Accused of shop lifting at the store yesterday

[CountAllVotes]

Yesterday was the discount day for people over 60 years of age at the local co-op. My husband is over 60 and we usually try to go to the store on the discount days if possible.

I was accused of stealing a bag of plums from them after noting that I had been charged for a bag of plums on my receipt (2.09 lbs. of them). That is just fine and dandy except I did not buy any plums.

When I found them on the receipt, I went back into the store and told them I had not bought any plums and I'd like my money back. I was then accused of stealing them.

I finally got the money back after arguing with them which was absolutely unnecessary!

I then went back to the car and noted they had overcharged me grossly for 2 lbs. of butter that was supposedly on sale.

I also noted after getting home that every single item that I had bought that required being weighed all came in at exactly 2.09 lbs. :wtf:

I'm mad as hell today. I was so angry when I got home last night I thought I was going to explode. :nuke:

My husband says we aren't going to that store anymore which is just fine with me. They can take the 10% senior discount (which works out to you paying them an extra 10%+++ with their rigged registers and B.S. "discount") and shove it where the sun don't shine no 'mo! :grr: :mad: :argh:

I wonder what options I have after being falsely accused as being a thief, a liar and also the humiliation suffered as a consequence of this incident?

I have the damn receipt btw ... maybe I should frame it! They should look in the mirror for the thieves they are trying to catch!

Any comments, ideas, anything at all?

What options if any do I have?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

1. Was this at a Ralph's?

It is a rarity when I don't have to dispute the overcharges when I shop there.

[bluetrain]

15. Yeah, it's amazed me that with all their "discounts" buying the exact same stuff at Whole Foods

winds up being 25% cheaper than at Ralphs.

[Lars39]

2. Get the state involved re: everyrthing weighing the same.

[PBS Poll-435]

4. Department of Weights and Measures...

Something is off...

[CountAllVotes]

12. thanks

had not thought of this aspect of it.

Is it even possible that every item bought could weigh exactly 2.09 lb.? I think not!

I've had it with these damn crooks.

I always keep the receipts and try to look them over before I drive away as the store is a long drive for us with gasoline at close to $3.50 a gallon.

I'll contact the Dept. of Weights and Measures. Good idea! Thanks again!!

[PBS Poll-435]

16. Nobody deserves to be cheated.

Don't know if it is a lazy cashier or what, but you deserve everything that you pay for.


And honest people patronizing this store don't deserve to be called criminals.

[CountAllVotes]

19. We are member of this co-op

Every year they send us a statement. Last year we spent $2,000.00 in said store. If we are stealing from them, why the hell would we have spent $2,000.00 in one year in their stinking store?

I'm thinking maybe as suggested the cashier is in on this scam!

[blondeatlast]

9. Indeed; that definitely smells. State Department of Weights and Measures. nt

[Renew Deal]

27. I thought that was a joke.

But it's not. I didn't know they even existed.

I found the NY State Bureau of Weights and Measures. http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/WM/WMHome.html :bounce:

[mudplanet]

49. Bureau of Weights and Measures, sure, but also the local DA as this

isn't a "calibration error" but likely fraud.

I always check my receipt before I leave the store, although this wouldn't have helped with the plums that weren't in the bag. To be fair, sometimes the cashiers aren't paying attention and they'll leave something of yours on the counter and not in the bag, or put it in someone else's bag. I've been known to say loudly to them "Stop, please pay attention to what you are doing." I know it's a boring job but I'm spending 30% of my income here and it's important to me.

The Bureau is responsible for devices measuring all kinds of stuff, most notably the pumps in gas stations. Look for the sticker that shows the device has been checked.

[Sherman A1]

18. Precisely

Keep all the documentation (receipt and products) photograph the perishable items, weigh them (even using a bathroom scale if need be) and show the weight in the pic.

Go after them and do not let go. They are screwing more than just you and I suspect will regret having done so.

