is this shoplifting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feed your damn kids before you shop! Then you won't have this problem.

Perhaps you should have paid better attention to the article. It was the parents who ate the sandwiches. If you brushed up your reading comprehension, you wouldn't have this problem.

I didn't waste my time with the article, so my bad. But eating something without paying for it is shoplifting, whether you did it or let your kids do it. And without reading it again, now I can see why the authorities got involved, but it does sound like overkill. I hope we all learned a lesson.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is shoplifting.

I never eat, or let my kids eat, things in the store we haven't paid for yet. If my kids were THAT STARVING, that they couldn't wait till the end of the shopping trip, I would pay for a snack and then finish the shopping.

I find it gross when people snack while shopping anyway. They are probably the same type that leave all their garbage in the carts/shelves. I see it all the time. Half eaten muffins, empty Starbucks cups left on the store shelf. People are pigs.

[ThatSmileyFaceGuy]

What I find amusing is most of you rigorously defend the "taste testing" of produce before you buy it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feed your damn kids before you shop! Then you won't have this problem.

Perhaps you should have paid better attention to the article. It was the parents who ate the sandwiches. If you brushed up your reading comprehension, you wouldn't have this problem.

I didn't waste my time with the article, so my bad. But eating something without paying for it is shoplifting, whether you did it or let your kids do it. And without reading it again, now I can see why the authorities got involved, but it does sound like overkill. I hope we all learned a lesson.

Yes and that lesson was that pretentious assholes will comment on anything, whether they know what is going on or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is shoplifting. You don't eat the food until you pay for it. Self-restraint is a good lesson to teach your little ones.

No, not exactly. It's not shoplifting if you eat the sandwich in the store, save the rapper, and pay for it on your way out. It becomes shoplifting if you leave the store without paying for it. That it was a mistake is irrelevant - there is no mens rea element in shoplifting, as far as I'm aware.

None of this changes the fact that this was a ridiculous overreaction by both Safeway and the cops.

[Anonymous]

Eating before paying is not, but not paying is.
Stores have a problem with customers cutting corners and stealing small items.
So I agree with the their policy.

[Anonymous]

[§663A-2] Damages and penalties. (a) Any person who takes possession of any merchandise displayed or offered for sale by any mercantile establishment without the consent of the owner and with the intention of converting such merchandise to the individual's own use without having paid the purchase price thereof, who alters the price indicia of such merchandise, or who takes any other action that constitutes the offense of shoplifting, shall be civilly liable to the owner of the mercantile establishment for either:
(1) Actual damages and a civil penalty of $75, if a written demand is made pursuant to subsection (e), for the actual damages and this civil penalty; or

(2) Actual damages, a civil penalty of $75, and an additional civil penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500, to recover the costs and expenses of bringing a civil suit, as determined by the court.

(b) A conviction for theft under section 708-830 to 708-833 is not a condition precedent to the maintenance of a civil action under this section.
(c) A civil liability under this section is not limited by another law that limits liability of parents or minor children.
(d) An action for recovery of damages and the assessment of the civil penalties under this section may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction, including the small claims division of a district court.
(e) The fact that an owner of a mercantile establishment may bring an action against an individual for damages as provided in this section shall not limit the right of the owner of a mercantile establishment to demand, in writing, prior to the commencement of any legal action, that a person who is liable for damages under this section remit said damages and the amount of civil penalty allowed in section 663A-2.
(f) Judgments, but not claims, arising under this section may be assigned. [L 1985, c 275, pt of §1]

Hawaii Statutes prohibit eating food before paying for it. I am not sure about laws around here but wouldn't be surprised if there is something similar. I don't open packages until I have paid for the food so I have never bothered to check.

[Anonymous]

VA § 18.2-103. prohibits use of good before paying for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Whole Foods with my 5 year old this afternoon. On our way to the store, he polished off an entire bag of pretzels. My goal was to take him in with a full tummy. In the store, he asked for a poppy seed bagel and milk (one of those Horizon boxes) and I let him eat and drink as we shopped because it made the shopping "experience" much easier. I told the cashier (she scanned his milk) and she could also see him chowing on the bagel and all was good.

So, no, I don't think it's shoplifting.

My problem here is that you are indulging your FIVE year old kid. Two year olds throw tantrums when they are hungry in the grocery store. If your kindergartener needs to be appeased by a bagel and milk in the store so that you can shop, there are larger issues here.

[Anonymous]

10:07 Set. Point. Match. Well done.

[Anonymous]

It seems as though the law says it is. But I think they overreacted based on a misunderstanding and the family failing to tell the cashier about the sandwiches and the wrappers when they checked out.

I have occasionally sipped on a bottle of water and then presented it at checkout - guess I need to stop doing that. Personally I think if an item has a barcode and you give it to the cashier right away its not a big deal and they've never said anything to suggest that its considered shoplifting.

Of course the simple solution if you're hungry or thirsty and didn't have time to grab something before going to the store is to grab something, pay for it, then keep the receipt on you while you shop. I've done that as well.

[Anonymous]

While I agree it was overkill, it is shoplifting. There is a difference between taste testing a few grapes and eating a whole sandwich. I've seen folks eating food/letting their kids eat food at the store before it's paid for and I just dont get it. Yes, my child has wanted to eat something before it's paid for, but I always tell her that we have to wait til we have paid for it before we can eat it. I dont understand why (even if you plan to pay for it at the register) this would be ok. Can you imagine if everyone went to the Giant and just started eating stuff off the shelves with the intent on paying for it at the register. WTF

[Anonymous]

You do know that taste testing is stealing, also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walking out with an item that you intended to purchase, but forgot to, is simply not shoplifting

Yes it is. It can still be an accident, honest mistake, etc. but it IS really and truly shoplifting. It's like saying to the officer, "I didn't mean to be going 50 in a 35 - I intended to go the speed limit and I thought I was because I was keeping up with traffic..." and then trying to call this not speeding.

What was called for here is to get to the bottom of the situation and try to determine intent. Obviously the management did not buy their "story" and called the cops.

[Anonymous]

I remember shopping with my father. He always went first to those bulk bins and filled a bag with trail mix or nuts. He'd eat it as he shopped and pay for whatever was left by the time we hit the checkout. Sometimes that was only a handful or so.

The part about this story that didn't make sense to me was continuing to push the shoplifting charge after they offered to pay. Why wouldn't paying be enough?