85_2

Laneyboo wrote: »

i'm quite surprised at a lot of the replies on this thread tbh..

The OP was looking for advice on a situation she found herself in and instead people have actually questioned her story and asked her to explain herself basically.. totally wrong.

Really i highly doubt the first thing a shoplifter would do is come on to a moneysaving site and ask for advice about how to get some briefs and a couple of purchases back... Goodness me, think about it for a small second lol


!

Thankyou! it's good to see that there are some intelligent people around here, lol.

katie85_2

sammiedoodle wrote: »

If you post stuff like that on here then you open yourself up to people passing judgement, it's human nature, wether you agree with them or not is your perogative.
Maybe she's a would be shoplifter checking out her rights before she goes off for a wee free shopping spree!!!
LOL
If she really is inocent then surely the straight forward thing to do would be produce the proof of purchase get your things back and demand an appology

If you actually READ my post I am enquiring about the rights that the store had in detaining me, when it was clear I had not stolen from their store.

katie85_2

No need to get snarky now. I was just pointing out that you had not read my post properly, instead choosing to jump straight in with judgements and sarcasm.
My point about 'not stealing from their store' was quite clearly, to show that they had no evidence to detain me, as I had not stolen anything so therefore it was nothing to do with them.
And as for the fact that it this forum is not the right place, well maybe it isn't, however I have had a lot of good advice from people who are actually willing to give it instead of trying to be funny. I should have known that all forums seem to have little people who like to make themselves feel big by judging others.

katie85_2

I was simply looking for somebody who had an idea of where the law stands on this situation. I wasn't asking for people to judge me, and to accuse me of being a shoplifter. Let's say I was a shoplifter, does that mean that I forfeit my human rights?
Does that mean that people can do anything they want to me, take me against my will, etc?

It feels like I am being judged for something I know I did not do, when I was simply hoping that people would be able to point me in the right direction regards whether or not I could take this further in the store.Having people reply with sarcastic and unfunny comments is not productive and there is no need for it. I have admitted in an earlier post that I must have looked guilty as hell, however, I wasn't. I was simply looking for advice, not judgement.

shellsuit

If that was me, the first thing i would have done would be to ring my BF and tell him to come to me with the receipts.

betterbargains4u

Katie

Take no notice of the silly b**gers on here that have nothing better to do with their lives than pass judgement onto others!!
There but for the grace of God, walk every single one of us.
Let's just hope that something like this happens to them, and then lets see how they feel when they ask for some advice as to how to deal with the situation.
Please read my post #23 I really do know what I am talking about here...unlike some of the less helpful posters on here.
Get yourself some expert advice...as you do have a really good case.
Best of luck...and ignore the daft judgementalists. This site is very good...most of the time!!:j

hieveryone

Katie did you go back to the store with the receipts? What was the outcome?

tbw

zenseeker wrote: »

And you would likewise be arrested and charged with assualting a security guard acting in the line of duty. A security guard is certainly within their rights to detain you using reasonable force (ie. holding of arms). I think that they need police assistance to search you if you refuse though, unless you give permission.

Think about it, what would be the point in having security guards if they didn't have at least basic powers of arrest and detainment?

I do not believe that anyone, security guard or anyone else, can get away with physically detaining a perfectly innocent member of the public on a whim. If ANYONE strange grabs hold of me or tries to force me to go with him or tries to manhandle me onto the ground I can and will take any action I need to make them lay off! It would be me calling the police and complaining of assault !

Money_maker

Although many of the posts aren't answering the legal question, they are being helpful in suggesting you return to the store with your receipts, prove your innocence and complain to the highest authority within that store or head office if appropriate.

Problem is, when folks read posts on here they put themselves in the position of the OP, empathy and all that. Then they look at the logical response they would take to resolve the situation. Thats why so many responses go off topic a bit as people strive to get over what they would have done in response to a situation.

Most posters it would appear would have got the receipts and returned to the store as previously mentioned. Hence the reason why they are questioning why this was not your immediate response rather than requesting information on the rights of suspected shoplifters.

I note that you have mentioned several times that you had not stolen from THEIR store but lack of further information has ensured conclusions have been reached based on the information supplied.

HTH

VIJAY_FROM_KENT

I can not understand how/why 1 store would confiscate items from another store... If this really has happened exactly how you put it I wouldnt go back to the store but contact a solicitor.......