[Mimosa]

28. "They are screwing more than just you "

Don't bother with the local managers. Go to the State regulatory agency AND write or email their corporate headquarters.

[donco6]

42. ^^^What he said^^^

Rigged scales is a trick as old as . . . scales. Nothing lower than that.

[WCGreen]

3. Go talk to the manager and tell them you are going to report this

to the BBB...

Unless you are charged, I really don't see how you could do anything about being accused.

[CreekDog]

40. Your advice is way too timid

if every item that needs weighing shows on the receipt as 2.09 lb then that is a major error that needs to be reported.

she's already dealt with the store --who knows how many people on that day got ripped off.

tell the state.

and going to the BBB? come on.

[dana_b]

5. contact the manager and/or corporate office

show them your receipt and tell them how you were mistreated and made to feel. They are in the wrong and you have the power of word of mouth. Hopefully the manager or whoever you speak to will understand and try to compensate you. Good luck!!

[Mimosa]

29. Contact corporate office. Location manager may be in on scam re: weighing. n/t

[dana_b]

41. that's true

I hadn't thought of that. :(

[CountAllVotes]

33. oddly ...

My day did not end after this event. I went to a jeweler to have my watch fixed while my husband was having eye surgery (yes, oh what a fun day!).

The woman working for the jeweler old me that this same store went after her daughter who was texting a message in the store and had tucked an item under her arm while attempting to text and shop. She was about to pay for the item and they arrested her for stealing before she even left the store!

It cost the lady $300.00 to get her daughter off the hook for this mess.

Word spreads fast where I live in this rural area.

I was told by someone else that they now employ people full-time to find thieves in the two stores they have here.

Being it is a "Co-op" it is owned by its customers, meaning my husband and me and every other "member" that has a number. You must pay to be a member of this Co-op. The only benefit to being a member is the one discount day a month for regular people and 10% off for people over the age of 60 years on Tuesdays.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

39. Go back to the lady at the jeweler...

The fact that it has happened to someone else will make it easier for you to get some action on this.

[hlthe2b]

6. when asked, NEVER agree to not receive a receipt for purchases

and think twice about refusing a bag, (if you did not bring one of your own). There is a trend right now with stores like Whole Foods to ask if you want your receipt. Why on earth anyone would think it wise to refuse, is beyond me. It then becomes your word against whomever that you actually paid for it. Now granted, I am more worried about this kind of thing at larger stores, rather than smaller neighborhood stores that I try to frequent. But, regardless, be smart.

While my comments don't especially apply to the OP (and I can appreciate your horror/anger/disgust at what happened to you), it is offered as a generic reminder to others.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. I'd first complain to the manager

The fact that everything weighs in the same ought to be a good indicator that something was seriously wrong on the tech end of things. If the manager does not address the problem, you should contact the Better Business Bureau.

I'm so sorry you had this awful experience!

[Sherman A1]

20. I wouldn't bother

I would simply file a complaint with their corporate office, just after getting off the phone with the State Department of Weights & Measures.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

38. Haven't dealt w/ Weights & Measures Dep't; but my experience with BBB

has taught me that unless you first address the manager, your complaint will most likely not be addressed.

[CountAllVotes]

50. that is true

I had to file a complaint with the BBB several months ago. Part of the process to file a complaint was to first go to the place you are filing the complaint with. Being I had done this and had found no resolve, I had a legitimate case.

The BBB went after the pharmacy that had shorted me on a RX for drugs.

I got the rest of the RX delivered to my door rather quickly I must say; albeit several months later. It worked, yes.

[Sherman A1]

53. The BBB and a State Agency are two entirely different animals.

A consumer who files a complaint with a state agency will start a process of investigation. It may take a very long time (as they are certainly understaffed), but the complaint requires some type of action.

The BBB is a private organization whom I believe is somewhat beholden to the business community and has no enforcement power (hence they are a complete waste of time) beyond the complaint on file and perhaps some embarrassment.

