Tesco Complaints

Lilliput2

I visited my local Tesco in early December. I did some shopping, checked out self-service and paid with my credit card. I was in the concourse when I heard some shouting and was accosted by a Tesco member of staff who said "I think you haven't paid ...". I returned produced my receipt and with some reluctance it was accepted. No apologies just somewhat rather incoherent statement about computer .... No hint of apology of any sort I demanded to see the manager and was told he/she was not on premises. After 15 minutes a ?supervisor appeared. She refused to discuss the matter apart from stating that she was next to my checkout when I was processing my purchases. So why didn't she intervene? No explanation / apologies for accusing me of shop lifting was received. I wrote to Store Manager - no acknowledgment or response. Subsequently I wrote to Irish HQ with precisely the same outcome. Any suggestions?

L1011

Moved from five year old thread

Accept it and move on - you aren't going to get anything else. Receipt checks are normal occurences.

Skuxx

Receipt check may be normal, "I think you haven't paid" I would consider an accusation of theft.... I would certainly be looking for an apology!

RobbingBandit

Month since it happened not really much you can do about it now try tesco ireland facebook page but I'd expect little to nothing to be done after such a lapse in time.

dudara

Personally, I wouldn’t have any problem with it. You had paid, you had the receipt to show it, you were proved right, issue over. It was a self-service checkout area, probably very common there, and understandable.

s15r330

Something similar happened to a friend, he didn't let it go and got 5k from Tesco as he went to a solicitor over it.
The 5k was so he'd drop it.
Think it was for the embarrassment etc

Caranica

If you have witnesses it can be considered slander. I remember a case years ago with Game/Hmv...somewhere that sold games for consoles anyway and they did get a large payout

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

ebbsy

Go see a solicitor immediately.

Chancer3001

Go to solicitor

Get 5k

Tesco staff stop checking shop lifting.

Tesco loses money to theft

They increase prices for everyone to make up the shortfall.

Orrrrrrr...be a big boy and get over it. They thought you stole stuff. You didn't. Get on with your life

pcuser

Suck it up buttercup.

Seth Brundle

ebbsy wrote: »

Go see a solicitor immediately.

Bloody hell :rolleyes: - see a solicitor for what exactly?
Is the OP looking for a simple apology or a bundle of cash?

The OP was approached by a "Tesco member of staff" who I'm assuming was someone who worked on the shop floor and obviously next to no tact. I'm curious to know what was shouted by the staff member before they said "I think you haven't paid ...". Was it slanderous or just attention drawing?

Either way, the OP should move on and forget about any idea of money or solicitors (if this is going through their mind). This country gets more and more greedy every day!

dudara

pcuser wrote: »

Suck it up buttercup.

@pcuser - please try to offer something more helpful to the OP than this

dudara

rubadub

Lilliput2 wrote: »

No apologies just somewhat rather incoherent statement about computer .... No hint of apology of any sort

I would have taken/considered the incoherent statement to be a hint of an apology, if I was that bothered I would have asked them to be more coherent, it probably was the apology.

But honestly I would not have been that bothered and would have just gone home, knowing mistakes happen, and not getting all worked up about it.

ohnonotgmail

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Go to solicitor

Get 5k

Tesco staff stop checking shop lifting.

Tesco loses money to theft

They increase prices for everyone to make up the shortfall.

Orrrrrrr...be a big boy and get over it. They thought you stole stuff. You didn't. Get on with your life

the issue is not with Tesco checking for shop lifting. It is about how they do it. Staff should not be shouting after customers across the concourse. The response that the OP received from tesco staff and headquarters was abysmal.

Chancer3001

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the issue is not with Tesco checking for shop lifting. It is about how they do it. Staff should not be shouting after customers across the concourse. The response that the OP received from tesco staff and headquarters was abysmal.

Shouldn't shout after them?

It's either that or chase after them to within comfortable talking distance....

They can't win

ohnonotgmail

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Shouldn't shout after them?

It's either that or chase after them to within comfortable talking distance....

They can't win

they can. they can act professionally. the fact that the supervisor was standing next to the OP at the till and did nothing tells me that the staff are clueless.

c6ysaphjvqw41k

This post has been deleted.

