Accidental shoplifting

Sapindus

I have several times accidentally made out of a supermarket with a small single item. The last time I didn't go back because it was raining but the next time I went in I bought a similar priced item and put it in the food bank, which made some sort of moral sense in my head.

The item in question was £55 from a chain store. I have one son saying I should go back and pay, and the other saying shops factor such losses into their prices and there was no intention on my part to defraud. I had my items scanned, he had his items scanned and I said can you pay for the lot and I'll pay you back, so I didn't really pay attention to how much the assistant asked him for, and he hadn't paid much attention to the items I had had scanned (or not scanned).

There's no such thing as a victimless crime.

So I will probably go back at some point and ask to see the manager in case there is a photo of me behind the till saying "call police if seen"!

Rosa_Damascena

This thread should be compulsory reading for supermarket CEOs. The degree of rationalisation offers an excellent insight into the mind of the middle aged shopper.

You could argue there is a difference between intentional shoplifting and a mistake, but once that mistake is realised outside the supermarket front door - are excuses really justified?

Murphybear

I can remember my husband buying some lovely earrings online for a “big” birthday. Sadly they never turned up. He contacted the firm and they sent him a replacement the following day.

Surprisingly a neighbour turned up with the missing earrings,they had been delivered to her house by mistake while she was on holiday.

so I had a free pair. Was this any way an offence? He phoned the company and explained what had happened and they told him to keep them 😺

An interesting end to this tale. These were some of my favourite earrings and I wore them a lot. One day I got home and found I had lost one of them, fortunately I had 2 replacements 😹

Sapindus

I even told my colleague, who used to be a store manager, what had happened and she said she would have kept the item and not said anything. However, I have now been back to the store and asked to see the manager and paid. He gave me a 10% discount as he was so impressed I'd come back!

Rosa_Damascena

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82093687#Comment_82093687

Good on you! Honesty is the only way for some of us, the reward is an added bonus.