[marybourg]

8. Well, first I'd go back to the coop with the receipt and show them the

unlikely uniformity of weight. Then tell them that you'd like an apology to be posted in the store, so that any shopper that was there and saw and heard your embarrassment would be able to read it on their next visit. It *is* slander to falsely accuse someone of a crime in the presence of another person and you *could* consult a lawyer about it. It would be better for all if they could make amends to you without further aggravation. Decide first what YOU want from them, and then ask for it.

[Chorophyll]

10. Keep that receipt and

contact the Better Business Bureau. Everything came out to 2.09 lbs??? Don't think so!

[texastoast]

11. What #4 said

Plus mention that you will report it to the state agency in charge of the accuracy of public scales so the bureaucrats will come and check the all the store's measuring equipment.

Hope you are not in Texas. Todd Staples is in charge of that, and only after his Democratic opponent brought up the fact that Staples hadn't done his job of monitoring public scales or gas pumps for years.

[woo me with science]

13. This is the shift we are undergoing....from valued customers to corporate resources

that must be kept in line.

Airlines also used to value their customers. They wanted to please us and convince us to return. Now we are assumed to be criminals, we line up for crotch searches, and we are stuffed into the planes in the cheapest possible way.

I have stopped shopping at a neighborhood grocery store, because they started aggressively checking receipts. I do not appreciate being assumed to be a criminal in my neighborhood grocery store. In addition, the quality of their produce and meat has deteriorated markedly. I left after showing the manager that they were PURPOSELY cutting their roasts to have a thick line of gristle right through the middle.

We are being nickel-and-dimed to death, we are being disrespected, and we are being used.

I am angry for you.

[CountAllVotes]

24. I've noted the same thing

The quality of the produce is pure crap. The fruits/produce are all grainy and tasteless. I bought a bag of pears a few weeks ago and they never ripened to a point that you could eat them (hard and tasteless as rocks). I'm not buying anymore of their produce being much the quality has gone straight to hell.

Organic they say? Yeah right!

[Matariki]

14. That doesn't make any sense. If it was on the receipt, how did you supposedly steal them?

Being on the receipt would imply you paid for them. I would photo copy the receipt and send it to the store management. It's possible the cashiers are running a scam.

[CountAllVotes]

17. the cashier claimed that she saw them

And she said that they were in the grocery bag (which we brought with us and my husband kindly packed for HER).

I then became outraged and asked her if she'd like to search the trunk of my car for these plums. She backed down after that but was still rolling her eyeballs around at me and looking at me in an accusatory fashion as if I stole them.

[Matariki]

56. So by 'stolen' the implication was by looking for a refund you were attempting theft?

I'd bet money that the cashier is the one doing the stealing.

[EFerrari]

21. I've been living in a studio on my mom's place for about a year

and I cannot get over how many different types of businesses are TARGETING her because she's in her seventies. It's unreal and it makes me furious.

I hope you write a letter to the editor and send a copy to the store management. Push back. :grr:

[CountAllVotes]

25. they are targeting older people

In fact, I had a thread re: this a few weeks ago. They sent out a lengthy newsletter saying that old people were stealing from them and that they intended to prosecute them to the FULL EXTENT OF LAW.

They did not dare accuse Mr. & Mrs. Megabucks out there driving a new Lexus to/from the store of anything. I guess the upper crust out there that isn't old and half wrecked would never do a thing like steal now would they?

:grr:

[Warpy]

22. If that is a chain store, copy that recepit and send a letter to their headquarters

telling them exactly what you told us. Just tell them the facts, no embellishments and no reaction, and tell them you will never shop at any of their chain stores again.

You should also send a copy to the consumer fraud people at your state Attorney General's office.

You can make a stink about this if you want to. At the very least, the state will move in and check their scales.

And don't go back unless the management is fired.