Chancer3001

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

they can. they can act professionally. the fact that the supervisor was standing next to the OP at the till and did nothing tells me that the staff are clueless.

Way it works in most stores is they have dignatef security personnel to do the "confronting" so the one watching can't do anything.

Also it's worse to be accused in the store in front of other customers at the tills rather than outside which is quite

ohnonotgmail

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Way it works in most stores is they have dignatef security personnel to do the "confronting" so the one watching can't do anything.

Also it's worse to be accused in the store in front of other customers at the tills rather than outside which is quite

The staff are only meant to accuse if they KNOW. that is what they should be trained to do. These two clowns obviously missed that session. and they cant accuse anybody at the tills. they to leave the store before they any offence is committed.

Time

Speak to a solicitor asap about possibly taking a defamation case, even the threat of such would make Tesco actually take this seriously

Chancer3001

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

The staff are only meant to accuse if they KNOW. that is what they should be trained to do. These two clowns obviously missed that session. and they cant accuse anybody at the tills. they to leave the store before they any offence is committed.

Well first of all, they can't KNOW 100%. Ever. Any time. They can just suspect.

And yeah, they followed him outside like they were supposed to do.

ohnonotgmail

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Well first of all, they can't KNOW 100%. Ever. Any time. They can just suspect.

And yeah, they followed him outside like they were supposed to do.

the staff ****ed up. I'm going to leave this here. its going nowhere.

tracey turnblad

As an ex Tesco employee this is what I have to add - the member of staff should not have stopped you, he is not trained in how to deal with this, if you had of stole it would he have arrested you? What if you had have given him a punch? He also wouldn’t have a PSA licence which is required if you want to be a security person. Trained security personnel are trained not to stop someone unless they are in no doubt whatsoever that you have stolen something. They must have witnessed the whole act with their own eyes, from you removing it from the shelf concealing it and passing past the last point of sale ie out the door... only then can they stop you. If I as a memeber if staff clearly seen someone steal something and told a security guard he couldn’t stop them as he didn’t see it himself, and he could get into trouble if he is mistaken. There has been incidents where they have stopped someone in error and I’ve seen the customer call the guards themselves for false arrest. They usually get a pay out for themselves

rubadub

Reading some of the posts in this thread are actually making me feel physically sick, money grabbing scamming scumbags. Probably the same ignorant morons wondering why insurance & supermarket prices are so high...

Disingenuous to a whole new level... I can only imagine you trying to pathetically explain that to your kids, I hope you (who know who you are) have none...

Time

rubadub wrote: »

Reading some of the posts in this thread are actually making me feel physically sick, money grabbing scamming scumbags. Probably the same ignorant morons wondering why insurance & supermarket prices are so high...

Disingenuous to a whole new level... I can only imagine you trying to pathetically explain that to your kids, I hope you (who know who you are) have none...

So if someone is defamed, and the company in question refuse to apologise, or even acknowledge that what happened, shouldn't have, then people should just forget about it?

What if someone they work with saw it, or a neighbour, and it gets spread around that X was stopped outside Tesco, and the staff member was shouting that they hadn't paid? Not only is that deeply embarrassing, but its damaging as people will always say "there's no smoke without fire", but sometimes there is.

How is trying to get an apology in such a case being a "money grabbing scamming scumbag"? At the end of the day if people don't take action then it will simply keep on happening until eventually it has serious consequences for someone through no fault of their own.

Try telling someone who people think is a shoplifter (wrongly) that the money they'll get a few years down the line i will fix how they feel in that moment.

colm_mcm

Time wrote: »

What if someone they work with saw it, or a neighbour, and it gets spread around that X was stopped outside Tesco, and the staff member was shouting that they hadn't paid? Not only is that deeply embarrassing, but its damaging as people will always say "there's no smoke without fire", but sometimes there is.

They would have seen them getting stopped but would have missed the next bit when they were let walk off?

rubadub

Time wrote: »

How is trying to get an apology in such a case being a "money grabbing scamming scumbag"?

ehhh, exactly, if they are not after money and just legitimately want an apology, then they are quite obviously not money grabbing...

as I said they know who they are, it is blatantly obvious who the disingenuous scum are here, they know it themselves, the dogs on the street know.

