Unintentional shoplifting?

Ok... this has been bugging me for about a week and I need to get it off my chest, I hope I don't get arrested :hide:

Basically I was at a big department store with Mum last week and saw a purse on a great special and rang DH and asked if I could have it for my bday and he said yes. I didn't buy it at the accessory counter then and there though because I wasn't 100% sure if I should splurge on it (I don't generally treat myself to nice things).

Mum and I walked over to the bra section and I got fitted and chose 2 bras that were also on sale, and I took the purse and 2 bras to the counter in lingerie for them to get rung up. I also used two gift cards I had with small amounts left on them. The lady checked what was left on the gift cards, rung it all up, told me the balance, I paid in cash, she put all 3 items in a bag with my receipt and said the obligatory "have a nice day."

Anyway 10min later when Mum and I were about 100m from the store, Mum questions the amount I paid in cash as she thought it was a bit low... So I checked the docket to see if maybe the bras were cheaper than I thought, or maybe there was more on the gift cards than I realised... but no... the lady hadn't charged me for the purse......................................

I didn't go back! I feel bad! Normally I would, but money is so tight right now and the silly lady put it in the bag, she can't of thought it was a wallet I already owned, I even mentioned it to her at the counter because it was a particular brand that I wasn't sure was part of the sale...

Karma is going to be a b*tch , isn't it?

Score :lol: It's not like you hid it, must've been your lucky day!

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Score :lol: It's not like you hid it, must've been your lucky day!

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phew! don't feel so evil now!!

If its any consolation I spent my savings on a BB life membership!

I would say her bad, not yours!!!!!! Maybe its a bit of good karma that came your way!!!!!

If she did it, I wouldn't feel as bad..

I had something similar when shopping at Christmas. If I had realised at the time, I would have said something, but I didn't realise till I was looking at the docket a few minutes later. The store was having large sales, so I didn't think anything of it until I was reading the receipt..

Yes it is wrong, but you didn't hide it, and it was there error.

Haha, totally agree with CM. Score :D

I disagree with the score - I personally would have taken it back - as being a former shop assistant, I would definitely appreciate it. She might have given you a discount for being so honest.

We all make mistakes. What would've happened if you didn't give it another thought & threw the reciept in the bin?

Its up to you if you take it back, & with me it would depend on the sort of day I was having... If I was about to strangle a child I doubt I'd bother... I'd throw it in the car with the poo's with the assisstant for being so silly & drive home.

I scored a pair of undies & singlet in my size... the lady in front of me bought them, but the assistant put my stuff in the bag & the other lady walked away. I didn't know til an hour later when I got home... actually it probably would've been a few hours, but I couldn't afford to go the hour back to return them.

It still amounts to the offence of theft (in SA) unless it is returned, regardless of the belief you had at the time e.g that you had purchased the purse at the time.

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It still amounts to the offence of theft (in SA) unless it is returned, regardless of the belief you had at the time e.g that you had purchased the purse at the time.

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Happened on a visit to Sydney :P

Still, most likely will be very similar legislation!

On a smaller scale I had this happen yesterday, splashed out on sone expensive meat at the supermarket, got home and checked the docket to realise she hadn't charged me for it! I didn't go back either, mainly because it was an hour away to go back there but i sorta thought it was her own fault.

This often happens to me with online groceries..except sometimes I am unsure if they have just substituted what I ordered for a better item. Sometimes I get extra items, some of which are marked as free samples, but some are not.

before bubs was born my mum and I went shopping for baby stuff. At the counter my mum is all fumbles and drops her basket and there is crap everywhere, we are all ruffled including the girl behind the counter and she just starts putting our stuff into my trolley. I pay for everything then check the docket and she hasn't charged me for the electric steraliser!!!! $100+ worth. My mum was going on about bad karma and how I should go back and pay for it. pfft. I look at it as, I gave her every opportunity to charge me for it but she didn't, so its all mine :)

Don't feel bad, the only karma we got was my mum squeezing a cup of old maccas coke on her when we got to her house LOL

If u feel bad you could always ring the store and tell them the story. They may ask you to come back and pay, pay over phone or tell you not to worry.

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I disagree with the score - I personally would have taken it back - as being a former shop assistant, I would definitely appreciate it. She might have given you a discount for being so honest.

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I disagree a bit too with the "score" concept - but as another former shop assistant, if it was a big chain like Myer or DJs then they probably wouldn't have been able to do much about it in the way of discounts.

Having said that I disagree with it being a score, I do have to confess that one time at the supermarket I threw a new collar for kitty in the front compartment bit of the trolley, where DD was standing, and we went thru the checkout with it still there at her feet. I still feel terrible about it today!

I'll admit that I wouldn't take it back to a big department store. If I had bought it from a small independent store I most likely would, but I guess I figure those huge stores earn so much anyway. Plus, how many times have you been overcharged for stuff and never gone back to get it fixed? I've had that happen soooo many times. I always try to remember to check my receipts now because of how often I've been charged twice for single items, or sale prices not registering.

Its the sales assistants fault.... Why should you feel guilty :) Most people dont check their receipts anyway and you certainly presented the stuff at the counter....

I wouldnt worry

If I were you I wouldn't have worried :hide:

A similar thing happened to my mum a few weeks ago, we were in Kmart and mum chose a book and put it on top of the pram, we then walked around the rest of Kmart and got a few other items paid for them and went to the food court for lunch, mum was sitting there looking at DSs pram wondering what the square shape in the top was when she realised she had walked out without paying for the book, in this case I told her to go back and pay for the book, simply because she had legitimately forgotten it and we were still in the shopping centre

I had a similar thing happen the other day. I was buying DS new pj's at target. They were all under a sale sign saying they were $15 or something like that. Anyway, we're at the register and they come up at $18, so I queried saying they were on sale. Apparently only 2 pairs of the 7 I'd chosen were on sale... So I thought 'whatever' it's a bit of a misrepresentation, but I'm not up for a fight so will just pay the $18 for the 5 that were that price – works out to an extra $15.

So we finish up, I pay etc and leave. Then I start doing the calcs in my head and think hang-on it should've been more than that. I had a look at the receipt and she hadn't charged me for one pair of the $18 ones... So over all it worked out that I only paid $15 a pair anyway!

I ummed and arred about whether I should go back, but decided it was karma. They were all under the $15 sign after all... I even wondered if the sales assistance did it on purpose cos she thought it was unfair.

But... I still feel a wee bit guilty about it... Just not enough to take them back :hide:

I had the same thing this weekend - I was running in and out of the (overpriced) souvenier shop to get the girls some trinkets from the snow and then discovered I had picked up a free item as the assistant hadn't charged me for one of them. I was trying to keep the girls hands off the merchandise at the time so didn't check the total and didn't realise until it was too late. There was no way I was going back up the mountain for $20 so I figured it was just one of those things :dunno: I'm sure I paid more than enough for everything else on the mountain to make up for it.

maybe I should just enjoy my Wayne Cooper purse and be happy? :P

ETA: Karma is a b*tch, DH just got a $375 driving fine in the post

He would have gotten that anyway love!! :hug:

You win some you lose some ;) Life goes on.

I've worked in retail forever and I'm a very honest person, but I say enjoy your purse!

All im going to say is you might want to draw up some good karma points as sometimes these things come back to bite you at the end.