Have you ever accidentally stolen anything?

[smiths02]

I have 3 of the distinctive pens my company buys at work at home. We pay $5.29 for a box of 60, so about 9 cents each. So I ripped the company off for 27 cents. And I have no idea how they got here.

I like that my DH's job has a policy where if it isn't costing anything substantial (I forgot the price), then it isn't "stealing" to send a personal fax to a local number or make a few personal copies or print out a coupon or accidentally take a pen home.

As for my story, I went to the local grocery store (where I always run into people I know from work), and I got a few items and went through self check-out. I put the things in the car and realized I forgot sour cream. So I walked back in the store, got the sour cream and walked back out. In the parking lot, I realized I hadn't paid for the sour cream and walked in and paid at self check out.

I ordered some things from Disney Store to decorate my office in July. I got a Disneyworld plate and two Disneyland plates. I should have called and told them their mistake, but I didn't really have the time. (To be fair, the price Disney would have to pay to ship it back makes it a waste of their money and my time)

 

[wenrob]

yes, I bought a cute mickey purse from the gift shop at the contemporary, put the purse on the counter, the woman and I talked about the purse. She took the tags off, took the stuffing out, asked if I wanted a bag, I said no, I'd be carrying it. Left the hotel, went back to ours and it occured to me, I didn't remember signing the receipt, or even getting a receipt. I never was charged for it, we left for the airport shortly after. I still feel bad about it and my husband will never let me live it down when I carry my "stolen" purse from Disney. I specifically remember putting my card on the counter too, I guess the cashier and I were so excited about the purse it never occurred to us that I should pay for it lol

This happened to me at Target with a TV. I ordered it online for pick up. I know most of the customer service people there so we were chatting while someone went to fetch it then a discussion on who would take it to my truck etc. A brief, "no really" exchange where I assured them I could take it out myself. Usually Target goes right through for me. One day passes, no charge, two days, three days, nothing. I start trying to remember if I gave them my ID and got a receipt. After a full week I get a notification that if I don't pick it up that day it will be returned to stock. I went in and insisted on paying for it and of course they all thought I was nuts but there was indeed a missing TV from inventory. Crazy thing is, same thing happened when my DD bought a TV a year later! I wonder how many TVs Target has just given away?

Anything that ends up in my cart by mistake always gets returned or paid for. Always. Give me too much change, I'll give it back to you. I had an elderly cashier at Walmart pretty much try to give me back the 2 $100 bills I gave her PLUS what I paid for the groceries. I finally flagged someone down to help her out.

 

[jen0610]

The last incident was yesterday. Checked out of Meijer's using their unlimited self scan lane. You scan, toss it on the belt and it is suppose to weight the items on the belt with what you have scanned. Scanned the package of night time pain meds, the ZzzQuil bottle, the toothpaste, shaving cream and the box of heartburn meds. Everything beeped when I scanned it and their system ok'd what was on the belt with the scanned items. Finished scanning the rest of the grocery items. Got home and looked over the receipt. The box of heartburn meds at 16.75 were not on the receipt. Obviously their verification system isn't perfect.

It's been years since this one happened to DH. He was Christmas shopping. He got a video game that you had to be 18+ to buy, plus 3 movies and 1/2 dozen other items. The girl told him the amount due and he paid it, took everything home and tucked it in the closet until he went to wrap it. A month later when he went to wrap, pulled the receipt out of the bag and looked at. None of the movies rang up. The beeping the girl heard was their system asking her to verify that he was old enough to buy the game, not that it was ringing in the price for the movies. He said at the time he had thought the price was a little low, but just thought there were some items in the cart that were on sale that he wasn't aware of.

 

[jen73]

All the time when our twins were stroller age. Seems like every time we were in Toys R Us, I would pick up a small item (pacifiers, toys, etc ) and without fail, I'd find it in the double stroller the next time we used it. It was embarrassing and the next time we'd go to the store, I'd offer to pay for it and they never accepted. I think it must hv happened at least 6 times??? Lol But this was a long, long, long time ago...hahaha

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I think I've always gone back and paid for anything that slipped under another item or I didn't pay for. I remember once I was at Target and one of my items was a big box of diapers. I know I put them on the belt first, and thought the cashier had scanned them (and I think she did, but must have scanned the wrong barcode). I was buying a lot of items, so I didn't realize that they didn't ring up until I got home and was checking my receipt. I put them back in the car and took them back the next day to pay for them. The CS rep was shocked that I brought them back, but no way would I have stolen $30 worth of diapers.