Time

colm_mcm wrote: »

They would have seen them getting stopped but would have missed the next bit when they were let walk off?

A person could easily be near enough to hear the staff member shouting, and not be near enough to overhear whats said once they are talking face to face. All it takes is one person to say they saw someone they know being shouted after by a staff member, for walking out without paying, for a completely innocent party to have a rumour going around about them.

Time

rubadub wrote: »

ehhh, exactly, if they are not after money and just legitimately want an apology, then they are quite obviously not money grabbing...

as I said they know who they are, it is blatantly obvious who the disingenuous scum are here, they know it themselves, the dogs on the street know.

The problem is that sometimes the only way to get the apology is by going down the legal route.

colm_mcm

Time wrote: »

A person could easily be near enough to hear the staff member shouting, and not be near enough to overhear whats said once they are talking face to face. All it takes is one person to say they saw someone they know being shouted after by a staff member, for walking out without paying, for a completely innocent party to have a rumour going around about them.

Maybe they could sue the person watching for defamation so!

Thestones

customer.services@tesco.ie

Did you try that email? I emailed a complaint, they did take a few days to respond and there was some back and forth, sometimes taking days to reply but they eventually sent a Tesco gift card as an apology.

uli84

Time wrote: »

The problem is that sometimes the only way to get the apology is by going down the legal route.

Haha don’t know if I should laugh or cry.
OP i work for Tesco - please accept my apologies on behalf of it and move on

Time

colm_mcm wrote: »

Maybe they could sue the person watching for defamation so!

Not if the person is only repeating what they saw, which in this case would be a staff member shouting at someone that they didn't pay. It's the accusation in front of the general public that's the issue.

colm_mcm

You're talking about someone on minimum wage or close to it making a mistake, even if you get an apology from Tesco it's pretty meaningless. The only apology that would matter is from that particular member of staff after they have been shown the error of their ways.

Time wrote: »

Not if the person is only repeating what they saw, which in this case would be a staff member shouting at someone that they didn't pay. It's the accusation in front of the general public that's the issue.

Ok, you know what, sue away. That'll definitely make the general public think you're definitely not a thief!

messrs

rubadub wrote: »

Reading some of the posts in this thread are actually making me feel physically sick, money grabbing scamming scumbags. Probably the same ignorant morons wondering why insurance & supermarket prices are so high...

Disingenuous to a whole new level... I can only imagine you trying to pathetically explain that to your kids, I hope you (who know who you are) have none...

I used to work in finance for a company that provided security staff to various retails outlets, both clothing and food - the amount of Cheques i had to process for defamation cases was unreal, and some serious payouts too! Claims from the defendant of wrongly been accused of stealing then they would take a case, say that it affected them so much, They couldnt eat or sleep over it, how it was so tough for them as they were seen by neighbours now the whole road are talking about them , how they cant leave the house ect!! Reading some of the stuff in the reports for the cases was just crazy!!

It was rumored for a while that in one of the clothing outlets, people were going in and pretending to steal something in view of the security guard so they would be asked about it, of course they would have nothing in their bag so therefor were accused in the wrong and would then take a case against us for
defamation of character - got to a point where our security guards were almost afraid to check people because of all the claims that were been filed with the company

boombang

I think it's a disgrace that Tesco paid out 5k to somebody over something similar. I'd prefer to shop in a shop that wasn't having all is stock stolen because because the staff weren't too timid to ask to see receipts. Bloodsucking lawyers.

Sure it was a bit rude that they didn't say "sorry about that, we just have to check from time to time". If I was Tesco I'd only pay out for a few counselling sessions for anybody gravely offended, and on the condition that the "victim" actually attended to deal with their PTSD.