[MissDeeds]

23. I'd call the BBB

and especially a local television station that reports on consumer affairs. Here in the KC area, we have several stations that have a "call for action" feature that exposes area businesses that engage in unethical practices. It's great because they identify the business and attempt to get someone from the company to speak on camera.

If you're getting scammed, others are too. Consider it a public service to call them on it. Good luck!

[Renew Deal]

26. You should complain to your county inspectors. NYC did a crackdown recently.

NYC finds price, tax violations at supermarkets

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The survey confirmed what many New Yorkers have been suspecting for a long time. When it comes to prices, what you see isn't always what you get.

Inspectors from the Office of Consumer Affairs fanned out across the city and found that 52 percent of the supermarkets they surveyed were in violation.

City inspectors surveyed more than 700 grocery stores and discovered that many weren't abiding by a rule requiring a price tag for every item on the shelf.

In many cases, they were overcharging at the register and collecting tax for non-taxable items.

Others rang up items at the wrong price. Nearly half didn't calculate taxes properly, including wrongly including bottle deposits in an item's taxable price.
<snip>

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7616842

The Weights and Measures idea is also very good.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

30. Did they . . .

in any way try to detain you/keep you from leaving the store after they accused you of theft? If so, contact a lawyer immediately. That's a tort, a civil wrong.

The Consumer Protection Division of your state's Attorney General might be some help, as well.

[CountAllVotes]

31. no they didn't

It was a solitary cashier with her accusations and remarks like "I see you really are trying to save money huh?". I had a slip for refund from yet another prior overcharge a few weeks ago that I had caught. I presented this to her and she referred to it as a coupon. It was a refund for being overcharged for something, not a "coupon".

Not that it should matter one bit whether it was a coupon or a customer refund slip.

Damn if they don't hate old folks where I live and hell, I'm not even old myself, my poor husband who is a veteran is the one that is old and going blind for God's sake!

SHAME OF THEM!

[GrpCaptMandrake]

35. OK

So it appears there are two problems: one is with a contemptuous cashier and the other is with apparently dodgy scales. AG Consumer Protection, in conjunction with state Weights and Measures should be able to sort it out.

I hope you get satisfaction!

[tblue37]

32. Write to the newspaper, and also in your letter ask others to

check their receipts very, very carefully from now on when shopping at that store. I bet a lot of people will end up saying they've encountered similar problems. You can pay the crummy store back with bad publicity--which will cost them a lot!

[slackmaster]

34. Maybe they should start profiling customers who don't look like you and your husband

:hide:

[CountAllVotes]

36. that is what they are doing

Profiling old people is their game as I guess going after the college students didn't pan out too well. As I mentioned already, I am not the one that is "old", my husband is the one over 60.

In any event, they make me sick! :puke:

:dem:

[slackmaster]

37. Please note that I wrote "customers who DON'T look like you..."

My position is that if they didn't see you hide something or otherwise attempt to bypass the checkout process, they have no business interfering with your movement.

[kestrel91316]

43. Whatever state you are in, you probably have a Department of Weights and Measures

that approves and licenses scales used in commerce. They have to be periodically tested for accuracy. Look them up and get them involved.

[Coyote_Bandit]

44. Contact your state attorney general's office

and file a complaint alleging consumer fraud and intimidation.

And don't go back.

[Lucian]

45. The store is majorly ripping you off.

I'd file a complaint with the BBB.

On a related topic, I work at Walmart, and occasionally I see young teen girls stealing makeup. I don't ever approach them or turn them in because I really couldn't give a shit if Walmart loses money from that sale. If anyone were to walk next to me and out the door with a 55" plasma tv, I'd let them because I don't care.

[grasswire]

46. I'll bet your county social services have help for seniors that have been scammed.

If you call the senior services bureau (whatever it's called there) they might put some pressure on this.

Also I agree about contacting any TV station or newspaper that has an investigative reporter. They love this kind of story, especially if they can find anyone else who has also been scammed by the store.