A funny story: on one trip to Disney World I had stopped in one of the stores near the Studios exit, and my younger son was begging for a DVD of a movie we already had at home. I told him no, and continued to look around. We left and took the boat to Epcot. While we were on the boat, I realized that DVD was in the bottom of the stroller. When we got off the boat, I marched him up to the Guest Relations window and made him tell the CM what he'd done (he was 4, almost 5). The CM tried to tell him, "oh, it's ok, buddy," but I told the CM no, it was NOT ok, and he needed to let my son apologize for it!

 

[teacup princess]

Yes. At Christmas....went shopping with my daughter at Macy's and found a purse. It was the only one and nicely marked down but I didn't really need it and wanted to think about it so I threw it over my shoulder to carry with me while we continued to shop. Well, I forgot I had it, probably because I was carrying it over my shoulder like I would my normal purse and I just walked out of the store with it right past the security guard. We got halfway down through the mall and my daughter looks at me wide-mouthed and said, "Mom, you didn't pay for the purse." I was mortified that I accidentally stole the purse in front of my daughter and even more mortified that I now had to make the LONG trek back through the crowded mall to pay for it, but I did.

 

[Pridemom]

I walked out with a bag of dog food under the cart. I didn't realize it hadn't been paid for until I was home. The next time I bought dog food, I told the cashier to ring it twice and told her the story. She almost didn't do it for me.

 

[low-key]

I one time walked out to my car with about 20 items n the grocery cart, put it in the trunk and didnt realize it until I got home and opened the trunk. (and was thinking, where are the bags) I was having trouble with the Pharmacy, fighting back and forth with them 3 times, had my mind on auto pilot. No ne said a thing, that was maybe 15-20 years ago, I think today I might get stopped but not sure

 

[Kenny1113]

Jar of relish. Last year. I had the baby in her carseat in the shopping cart & it must have rolled behind it. I didn't notice till I was putting her in the car, and I had already put my toddler in the car. I guess I could have gone back inside to pay, but admittedly I didn't.

Mine is similar. A canned food item of some kind. I had been grocery shopping when my kids were younger, had younger DS in the carrier placed in the cart. Of course after getting older DS and younger DS and the carrier into the car that was when I saw the can. I didn't load my infant and toddler back into the cart to go pay for it. Karma got me though. I ended up paying $15 for that can. Later that week I had gone to the same store and purchased a Pyrex baking dish in addition to my shopping. Once I got home I had noticed on my receipt that I had been charged twice for it. I lost the receipt before I could get it corrected.

 

[justgrace]

I was at a Claire's type store at the mall wearing a long sweater and after I left I was about halfway across the mall when I realized that one of those bun things was stuck to my butt.

I would have returned it but my dh had a bad experience as a teenager where he returned an item and had his honesty rewarded by being arrested for shoplifting. So, he is quite adamant that if you accidentally take something, just keep it.

Are you serious? Would they rather have had him not tell them and not receive the item back? That's just terrible!

 

[elphaba91]

I know I have, but it's been so long I can't remember what it was, nor the circumstances.

My BIL recently forgot to pay for a tank of gas for his truck and the police came to see his business partner about it (truck registered in company name). The partner was confused as he knew he hadn't even been to that town & then it clicked who had done it. They paid the bill & no charges were filed.

A co-worker (a pharmacist) one day accidentally drove off without paying for her petrol. She realised at work and planned to go back after work to pay. The phone rang at work and she answered and the person on the other end identified themselves as a police officer. She immediately launched into an apologetic explanation for her actions. It turned out the caller had absolutely no idea what she was talking about and had actually called for something totally unrelated (I think to check something to do with a document a pharmacist had certified for a police check). She was positive that they were calling to bust her - it was hilarious!

I think I've had something at the grocery store that wasn't scanned. I let it go because I figure I've been overcharged for things so many times that I'd already paid for it!

 

[TrustInPixieDust]

When I was around 8 years old I walked out of Blockbuster with a Lady and the Tramp plushie and didn't even realize it wasn't mine until we were already in the car. By then I figured it was too late to say anything...oops!

 

[aprilchem]

I have 3 of the distinctive pens my company buys at work at home. We pay $5.29 for a box of 60, so about 9 cents each. So I ripped the company off for 27 cents. And I have no idea how they got here.

At my office it's ok to bring stuff like that home because we occasionally work from home - I guess they'd rather us use their pens then use our own pens?

