Tesco

[Dizmo]

Well done Tesco for bringing out 'Scan as you Shop'. You have just invited all the criminals to rip you off even more. Convenient shop lifting at its best.

http://www.tesco.com/scan-as-you-shop/

[gingejbee]

Waitrose has used this for many years ...if it were as bad as you say, I'm sure they wouldn't continue to use it.

[New Judge]

This has been going for some time and do not believe that Tesco were the pioneers. I think Sainsburys had it before them and even they may not have been the first.

If somebody wants to steal from a supermarket they will do so, whatever methods of payment are in use. Shoplifting was going on long before self-scanning was introduced. I see more of a problem with this system for law abiding shoppers. it is dead easy when doing the rounds to neglect to scan an item or fail to scan it properly. Then you walk out of the store with something for which you have not paid.

[ummmm]

Safeways used to do it.

I think scanners should be available just for the simple fact that people on a tight budget would find them so useful.

[janbee]

Every little bit helps !

[ummmm]

I mean like a little scanning calculator so it makes shopping easier. Go through the tills as normal.

[kvalidir]

My Mum says Sainsburys used to do it years ago, so I don't think it's a new idea.

[Dizmo]

I've just proved a point though. I went round twice and didn't 'steal' anything. The second time round I took 10 extra items equating to £14. After asking them how safe they thought it was a member of staff said "very". So I relied 'well it isn't, I'm off to go and put back the 2 bottles of wine and other groceries I *forgot* to pay for. If they want to lose money then sobeit. I just think it's crazy..

[gingejbee]

Of course it isn't new...Waitrose have done it for at least 5 years. And Safeway before them....however, we all know what happened to them!

[bednobs]

it works by randomly stopping you for a check. if on that check you are not right (don't add up with what you,ve got0 you'll be scanned more often

[ummmm]

Safeways used to do spot checks. You'd put your scanner in the self service thingybob and it would tell you to go to a checkout. They had a checkout specifically for the scanners.

Thing is...the scanner didn't take into consideration any offers, the offers didn't come off until you reached the till so they'd never know if you were attempting to steal anything anyway.

[gingejbee]

...sounds like OP is "testing" out the system...to use it later on for....no,no, mustn't!

[bednobs]

ps i've been doing it in saisburys for about 10 years, and waitrose for 2

[gingejbee]

I use this in Waitrose twice a week...and my last "security re-scan" was last year sometime!

[Dizmo]

New Judge: It is far easier to defend yourself in court if you say you forgot to scan the items. Most shop lifters have to try and leave the store after hiding shopping on their person. This is open for people who can take a gamble and not have to much of a fear of being caught.

[vulcan42]

Safeways used this but it was dropped, not because of theft but because they took a customer every so often and put the groceries through a normal till to check everything. People got fed up with this and stopped using the system.

[Daffy6543]

My mum regularly used to steal from Safeways when they had the scanners on the trolley

[Dizmo]

gingejbee: How very dare you?!

I'm back home now so I can type a lot quicker than on my phone.

I'd be strung and quartered if a certain member of my family thought I was on the rob.

[New Judge]

"Waitrose have done it for at least 5 years. And Safeway before them....however, we all know what happened to them!"

I think Waitrose are not doing too badly and Safeways were taken over by Morrisons. I don't think the fact that they may or may not have been incurring losses due to self scanning had any influence on that deal.

"It is far easier to defend yourself in court if you say you forgot to scan the items. Most shop lifters have to try and leave the store after hiding shopping on their person. This is open for people who can take a gamble and not have to much of a fear of being caught. "

As with all theft, Dizmo, the prosecution has to prove that the accused took the goods deliberately and intended to permanently deprive the owners of them. It is scarcely any more difficult to prove this if the goods have been taken from a self-scanning shop than it is if they were taken from a conventional shop. It is not necessary for the suspect to have left the shop with the goods. Usually just passing through the pay point is sufficient. Furthermore, most prosecutions of low level shoplifting are supported by the fact that the accused has no means to pay on their person at the time of the offence. For these reasons I do not believe that self-scanning presents a significant increase in the risk of theft.

Fear of being caught is not much of an issue for habitual shoplifters. They stand virtually no chance of being sent to prison (and for many of them a few weeks inside is quite a comfortable change from their usual existence anyway). They are usually dealt with by way of a fine which is simply added to their "account" and they have £10 a fortnight deducted from their benefits.

[ummmm]

Judge, are you really a judge?

[baza]

^^^^^ scan the BAR code