Tesco had me arrested !!!

geordie_joe

celebrate wrote: »

i'm not saying the OP is right or wrong but people on this forum can be soooo judgemental and suspicious that someone is not telling the truth, perhaps i am niave but i would hate to make an honest mistake , come on here for advice or support and get nothing but a slating

just saying thats all , now you can all have another go at me

I'm not having a go at you, I would feel the same if I made a mistake, but some things about the OP just don't add up.

They claim they were arrested because Tesco insisted they be arrested. This does not happen, the police decide who to arrest based on the evidence they have.

They claim the security guard went to the checkout operator to verify their statement, accompanied by the investigate police officer.

Yes the security guard did go & ask the till operator if i had said that, & she confirmed i did say it. ( witnessed, by present police officer )

This wouldn't happen, the police don't allow security guards to gather new evidence once they are on the scene.

Why would the police arrest the Op when they had said they asked for the item to be scanned, and therefore paid for, and the checkout operator verified this, which would also mean that the checkout operator had made the mistake by not scanning it, not the OP.

I'm no fan of Tesco, but surely the police would not arrest someone for shoplifting when a store employee had said they pointed out that the item must be paid for, and the store employee forgot to take the money?

It would be a bit hard to get a conviction for shoplifting (removing an item from a shop with the intention of not paying for it), when a shop employee says they did point out that the item was to be paid for, and the employee forgot to scan it, or charge them for it.

danlojo

danlojo wrote: »

Going back to the OP starting post.........

I wonder how many people do shop lift, get outside the doors and are stopped and then say, "oops sorry a genuine mistake, I meant to pay for them"......there must be loads who try it on.

This is NOT saying that is what you did but look at it from a business point of view and the losses incurred.

Hold on, can you not read Celebrate.....I did not say that the OP was lying....maybe you should read posts correctly....I for one did not 'have a go'.....

Jog on Celebrate

celebrate

sorry for quoting you personally i was just saying generally i'm not here to defend the OP just wanted to say that people seem to be v quick to have a go

danlojo

np.....

kissingthepink

But surely the OP would have realised that the clothes had not been scanned when the bill was £24 less than it should have been?

vax2002

The moral of this tale is don't go shopping unless you have you wits about you .

sassyblue

I can see Tescos point of view.... dirty hands or not you said the clothes were 'hanging on the trolley' so they were on coat hangers, why couldn't you have taken them off the trolley yourself by holding the hooks of the hangers? Presumbably you were pushing the trolley with these dirty hands?

I've nearly done the same thing myself with my toddler distracting me, but the dirty hands excuse is frankly silly.

If you're telling the truth don't pay up, but fgs don't give them room to brand you a thief, it's still not the cashiers fault - it's your for not making sure she rang them through!

DCFC79

celebrate wrote: »

sorry for quoting you personally i was just saying generally i'm not here to defend the OP just wanted to say that people seem to be v quick to have a go

its the fact that things didnt add up which made the event a bit suss but it isnt uncommon on here to read a post about tesco from a newbie where things dont add up,

vax2002

DCFC79 wrote: »

its the fact that things didnt add up which made the event a bit suss but it isnt uncommon on here to read a post about tesco from a newbie where things dont add up,

I agree, a lot of "excuses" running simultaneously

vintage_beanpole

Tesco were well within their rights to act the way that they did OP. Yes, it is unfortunate that you had a child with you, but I'm sure that this is often used as an excuse by genuine shoplifters. Tesco will have a strict policy on shoplifting and I think it unlikely that they would deviate from it in any circumstance - it's a blanket policy.

The police allowed you to go clearly because they didn't think it worth passing on to criminal prosecution - it's not beyond reasonable doubt that you dishonestly appropriated the clothing. However, the standard of proof in a civil action is 50:50 - much lower. This is the standard under which a civil recovery action is made. The police's decision to let you go without charge has little/no bearing on Tesco's civil recovery.

You can ignore the civil recovery demand (it's highly unlikely this will come to anything) but there's no need to be so critical of Tesco. They did the right thing by following their tough-line procedure; it's not for security staff to decide what is/is not a genuine case as they should not be able to wield such power.

You made a mistake for which you really ought to pay in my opinion. But that's just me.