Shoplifters

[David sheridan 159]

On 3/4/2016 at 5:21 PM, DAVIDW said:

We had a few problems with staff over the years when we had our shop . A couple of times it was customers that informed us when staff were fiddling the till .

One fairly mature lady who was overly friendly with us , always asking how our kids were etc. was seen by a customer not ringing in goods and putting a tenner in her pocket . She was also related to about half the town , having 8 kids herself , so God knows what went on when we weren't there.

Fortunately this was when the retirement age for staff was in place , so we told her we couldn't get insurance for her anymore and let her go .

When my son ran a shop for us in London one of the staff ran up a huge telephone bill phoning gay chat lines !

Gay always on the ring !

[nonnaB 4,895]

Huge telephone bill happened to us when our kids realised they could chat with more than one person at a time. I was helping at our restaurant so didnt know what they were up to but knew they were safe. The bill came the day before we were due to go on our holidays. By car to go to Italy to see my inlaws. I read the bill and hid it quickly. Arrived in Italy and after the initial welcomes I produced this bill , told my husband how much it was and told him he could let his mother deal with him, and I walked away. 

 It worked , the kids got a mild telling off and I was told I had done the right thing in hiding it.. The bill was £400 +

[David sheridan 159]

@nonnaB and they say its good to talk !

[katyjay 5,091]

When we had the motel, a fella checked in one afternoon and told us he was in the navy and being transferred from San Diego to Norfolk Virginia. He had to drive himself there. He told us he would be leaving very early the next morning, so I told him to leave his key in the box outside. Next morning I am first up, get his key and check him out of the system. Then I saw he had racked up a phone bill of hundreds of dollars. He hadn't paid by credit card so we had no recourse. I called the police and they got it touch with the navy and he sent us the money when he got to Virginia. He had spent all night calling sex chat lines in AFRICA! He thought they were free. He was married so heaven knows what he told his wife.

[benjamin1945 16,158]

IT can't always i know.......but Shoplifting...Did have its funny side.......i could write a book about so many funny incidents back in the day.......

                 Easy to see the bad side....and i saw many of those involving violence........but i like to remember the funny times.......

            I know that a few on here will never see the humour in shoplfting....but believe me not many days went by without a good laugh....

           Like the day in a Coop in West Bridgford........saw a chap put a bottle of 'Whisky'' inside his jacket......stopped him just outside the door and asked him to return with me.........he became very '' verbal'' and started shouting...at which his teeth fell-out......we both bent down to retrieve them..banging our heads at the same time........at which the 'Whisky'' fell from his jacket..smashing on the floor......both finished up laughing.....couldn't get the Police because it was so funny...got him to pay for it and banned him from the store..........as he left he asked what about Coop House?.........

[benjamin1945 16,158]

One thing i am totally against is being stopped in a store and asked to produce proof of purchase......

             To my mind ive paid and no one as the right to question this.......if i am stopped at any time in the future i will refuse to cooperate.......im sure i am in my legal rights.........what do you think ?

[Jill Sparrow 10,305]

A friend of mine was stopped a few months ago in a supermarket and the woman staff member asked officiously for permission to look in his carrier bag. He had bought a couple of items from another shop but had the receipts. He had paid for his purchases in this shop but had not left the premises. She accosted him by the entrance/exit doors, in front of those entering/exiting.

 

He's as honest as the day is long and allowed her to sort through the items in his bag (I certainly shouldn't have done!).  Everything was in order. He then asked her why she had stopped him. She said another customer had reported seeing him take an item/items and put them straight in his bag. He hadn't done so and wouldn't. 

 

He left the shop but, on thinking about the incident later, was angry and asked me what I thought. I said that I would have refused to allow the woman to search my bags and challenged her to arrest me if she was so convinced I had stolen anything but.... I would have warned her that if she was subsequently proven to be wrong, I would sue her for wrongful arrest. I would also have demanded to see her manager and demanded an explanation for why she was challenging people before they left the store and in front of other shoppers.  I felt she had not received the proper training.

 

He subsequently saw the store manager and received an apology along with a sorry tale of how much stock they were losing to shoplifters. The woman who stopped him no longer works there.

 

What do you think, Ben?

[Stuart.C 491]

The basics are covered in the first few minutes of the video linked below, (he covers a lot of interesting legal issues on other videos) but Reasonable grounds is the only reason needed.

In the case of Jill's friend, I'm not sure that a report from another shopper is good enough reason.

 

For those who don't want to watch the video, basically if the store have reasonable grounds and you refuse to allow a search, you must agree before they can, then they can detain you and call the Police, but in that circumstance only the Police can search your bag against your will.

 

 

[benjamin1945 16,158]

I used to 'Train' Store Detectives;;.....and the rules on 'Stopping'' someone for Shoplifting were as follows......

1/.......See the suspect enter the store and approach the item...

2/......Select the Item......

3/....conceal the item...

4/....Leave the store......having made no attempt to pay for the item...and you must never have lost sight of the suspect...

Only then were you allowed to detain the suspect.........using minimal force.....

If all the above circumstances were followed...there is no need to search...and you must leave that to the Police.......

If all these 'Rules' are followed....you will never have   what is Termed as a ''wrong stop''.....

 

So yes Jill.....your assumptions...and your friends are all perfectly correct.........

[katyjay 5,091]

Used to see signs outside businesses that were shopfitters. I always thought it looked like shoplifters!

[benjamin1945 16,158]

Just read in todays paper that Shops selling Persil are keeping it under lock and Key.........at £15 per pack who can blame them....

            When self-service stores were really taking off..early 60s...we at Farrands/Marsdens..........decided the only item we couldn't put on open display was ''Chatka Crab'' at 6/6  (about 30 pence)........how times have changed hey......

[Oztalgian 3,285]

Staff at "vulnerable" supermarkets have been issued with body cams due to the increasing amount of abuse and violence towards workers. We now have security tags on most meat in supermarkets and other high value or attractive items.

A security tag on 4 lamb chops, what has this world we are living in come to?

I suppose if you are under financial stress with no money left for food, as many are, you do what you have to do to feed your kids. Theft is one thing but abusing and being violent towards store staff is just not on.

[nonnaB 4,895]

Going through a supermarket the other day I noticed there were security tags on Virgin Olive Oil. At €21 per bottle I’m not surprised.