wombling in tesco - what's safe

startedsaving

Quote from MarkyMarkD:
'A lost (abandoned) 50p coin cannot be stolen. You are wrong.'

Thanks for your interest in my comments - in fact I believe YOU are wrong, in that there is a difference between the legal definitions of 'lost' and 'abandoned' property. You can google it and find out if you want to know more. A 50p coin found on the ground in a public place is likely to be a lost coin, in the same way that a purse found on the ground is likely to be a lost purse. Finders of lost goods CAN keep the goods as long as they take good care of them and take every step possible to return them to their rightful owners. Just finding something and keeping it IS theft.

purplegirluk1

The Wombles have clearly set an extremly bad example to you all. I suggest we all sit at home and think about what we have done. How dare we get something that we are not entitled to, we live in a fair world where everything and everyone is equal don't we, don't we???

Wombling rules!!!

MarkyMarkD

d123 wrote: »

Yes, it does.

And in fact, using someone else's till receipt for points also constitutes theft.

The Theft Act 1968 defines theft as "A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it"

Property can be intangible, the definition in Sec 4(1)

and defines "appropriates" as follows in Sec 3(1)

So it's stealing, both the 50p and the Tesco points, so I suppose wombling comes down to your morals (do you believe stealing is bad) and whether you fear the (unlikely) chance of being caught.

Thanks for agreeing with half of what I am saying. But I don't accept your views on the "lost" 50p. I understand the distinction drawn by startedsaving between lost and abandoned property, but in practice for a 50p there is no difference. I already stated that if I found a substantial amount I would hand it into a police station hence meeting the law's requirements. The reality is that nobody is going to go to a police station to reclaim their 50p; they couldn't evidence having lost it in any case; and there is no realistic way for someone finding a 50p coin to make the loser aware that they've handed it in or have it available for reclaim. Frankly, the lost 50p case is a red herring because the whole issue about wombling is that the receipts don't have any value anyway; they are just being fraudulently used of evidence of a purchase which the wombler didn't actually make.

The idea that some people seem to have that such found coins should be given to charity is all very well. But the charity has no more claim to it than the person who found it - in fact, they have no claim at all, whereas the finder does have second-best claim after the loser.

angel00079 wrote:

So 'wombling' is a hideous crime and the people that actually littered the carparks are the victim. Yeah, right.

Nobody's said that. Tesco are the victim of this fraud.

afur wrote:

morally wrong but hey who cares.

Nail hit on the head again there, afur.

discodee wrote:

But they are stikll discarde3d receipts that people dont want, and I am sure 99% of people Marky mark excluded would prefer for someone to benefit from their unwanted points

They are not theirs to give away. The points belong to Tesco unless they are given to the actual purchaser of the goods.

martinbuckley

Womblers,

If you see a discarded receipt in Tescos and find it has a clubcard number on it, do you walk to the nearest bin and put it in there, or do you leave it for someone else to pick up?

Just wondering like.

fuzzgun19

If I found a 'used' receipt, I would put it in the bin, not on the floor...

If it was not 'used' I would put it in my pocket...

angel00079

I am sure that the 50p debate could go on for another few pages and the result would still be the same, some people are for and others are against 'wombling'. Any good lawyer could probably use some Act or another to prove a point. Personally I am not going to start going out 'wombling' but not because I think that there is anything wrong with it.

I find it hard to believe that Tescos are the victim. 'Womblers' probably spend money that they would not otherwise spend. And before we get to does that mean it is ok if shoplifters spend money in the store? If the original person or a 'wombler' collects the points what is the difference. The result is still the same. What has been stolen from the original receipt owner or Tescos?

From what some people are saying if anyone sees 50p or a Tescos receipt on the street we should leave it there so it ends up on a landfill site which is of no use to anyone.

Hales

I work at Tesco's on the CSD and have known about womblers/wombling for a long time. However after reading this thread and the debates on here i think im going mad, everyone that wants points adding on i keep wanting to ask if theyre a wombler or genuine!!!!! I have known a few womblers in my time and we have a few people in our store who can no longer have points added anymore!!!

d123

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Thanks for agreeing with half of what I am saying. But I don't accept your views on the "lost" 50p. I understand the distinction drawn by startedsaving between lost and abandoned property, but in practice for a 50p there is no difference. I already stated that if I found a substantial amount I would hand it into a police station hence meeting the law's requirements

I agree that the 50p argument is superfluous and a bit of a red herring to the actual question, but even with the "lost" 50p, if you were to find it on the ground in Tesco to completely comply with the law I would say the finder would need to enquire at CS if anyone had reported losing money, as in "has anyone reported losing any money in the last hour? before pocketing it.

The law just states "reasonable steps" and doesn't list or define a value or threshold at which such steps are necessary.

2. — (1) A person’s appropriation of property belonging to another is not to be regarded as dishonest—
(c) if he appropriates the property in the belief that the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps.

startedsaving

Re the '50p debate' - I was just trying to respond to a couple of quotes from MarkyMarkD:

'A 50p off Daz coupon enables anyone holding it to get 50p off Daz. It's like a 50p coin, except that it's only eligible against Daz. Using a 50p coin you find, or a 50p off Daz coupon you find, is perfectly legal and there's nothing morally wrong about it either.'

'Standards of legality and morality are not dependant on monetary value'

What I am trying to point out is that if you are going to be strict in your interpretation of 'wombling' as theft, then it should apply to the 50p coin or the 50p Daz coupon as well. Personally I don't really see too much of a problem with 'wombling' any more than using coupons against products I haven't purchased; and if I found 50p for example I would like to think I would put it in the charity tin as it would seem to make more sense, whether or not I had 'second best claim' on it. The bottom line is that as another poster stated early on, there really are more serious things out there to get worked up about - no disrespect to any other posters intended. Best regards to all, SS.

afur

Morty_007 wrote: »

Are you deliberately inflaming this thread?! :rotfl:

not at all, i was just pointing out a loop hole, if your gonna womble you may as well do it as well as you can