Have been accused of shoplifting from a store

RobbingBandit

Last night I rushed out of a shop only to have a shop assistant follow me onto the street accusing me of having stolen a bottle of water which I was carrying when I entered the store in the first place, he was very rude and shouted at me and followed me down the street, luckily for me it was 10:40pm so there was no one around, still has left me fuming.


The shop in question seems to have a poor fridge so I declined to purchase two bottles of Mountain Dew and as there was a queue in the store I left abruptly which is when he followed me.

charlietheminxx

So are you looking for advice in pursuing this OP?

rubadub

well with a username like that!

seriously though, they could check the best before dates, or batch codes on the bottles, they are probably different.

dudara

What kind of advice are you looking for OP? How did the situation end last night?

Penny Tration

What you do now depends entirely on the resolution you want.

If you want an apology, contact the store in writing and complain.

If you want compensation, contact a solicitor.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

D3PO

if there were no witnesses Im not so sure that there is a valid claim for defamation however if thats what you seek then contact a solicitor.

it its an appology you want go in and demand to speak to a manager and explain to them what happened.

RobbingBandit

rubadub wrote: »

well with a username like that!

seriously though, they could check the best before dates, or batch codes on the bottles, they are probably different.

rubadub thanks for the tub:P,

I didn't even touch the water in the store, guy was just being a dick, I don't think I will get back into the store in question until the day after tomorrow, it was after 10:30pm last night and I was at the soft drinks fridge the bottle of water was a 1.5 litre of riverrock.

Yes I am looking for advice on what to do next, guy was very rude and I am obsessing over this slight, but I do have Aspergers Syndrome and tend to take things too much to heart.

RobbingBandit

dudara wrote: »

What kind of advice are you looking for OP? How did the situation end last night?

I had left the store as I didn't want to purchase the items I had picked as it was a couple of 500ml bottles from the fridge that were warm, I am sure they can check the camera and see me enter the store with the bottle of water, I am not looking for compensation but as the day has gone on with this on my mind I want this guy to get a talking to on how to treat potential customers.

RobbingBandit

Got a reply from the company through email they want to call me to follow up, I don't want anything out of this I just don't like being threat like I have done something wrong.

Penny Tration

Take the call. They're obviously taking it fairly seriously to have gotten back to you so quickly. They should be offering a heartfelt apology, which is no more than you deserve.

badinfluence

A 55-year-old Dublin man, who was “recklessly” accused of stealing two boxes of baby nappies, has won damages in the Circuit Civil Court for defamation of character.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane said today that store owner Charlie Tracey should have checked his CCTV footage before accusing Francis Dunne of stealing Pampers nappies in June 2012.

The court heard that Dunne had walked past C&T Stores, at Philipsburgh Avenue, Dublin. Tracey had then driven up alongside him in his car and stopped. He had got out and told Dunne that a member of staff thought he had taken the nappies from a display outside C&T Stores without paying.
Dunne told the court that as he passed Tracey’s shop he was carrying boxes of Pampers nappies that he had bought in another store.

He told his barrister Dermot Francis Sheehan that Tracey had “interrogated” him about the nappies and had checked the boxes he had been carrying.
Mr Dunne, of Spring Garden Street, Ballybough, Dublin, said he had been intimidated by Tracey’s “arrogant” behaviour and he had shown him a receipt to explain he had purchased the nappies elsewhere.

Dunne told Mr Sheehan that later that day he and his sister Donna Dunne had gone to the C&T store and had asked for an apology from Mr Tracey who, they told the court, had “dismissed them”.

Tracey claimed he had seen Dunne outside his shop under the store canopy where nappies had been shelved. He had asked Dunne where he had got the items after checking with his staff that no one had bought nappies.

He said that when Dunne had told him he had bought them in another store he had apologised for the misunderstanding. He regretted what happened but denied he had been reckless and arrogant or had blocked Mr Dunne’s path.
Judge Linnane, awarding Dunne €5,000, said she accepted he had been intimidated.