What's wrong with people these days?

ebbsy

I had an accident just the other day , I had an accident I wanted them to pay....

ssmith6287

I worked in a large multinational big box retailer for years. instructions from loss prevention was gather as much info as possible eg descriptions, times, number plate, etc etc and let the gards try and recover goods. there was no box on the shelf worth 15 to 20 k a shop pays out for false accusations

Wheety

Well reading this today, it seems it is very easy to get a big payout in cases like this :mad:

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woman-buys-wine-leaves-it-on-shelf-in-different-dublin-shop-and-then-sues-for-20k-when-asked-if-she-paid-for-it-36479636.html

Seth Brundle

Wheety wrote: »

Well reading this today, it seems it is very easy to get a big payout in cases like this :mad:

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woman-buys-wine-leaves-it-on-shelf-in-different-dublin-shop-and-then-sues-for-20k-when-asked-if-she-paid-for-it-36479636.html

...and then people complain that insurance costs in Ireland are so high!

rubadub

Wheety wrote: »

Well reading this today, it seems it is very easy to get a big payout in cases like this :mad:

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woman-buys-wine-leaves-it-on-shelf-in-different-dublin-shop-and-then-sues-for-20k-when-asked-if-she-paid-for-it-36479636.html

that is sickening, they should name the judge involved. Could she not be done for what is blatantly planning to commit fraud or dubious insurance claims herself? or something along those lines?

Owryan

rubadub wrote: »

that is sickening, they should name the judge involved. Could she not be done for what is blatantly planning to commit fraud or dubious insurance claims herself? or something along those lines?

No judge involved. Settled outside of court, blame the insurance company for not fighting it maybe.

Time

rubadub wrote: »

that is sickening, they should name the judge involved. Could she not be done for what is blatantly planning to commit fraud or dubious insurance claims herself? or something along those lines?

Nearly impossible to prove intent on her part to commit any sort of fraud. Defamation cases are heard by juries, who set the damages if the complainant is successful. So companies fear (rightly) that if they are found to have defamed somone that the award will be extremely in recognition that not only was the person defamed but the company had the audacity to fight it and cause further suffering to the individual.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

Owryan wrote: »

No judge involved. Settled outside of court, blame the insurance company for not fighting it maybe.

We have to assume that they settled because of the way this system is set up. If Judges didn't give out large settlements for frivolous reasons, and the laws in place actually gave business owners a better leg to stand on, then the insurance company would surely fight it.

Madagascan

Skuxx wrote: »

Receipt check may be normal, "I think you haven't paid" I would consider an accusation of theft.... I would certainly be looking for an apology!

No. Think being the word. Not very professional though if it was Security.

boombang

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-awarded-30k-for-defamation-after-nightclub-manager-accused-her-of-robbing-handbags-36533796.html

Woman gets 30k for accusation of being a thief. Assuming that it is a false accusation, I still think that's a bonkers award. I truly believe the legal profession is operating a form of conspiracy against society.

CeilingFly

boombang wrote: »

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-awarded-30k-for-defamation-after-nightclub-manager-accused-her-of-robbing-handbags-36533796.html

Woman gets 30k for accusation of being a thief. Assuming that it is a false accusation, I still think that's a bonkers award. I truly believe the legal profession is operating a form of conspiracy against society.

In fairness, this person waa accused very publically in front of her friends of a crime and was effectively found guilty and refused entry with no proof or anything.

Furthermore, the place gave no evidence and did not turn up or make any response. - So with no-one disputing her story, the award was probably at the low end.

If such happened to you, would 30k be enough for justice.

boombang

CeilingFly wrote: »

In fairness, this person waa accused very publically in front of her friends of a crime and was effectively found guilty and refused entry with no proof or anything.

Furthermore, the place gave no evidence and did not turn up or make any response. - So with no-one disputing her story, the award was probably at the low end.

If such happened to you, would 30k be enough for justice.

Effectively found guilty and the punishment was to go home early and be embarrassed infront of your friends not do time in jail for theft. If they are your friends they'll know your not the type to dip handbags. Yes, not a nice thing to happen, but I'd honestly be happy with €2k.

Also, I know nobody showed up to defend the case, but I don't believe that should influence the reward. More generally I believe businesses have a responsibility to attempt to root out thieves on their premises for the sake of their customers. It's going to be difficult to be 100% correct all the time. Could have been an honest mistake on the behalf of the bouncers.

L1011

The club in question there has closed down so it's unlikely there'll be a cent paid

C3PO

L1011 wrote: »

The club in question there has closed down so it's unlikely there'll be a cent paid

The claimant would appear to have known that the club was in liquidation before the case so my guess is that they will try to claim from an insurance policy?