[cbdo2007]

47. Just talk to the manager. If that doesn't work talk to the owner.

Eventually you'll get to a reasonable person who will see that you obviously didn't buy 2.09 pounds of everything and they'll give your money back.

Similar thing happened to me awhile back where I had bought like 6 pounds of potatoes and then I noticed later that they also charged me for 6 pounds of garlic for like $15. I went back to the store and they saw that the weights were exactly the same, and I showed them the one small thing of garlic I bought and they gave me my money back.

Sounds like you should shop somewhere else though after this for all the trouble. It's sad but customer service is the last priority for a lot of companies, especially small companies who don't understand the bottom line isn't everything and they aren't right all the time. I find this much more with small companies than large companies who have at least a firm corporate structure in place because they know they're much more likely to make a mistake than a small business person who thinks the customer is the only one who makes mistakes.

[CountAllVotes]

48. update on this situation

Weights and measures has been contacted.

Hmph!!

On edit: A HUGE THANK TO ALL THAT HAVE REPLIED! You have all helped me and likely many others out there that have been and are being ripped off! :hug:

[Mimosa]

51. Don't let them know you did it.

They need to be caught at it.

[CountAllVotes]

52. mum's the word on this

Silence in golden! ;)

[Yurovsky]

57. Maybe they'll learn to...

"co-op" erate in the future! I'm sure W&M will help teach them... ;-)

Good luck!

[Warren DeMontague]

54. This story is really confusing. They accused you of stealing plums that you had paid for, but didn't

get?

How could you have stolen them, if you were charged for them?

I'd find a different grocery store. Sounds like this one is run by Clowns.

[Renew Deal]

55. She is asking for a refund without returning the product.

So they assume she bought the plums and is lying when she says she didn't. My sister used to do returns at a major retailer. You couldn't imagine the stories she heard.

[Warren DeMontague]

60. That's not "shoplifting".

I've never heard anyone try to claim it as "shoplifting". And I worked retail for years- I saw all kinds of scams. But I have a hard time believing ANY store would try to call that "shoplifting"- at the most, they might say "sorry, no refund"

[pitohui]

58. don't you have a local "people helper/ consumer advocate"?

contact the reporter for yr local paper and send her (it usually is a her) the receipt and yr story

you should get a refund, an apology, and an explanation

it's a federal offense to use a scale that gives false weights, in theory, you could/should report them to the FBI but in most cases i know where the FBI got involved, it was scales at the wholesale level

still it's considered VERY anti-american to cheat people on weight, it attacks confidence in business at a very gut level

you do need to report this to someone, but since it's a small but probably a cheat that they're doing to chisel a lot of older people,
i say start w,. the consumer advocate and maybe forward a copy of your complaint to your state attorney's general

cheating older people, who no longer have the eyesight to clearly read prices on the receipt on the spot, is just the lowest of the low and it sounds like this store is deliberately targeting them...

if you shop there again, NEVER leave the store without verifying yr receipt

edit-- i now see you have contacted weight & measures, a great idea if they pay attention to your complaint, if the store now has to have its scales checked more frequently for accuracy, it will cost them a lot more money than they have been stealing, sounds like justice to me...i know of a business suspected of short-weighting that had to have the scale co. come in every month to verify that their scales were legal for trade, tee hee

[siligut]

59. They never should have treated you so poorly!

Making accusations is no way to resolve a problem. I just want to throw an alternative theory into the mix. This is in no way meaning to absolve the market of their tacky behavior and incompetence. At our markets the cashier has to enter a PLU number code for produce. It is possible that the cashier just hit the code for plums and not another item that you did buy. Now, it sounds like plums are expensive and 2.09 lbs of them may cost more than what your actual produce cost, so it is still a problem. Second, from what I can understand, because everything weighed 2.09 lbs, some people may be getting a better deal. If something is preventing the scale from going all the way down, stopping at 2.09 is a deal if one were to say buy 5lbs of potatoes. Of course, I don't know what you bought, you would know if the items actually weighed less.