It had been open to Mr Tracey, who had been reckless in his handling of the situation, to check the CCTV before approaching Mr Dunne.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/reckless-accusation-of-nappy-theft-leads-to-5-000-award-1.1722144

dudara

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Got a reply from the company through email they want to call me to follow up, I don't want anything out of this I just don't like being threat like I have done something wrong.

Places make mistakes, so try not to take it personally. The CCTV will back you up & the onus is on them to prove it. Take their call and see what they're like. Make sure though to tell them that you felt uncomfortable with the situation.

I assume that the Gardaí weren't called, or any criminal charges made against you?

RobbingBandit

dudara wrote: »

Places make mistakes, so try not to take it personally. The CCTV will back you up & the onus is on them to prove it. Take their call and see what they're like. Make sure though to tell them that you felt uncomfortable with the situation.

I assume that the Gardaí weren't called, or any criminal charges made against you?

Gardaí weren't called, like I said already I am not looking for trouble here but the attitude of that guy was out of order, had it of happened in the day time in front of people then I would screw them around big time, mistakes happen but he gotta pay for his cheek.;)

893bet

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Gardaí weren't called, like I said already I am not looking for trouble here but the attitude of that guy was out of order, had it of happened in the day time in front of people then I would screw them around big time, mistakes happen but he gotta pay for his cheek.;)

He gotta pay for his cheek?

Get over yourself. He made a mistake. Two sides to every story. Stop trying to get him sacked.

petes

893bet wrote: »

He gotta pay for his cheek?

Get over yourself. He made a mistake. Two sides to every story. Stop trying to get him sacked.

Nowhere did anyone mention the person getting sacked or trying to get them sacked.


I'm sure you'd be perfectly okay with being accused of shoplifting and your accuser coming down the street after you!

noodler

What can a shop worker do then if he wants to clarify that someone one walked into the shop and then walked back out again hasn't in fact stolen the bottle of water he has in his hand?

It seems that the shopkeeper/worker can't even ask the person (although perhaps shouting down the street was a bit much if he was not sure) if they have paid for item X without there being a need for some sort of follow up.

Real rock and a hard place for a store worker - turn a blind eye or risk action against you just by asking the question.

RobbingBandit

It wasn't the question tbh it was the guys attitude towards me, I bought the water in a different store and had already drank about 1/3 of it before entering the store.

homer911

I suppose the lesson is to not enter a store selling items you have on open display on your person - put them in a bag at least, or make sure you have a receipt for them..

bumper234

homer911 wrote: »

I suppose the lesson is to not enter a store selling items you have on open display on your person - put them in a bag at least, or make sure you have a receipt for them..

And if i am not carrying my man-bag that day?

Seriously who carries receipts on them for bottles of water in case they are going into a shop later that may sell the same product?

MrStuffins

homer911 wrote: »

I suppose the lesson is to not enter a store selling items you have on open display on your person - put them in a bag at least, or make sure you have a receipt for them..

Next time i'm going into Foot Locker i'll make sure to go in my bare feet will I? Or will I carry the receipt for my tshirt around in my wallet in case I need to go into Jack & Jones?

RobbingBandit

The guy obviously made a mistake but that is not the main issue, how he treated me is the issue here more than anything else.

Also I don't own a man-bag and didn't think of paying 22c for a plastic bag for a smallish bottle I could easily carry.

slimjimmc

noodler wrote: »

What can a shop worker do then if he wants to clarify that someone one walked into the shop and then walked back out again hasn't in fact stolen the bottle of water he has in his hand?

It seems that the shopkeeper/worker can't even ask the person (although perhaps shouting down the street was a bit much if he was not sure) if they have paid for item X without there being a need for some sort of follow up.

Real rock and a hard place for a store worker - turn a blind eye or risk action against you just by asking the question.

