How much Compensation should I get for being Wrongly Accused of stealing a week before in Sainsbury

GingerTim

It's not very helpful suggesting to a potentially vulnerable someone that they engage a solicitor to claim millions in compensation, when there is a less than zero chance of that ever happening.

powerful_Rogue

diystarter7 said:

maisie_cat said:

I shopped in Waitrose once, inserted my card but removed it too quickly and walked off with £100 worth of shopping. I was in a hurry, but even so it was a stupid thing for me to do.
When I went back to the same store a couple of weeks later my loyalty card wouldn't work and I found out when I asked at customer service. They told me in front of others what had happened and because it was my fault I apologised and paid for the shopping. 
What I don't understand is why you haven't offered to pay for the shopping now that you've established that you did not in fact pay for it at the time.

As you have just confirmed, it happens and I hope those having a go or irrelevant cooments  at this poster who may be quite vulnerable note that.

The answer to your question is in the OP's intial post, the way the staff spoke to them and treated them, etc, etc. Payment is not the issue now it's compensation is what the question is about.

We all have different sensitivity levels but how the other treats you makes a big difference to the way most people react.

That's quite an assumption to make and is also an irrelevant comment.

sheramber

Unfortunate for you that you persisted and were subsequently found not to have paid, despite your view that you had. 

Did you not check your bank account for proof of the payment. I would have done that before insisting on Sainsbury providIng CCTV of the purchase.

Before the message to remove your card is approved or declined. That suggests you were not watching the screen all the time and missed the message it had been declined.

We don't know what  interaction there was before the public accusation.  

If I had been accused of not paying I certainly would not have gone off  and done some shopping.

SiliconChip

My usual Sainsbury's has recently activated barriers (that were installed a few months earlier) at the self service checkout areas that require a barcode on your receipt to be scanned before they open to allow you to leave. Had such a thing been in place at the OP's store they would never have got out without having paid, I suspect Sainsbury's will be rolling this out more widely in order to prevent non-payment. I haven't yet had an instance of the till not producing a receipt, I'm sure it'll happen eventually and I expect it'll be dealt with by a member of staff confirming that payment was made before manually opening the barriers.

diystarter7

sheramber said:

Unfortunate for you that you persisted and were subsequently found not to have paid, despite your view that you had. 

Did you not check your bank account for proof of the payment. I would have done that before insisting on Sainsbury providIng CCTV of the purchase.

Before the message to remove your card is approved or declined. That suggests you were not watching the screen all the time and missed the message it had been declined.

We don't know what  interaction there was before the public accusation.  

If I had been accused of not paying I certainly would not have gone off  and done some shopping.

Hi

What we must never forget is that we are all different as I said earlier and we all may react differently in very akward/embarrassing situations.

Like you, I would have gone off shopping just like you said but it happens.

IMO, the OP feels really hurt, embarrassed etc because of the way this mistake was dealt with


I had like at least one other misread the post intially and wrongly read they OP had paid. However, these things happen and its how the shop deals with it

Credit to the store, better late than never, they are trying to address it.

Thanks

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

MattMattMattUK said:

So the summary of this is that you did actually shoplift and now feel entitled to compensation because they challenged you on this, then they proved it?

It would be useful to understand the legislation

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/12/notes/division/5/15/2

Shoplifting is not a specific offence as such but constitutes theft under section 1 of the Theft Act 1968

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/contents

A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and “thief” and “steal” shall be construed accordingly.

OP didn't have the intention of permanently depriving the other of it as he was of the impression a consideration had been paid for the goods. 

OP if by some chance you are still reading, they are offering compensation so thoughts on whether you are entitled to it (legally or morally) are irrelevant, the answer to your actual question is difficult and you have to pick a figure and see what the store manager says.

Some posters here would begrudge you finding a pound coin on the pavement and not trying to find the owner, this forum, sadly, isn't the place to seek answers to such situations.

Best of luck with getting it sorted out with the store manager  

SpudGunPaul

diystarter7 said:

sheramber said:

Unfortunate for you that you persisted and were subsequently found not to have paid, despite your view that you had. 

Did you not check your bank account for proof of the payment. I would have done that before insisting on Sainsbury providIng CCTV of the purchase.

Before the message to remove your card is approved or declined. That suggests you were not watching the screen all the time and missed the message it had been declined.

We don't know what  interaction there was before the public accusation.  

If I had been accused of not paying I certainly would not have gone off  and done some shopping.

Hi

What we must never forget is that we are all different as I said earlier and we all may react differently in very akward/embarrassing situations.

Like you, I would have gone off shopping just like you said but it happens.

IMO, the OP feels really hurt, embarrassed etc because of the way this mistake was dealt with


I had like at least one other misread the post intially and wrongly read they OP had paid. However, these things happen and its how the shop deals with it

Credit to the store, better late than never, they are trying to address it.

Thanks

So do you still think they're entitled to millions?

elsien

diystarter7 said:

elsien said:

I wonder if this thread will vanish as quickly as the Aldi one did?

And I think I can safely say you won’t be getting thousands let alone millions.
Thanks.

The highlighted comment, how does that help the OP??

OP, I misread your post and thought you had paid. However, it is what it is and your payment did not go through and stuff like that happens. This is why I said I always get a receipt

I actually stare at the screen as there is often a moment's delay before the scanned item appears as I fear more than not paying for the items, an item that did not scan even though it pinged. Several times I have double-checked an iten and then ask one of the shop helpers remove the item

It happens and some of the comments on this thread are not at all helpful

In light of what happend. Only you know how they treated you and in front of who etc and what was said.

I'm not sure if you was given the chance to quietly explain or asked to come to one side.

People make genuine mistakes all of the time and its how its dealt with is important.

I'm glad it was not me in your place and I am glad you got them to find the evidence that you tried. Those machines, I find confusing especially if alone as Mrs Diy is the expert and me, never really god at shops alone

Good luck - I feel for you.

Edit = highlighted the misread about payment bit

Like seeking several million in compensation you mean?

HillStreetBlues

SiliconChip said:

My usual Sainsbury's has recently activated barriers (that were installed a few months earlier) at the self service checkout areas that require a barcode on your receipt to be scanned before they open to allow you to leave. Had such a thing been in place at the OP's store they would never have got out without having paid, I suspect Sainsbury's will be rolling this out more widely in order to prevent non-payment. I haven't yet had an instance of the till not producing a receipt, I'm sure it'll happen eventually and I expect it'll be dealt with by a member of staff confirming that payment was made before manually opening the barriers.

I expect it will be down to the stores that have the most tea-leaves about, just like some express stores have bouncers

MobileSaver

powerful_Rogue said:

I put my card in the machine to pay. After entering the PIN it came up on the machine as declined ... I got a member of staff to remove an item to take it under £100 so I could use contactless on my phone,

My understanding is that (strange as it sounds) the limit when using contact-less on your phone is much higher than when using the physical card with a PIN - although maybe different banks have different limits?

Certainly at the supermarket last week I was mildly surprised at how easy it was to spend £220 just by tapping my phone on the reader.

Manxman_in_exile said:

I always make sure I have a receipt showing that I've paid before I leave any supermarket.  Especially when using self-service tills.

Ditto and on a related note I always make sure I have a couple of hundred quid cash on me "just in case" ; I have a vague recollection of once getting to the checkout about twenty years ago only to discover I'd left my wallet at home...