Morrisons - wrongly accused of theft and no apology after 3 months!

Nat1977

gordikin wrote: »

But would a written apology help with your neighbours?

Probably not, but at least I would have felt that I had been taken notice of and not just ignored like the rest of the herds of people that flock to supermarkets. Its nice to be made not to feel like a face in the crowd.

And if any of the neighbours did ask, I would tell them that I received a written apology, which sound better than someone said sorry on the phone. It is more formal.

RacyRed

If the OP hadn't had the receipt, what might have happened?

Would she have been arrested for theft? Would there have been a court hearing with the resultant solicitors/barristers costs?

And all because she bought and paid for some petrol and the supermarket made a mistake?

Personally I find that really alaming.

I think that is why I feel so strongly that the OP is owed a written apology.

Paul_Varjak

If I was in the OP's shoes, I would not use the store again, until I got a written apology. It is very easy for shops to accuse people of some wrongdoing without being sure of their facts.

Morrisons obviously don't care if they wrongly accuse someone of theft and if they are not required to apologize they won't care if the falsely accuse someone else in the future.

Morrisons attitude stinks.



Read this article...

Bristol driver: I was shocked to be accused of stealing petrol
By Devans

When Carolyn Lyons went to her local garage for petrol, she did not expect to be accused of theft.

The mum-of-three parked her blue Peugeot 206 at the Tesco Express on Gloucester Road North, filled up and paid before driving off.

But at 9.30am the next day she was shocked to get a call from police saying she had been reported for petrol theft.

"I was absolutely gobsmacked," said the 39-year-old, of Eden Grove, Horfield. "I put £15.01 of fuel in my car on January 20 and paid for it on my bank card. I even took out £200 from their cash machine right outside the window.


"After explaining this to the police they agreed to lift the 'mark' on my car and advised me to go to see the manager to sort it out. It even came up in my conversation with police that it was £9 of petrol that had been stolen, not £15.

"After arriving at Tesco and showing the manager the till I paid on, he apologised and said they had made a mistake, stating the person in charge the day before was in training and not trained for the CCTV system.

"Through their negligence, I was falsely accused of theft. I'm registered disabled because I have a bad knee after breaking my leg six years ago so I rely on my car. But I was unable to use it for a few days after this happened because I was scared I would have been arrested.

"After numerous phone calls complaining to Tesco's head office, they did admit they were in the wrong and offered me a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine for my inconvenience, which I think is a joke. I think the public should be aware of this as it could happen to them and if they are offered a bottle of wine and a bunch of flowers, would they think that was an acceptable offer?

"The whole thing has been dealt with absolutely ridiculously and I won't be using that garage again."

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "This incident was clearly an error. We have apologised to the customer and offered a her a gesture of goodwill."

Avon and Somerset police spokeswoman Claire Stanley confirmed that Mrs Lyons had been eliminated from their inquiries.

loracan1

Nat1977 wrote: »

Well I know if I had the police at my door, even if I had done nothing wrong, I would be stressed, not to mention embarrased. The neighbours round here would have a field day! Everyone copes with different situations differently with regards to mental strength. We dont all have skins as thick as leather you know!

Unless they were to arrive at my door with handcuffs ready to arrest me why on earth would I care whether the neighbours saw them or not? I doubt any of my neighbours would immediately jump to the conclusion I was a criminal simply because they were stood at my door. And in all honesty I'd probably just be relieved it wasn't 'bad news'.

As I see it, a misunderstanding took place, was resolved quickly and the OP started writing very long letters demanding full and frank apologies almost straight away - exactly who were they writing to, the store manager or petrol station manager?

ETA: Interesting post above...right up until the 'flowers and wine' part and insinuation that she deserves more... Honestly, is it any wonder that people take the rip and make comment?

marleyboy

As far as the OP is concerned it wasn't resolved, the OP is entitled to a written apology, if that is enough to satisfy the OP, it is the very least the company can do to ensure the matter is resolved.

This link best describes the differences in apologies, as well as the importance of a written apology.

http://www.docshare.com/doc/232615/Importance-of-Apology-Letter

gordikin

Where in law is the OP entitled to a written apology?

Sooler

aloise wrote: »

Well after the stress of having the police to your door, a few vouchers are the least I would expect.

You'd need a voucher in return for helping police with their enquiries?

What's really so stressful about it? Perhaps Morrisons ought to write to the everyone in the street explaining how wrong they were.

Morrison's aren't responisble for the police actions. OP should write to the Independent Police Complaints Commission because the police turned up and asked questions.

Sooler

aloise wrote: »

Just some common courtesy to show that they regret their cashiers mistake.

there was no mistake ... they reported a suspected drive off, surely their right to do so. Police looked into it, couldn't see anything wrong. Sorted.

marleyboy

gordikin wrote: »

Where in law is the OP entitled to a written apology?

The same place in law a company can falsely report a customer to the Police.

Sooler

RacyRed wrote: »

Get real, Morrisons shouldn't be involving the police until they are sure a crime actually has been committed.

that's the police's job. Investigation of suspected criminal activity - they have the expertise and authority to interview the alleged suspects to establish the facts