Not really. In the absence of knowledge it's better to do nothing. All the employee saw was someone walking out with a bottle, he didn't actually know if it was the shop's bottle but assumed it was.

tricky D

The employee needs to be made aware of the required procedure for assessing these situations. One model is the SCONE one: Selection; Concealment; Observation; Non-payment; Exit. This is used by many security operations in major retailers as fulfilling those criteria ensures they are covered properly.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Ficheall

I bought a duvet in Homebase one day, didn't have a bag because it wouldn't fit, and wandered around Sainsbury's doing my shopping. After I exited the shop I was followed by a security guy who asked me about my purchases and wanted to see my receipt. I showed him my Sainsbury's receipt and my Homebase receipt, and he eventually believed me.
I told him not to worry about it, that I'd worked in retail for years and understood where he was coming from, then went on my merry way and didn't concern myself with it any further. Should I have attempted to sue Sainsbury's because their employee was doing his job?



edit: They did sell the same duvets in Sainsbury's.

Hanalei

Ficheall wrote: »

I bought a duvet in Homebase one day, didn't have a bag because it wouldn't fit, and wandered around Sainsbury's doing my shopping. After I exited the shop I was followed by a security guy who asked me about my purchases and wanted to see my receipt. I showed him my Sainsbury's receipt and my Homebase receipt, and he eventually believed me.
I told him not to worry about it, that I'd worked in retail for years and understood where he was coming from, then went on my merry way and didn't concern myself with it any further. Should I have attempted to sue Sainsbury's because their employee was doing his job?

edit: They did sell the same duvets in Sainsbury's.

That would have been entirely up to yourself regardless of what anyone here says.

Your question doesn't apply to the OP however as at no stage did he/she indicate a desire to take legal action against the store.

gavindublin

It was a false arrest. The law protects the shop lifter in ireland which makes it a difficult area for stopping someone.
Its upto security to prove you stole it and no prevention is really accepted in this country, I.e asking if the product has been paid.

If you crossed the threshold and were approached by an emoloyee then you are entitled to substantial compensation.

Ficheall

Hanalei wrote: »

Your question doesn't apply to the OP however as at no stage did he/she indicate a desire to take legal action against the store.

Fine - should I have requested that the security guard be "spoken to"?

gavindublin wrote: »

If you crossed the threshold and were approached by an emoloyee then you are entitled to substantial compensation.

So the employee is supposed to approach the "thief" before they've left the store? Can they not just claim they were on their way to pay then, and, of course, sue for defamation and trauma and whatnot?

Hanalei

OP, need to start seeing this from the store's side; you admit yourself that you "rushed" out of the store with a bottle in your hand.

Can you not see why a departure you describe as "rushed" and "abrupt" would be seen as potentially suspicious?

Yeah, he was a total twat to shout at you and follow you down the street and you certainly are due an apology. But when you say things like "he's got to pay" you really have to ask yourself whether you are taking this too personally....

gavindublin

Ficheall wrote: »

Fine - should I have requested that the security guard be "spoken to"?


So the employee is supposed to approach the "thief" before they've left the store? Can they not just claim they were on their way to pay then, and, of course, sue for defamation and trauma and whatnot?

Sorry I may have wrote that wrong. No nobody should be approached untill they cross the threshold on the way out. Having left the store. Until then its not theft as they're still on the property.
And an emoyee shouldn't be approaching anyone to start with!

Hanalei

Ficheall wrote: »

Fine - should I have requested that the security guard be "spoken to"?

That too would have been entirely up to yourself regardless of what anyone here says

Incidentally, you would have had no need to anyway as the difference between your story and the OP's is that you reached a satisfactory resolution with the employee there and then.

Ficheall

Hanalei wrote: »

the difference between your story and the OP's is that you reached a satisfactory resolution with the employee there and then.

An earlier difference is that I considered things from the employee's perspective, rather than taking umbrage.

RobbingBandit

Can a mod close this please it's getting out of hand, thanks for the advice folks.