Mine is a bit of a different kind of story - a couple of months ago I was checking out at BJ's, and the cashier told me that she'd just check everything out by scanning from the cart rather than putting everything onto the belt and back into the cart. I could see that she had missed an entire side of the cart and I asked her THREE times to check the register tape to make sure she'd gotten everything scanned - all three times she told me that everything had been scanned, and by that point I felt like I was offending her, so I let it go, figuring that they'd catch it when they checked the receipt at the door. I even mentioned it to the lady at the door and she (seemed to) look at the receipt fairly carefully, then told me "it's all there - you're good to go,!" so I walked over to customer service and talked to the store manager, who didn't seem like she really cared to check at all. So I left, and when I got out to car I realized she hadn't charged me for about $80 worth of groceries. At that point I didn't really know where else to do (district manager? I'm sure he/she wasn't there), so I left. I figured if they really didn't want to charge me that badly I was done fighting them to take my money!

 

[pocomom]

I like that my DH's job has a policy where if it isn't costing anything substantial (I forgot the price), then it isn't "stealing" to send a personal fax to a local number or make a few personal copies or print out a coupon or accidentally take a pen home.

As for my story, I went to the local grocery store (where I always run into people I know from work), and I got a few items and went through self check-out. I put the things in the car and realized I forgot sour cream. So I walked back in the store, got the sour cream and walked back out. In the parking lot, I realized I hadn't paid for the sour cream and walked in and paid at self check out.

I ordered some things from Disney Store to decorate my office in July. I got a Disneyworld plate and two Disneyland plates. I should have called and told them their mistake, but I didn't really have the time. (To be fair, the price Disney would have to pay to ship it back makes it a waste of their money and my time)

Amazon once sent some things I didn't order and they told me to keep the items, or donate them. It really didn't pay for them to get them back. They also refunded my whole order because they didn't ship the thing I did order.

 

[DopeyDame]

I was at a Claire's type store at the mall wearing a long sweater and after I left I was about halfway across the mall when I realized that one of those bun things was stuck to my butt.

I would have returned it but my dh had a bad experience as a teenager where he returned an item and had his honesty rewarded by being arrested for shoplifting. So, he is quite adamant that if you accidentally take something, just keep it.

UGH! DH and I have talked about that. Both of our instincts is that, should one of the kids shop lift something at some point, we march them right back to the store, make them apologize and pay for it, etc. (As well as other punishments at home) But that plan really does depend on a reasonable and understanding manager at the store!

 

[DopeyDame]

Amazon once sent some things I didn't order and they told me to keep the items, or donate them. It really didn't pay for them to get them back. They also refunded my whole order because they didn't ship the thing I did order.

Amazon is SO good with that. I once gave them the wrong address to ship a present. After the birthday girl didn't get anything, I logged in and realized my mistake. I messaged them (hoping it wasn't too late to change the address) and they just said don't worry about it. I gave them the correct address and they sent out a second item for free to the correct address.

 

[pocomom]

I think I've ended up with several small things when my kids were babies and the car seat was in the cart. Items sometimes end up by the side or under the car seat, and I was so tired, and trying to get through the store quickly. I do remember telling the cashier once to charge me for something that I accidently didn't pay for the last time and she looked at me like I was an alien or something.

 

[pryncess527]

Yes, I bought about $200 worth of stuff at WalMart once for my new college apartment. At the bottom of the cart, a bottle of nail polish was overlooked, and I exited the store with my purchases and the stolen nailpolish, unbeknownst to me.

I found out the unpaid for polish was in my cart about 20 seconds later when I was arrested for theft.

 

[pocomom]

UGH! DH and I have talked about that. Both of our instincts is that, should one of the kids shop lift something at some point, we march them right back to the store, make them apologize and pay for it, etc. (As well as other punishments at home) But that plan really does depend on a reasonable and understanding manager at the store!

My mom did that to my brother when he was 3, and had some candy he was eating that she didn't pay for. After being very stern with him she Marched him right up to the manager and said "now you tell him where you got that candy! " and my brother crying, just lifted his arm and pointed to the ashtray tower thingy. My mom was horrified (as was the manager ) and she switched grocery stores for several months.

 

[Pridemom]

Yes, I bought about $200 worth of stuff at WalMart once for my new college apartment. At the bottom of the cart, a bottle of nail polish was overlooked, and I exited the store with my purchases and the stolen nailpolish, unbeknownst to me.

I found out the unpaid for polish was in my cart about 20 seconds later when I was arrested for theft.

When I consider how many times I have walked out of Walmart leaving behind a few small items in a bag the cashier didn't remove from the carousel, that would really tick me off.
I got home Saturday and had left two boxes of pudding behind.