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A while ago I went to a certain unnamed grocery store. I mostly wanted to buy their 15lb avg seedless watermelon for $2.99 each. Of course, I also bought a few extra things and ended up spending about 15 dollars.
Because I had quite a few things to carry, I didn't check the receipt carefully until I got on the bus. Then I realized that the cashier forgot to scan the watermelon so I practically took it for free (by accident!).
YUM YUM. Aren't free stuffs more delicious than usual?
Free watermelon aside, I want to ask a more serious question. That is, assuming for the moment that I have no intention of going back to the grocery store to give them three dollars (or return the watermelon) in the foreseeable future, does my action constitute theft?
+ Show Spoiler +
Here's my own opinion. I am not a lawyer nor in training for law, so don't bash me too hard for this.
I think this may constitute theft. Theft is usually defined as an act that deprives one's property as well as mens rea. In this case I did take an watermelon without paying. Also, assuming that I have no intention of going back to the grocery store to return the item after I learn that the cashier did not scan it, I am knowingly keeping it by fraudulent means since I did not pay for it.
My major concern is whether or not the cashier's mistake is meaningful at all in this incident.
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Can't you just eat the god damn watermelon?
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get a hint, she wanted to see you again bro. grats on the watermelon they are relaly yummy
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Who cares. You have the watermelon now!
No really, i think it's their mistake if the checker didin't scan it. But there's people who just want to be friendly and all that shit and they else pay for it later or return that stuff.
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As for legality... enforcement is part of the law, so if it isn't enforced, you'll never be found guilty. In fact, admitting it on this website probably raises your miniscule probability of persecution by a hair.
However, if you're asking about legality, you're asking the wrong question. Laws are an approximation to what constitutes ethical behavior. Society is NOT held together by a list of laws... The people who help each other out of kindness... The people who sacrifice their well-being for others... The simple gesture of "thank you" to a complete stranger... Wouldn't you rather be in a world where people think about what's right and wrong instead of consulting a list of laws and trying to get out on technicalities?
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On August 01 2010 11:37 StRyKeR wrote:
As for legality... enforcement is part of the law, so if it isn't enforced, you'll never be found guilty. In fact, admitting it on this website probably raises your miniscule probability of persecution by a hair.
However, if you're asking about legality, you're asking the wrong question. Laws are an approximation to what constitutes ethical behavior. Society is NOT held together by a list of laws... The people who help each other out of kindness... The people who sacrifice their well-being for others... The simple gesture of "thank you" to a complete stranger... Wouldn't you rather be in a world where people think about what's right and wrong instead of consulting a list of laws and trying to get out on technicalities?
Remember Abe!
There's definitely a line I wouldn't cross, for sure. If I found out that I forgot to pay for something in California and then moved to Chicago, I wouldn't go all the way back to pay for it. Please don't mistake me -- I'm not trying to speak from a position of superiority, just common sense / vague moral musings.
I obviously don't think I will be thrown to jail because of this (if I did, posting it here would be somewhat stupid). I am just pondering if my action is technically illegal assuming I am not returning it.
I also agree that morally I should return the item and tell the cashier if it is feasible or easy to do. In fact that if I saw it right-a-way I'd have told her. To be honest, though, I am only interested in legal aspects right now. For example, what if the unscanned item was not a 3 dollar watermelon, but something that is worth $30,000?
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Now that I know, I'm legally required to report you.
+ Show Spoiler +jk I would never do that to a TL member! n.n
It's obviously theft just because you didn't pay. Whether it's meaningful, no. Because you accidently did it and it wasn't worth alot.
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United States43978 Posts
If you didn't knowingly leave without paying then I wouldn't hold you at all to blame. They made a basic human error, it happens and to be honest I expect the store knows it happens. They most likely have a small part of their budget marked cashier error, the cost of which is represented in miniscule increases in prices across the board. It all works out in the end.
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Accidental theft is still theft. Even if it's accidental. Hence, accidental "theft."
How much more innocent is involuntary manslaughter compared to premeditated murder? I don't know. But in both cases, someone dies. How much more innocent is accidental theft to good ol' fashioned five finger discounts? I don't know. But either way, someone gets a watermelon from the store without paying the cashier.
I do think, though, that what really matters is what the person does after realizing the accident that determines wrong or right.
EDIT: I will admit, though... If it were me, I'd be like, "Well, it's just a 3 dollar watermelon. I mean, come on. They probably don't really mind it, wouldn't really care that much if I come back to pay for it, and I really don't want to drive all the way back there." Yeah, I know. I'm terrible. But at least I'm honest, too.
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You're going to jail buddy! I'm an undercover agent ^^
Seriously, if you care about it enough to post on TL.net you should definately return and pay the 3$ And ofcourse they can't sue you because they forgot to bill you (except in America). If it was a larger amount of money I doubt this would have happened, if you were spending 30,000$ I think you'd check the receipt 
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Most grocery stores have to do physical inventory in fresh departments regularly (the store i worked at did them once a month, and twice a year for our non fresh departments). Considering they have to count everything on the sales floor as well as in the back, its really hard to keep track of produce because imagine 2 pallets of watermelons (whole watermelons in those big bins). Even if someone counted them all, there is time between counting them and entering them into the system, therefore between you counting and inventory finishing/finalizing, someone could have ran by and bought 10 watermelons and you can't track that right away.
The way we did it was we just cut off a time period of a slow day and stopped sales for inventory (in the system, but you were open and all orders done after the cut off were put in a kind of wait line to be taken out of the system until inventory finished). But the same problem occurs if someone buys an item you haven't counted yet, it just ends up not being counted and its not a huge deal.
Also, it's the cashiers job to make sure you pay for everything, and if they miss something then its more their fault than yours, unless of course you are intentionally trying to hide something =P. I used to train my cashiers to check to make sure the person put all there groceries up on the counter before putting bagged product back in, if someone misses something small its normally not a big deal, the grocery store won't even notice small items gone until inventory anyway.
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On August 01 2010 11:50 The_Pacifist wrote:
How much more innocent is accidental theft to good ol' fashioned five finger discounts? I don't know. But either way, someone gets a watermelon from the store without paying the cashier.
That's a great image.
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well if you look at it from the opposite side, is an accidental gift still a gift? If intention is what matters, then it is not theft. If results is the only thing that matters, then the fact is you went to pay for it and she handed it to you for free. So thats also not theft.
so, playing devil's advocate, you can enjoy watermelon guilt free :D
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Watermelon is a much sought out delicacy in some parts of the world. You should be ashamed of yourself.
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This happened to me once with some razors... I just didn't bother either. I suppose it's probably technically illegal, but that's just what I assume. Either way, nothing you'd ever actually get charged with.
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it's the cashier's fault for not scanning it. so no need to feel guilty about the result of someone else's incompetence 
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On August 01 2010 11:58 dignity wrote:
Watermelon is a much sought out delicacy in some parts of the world. You should be ashamed of yourself.
+ Show Spoiler +Actually, where is "some parts"? Somalia?
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You told the store what items you were purchasing, and they told you the cost, and you paid the cost. The watermelon is now yours. It's not your responsibility to decide what they charge you for their merchandise.
It would be polite/neighborly for you to try to correct their mistake after the fact, but $2.99 doesn't really matter.
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Who cares? $3 doesn't mean anything to the store. Think about how much annual revenue they get.
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I know that this was disgused in Sweden and basicaly it goes like this:
If the shop is dumb enough to give you stuff for free you have no obligation to correct them, at least if you do not spot the mistake immidietly. Having to go back just to pay $3 is not required.
Now, if the amount is much bigger, say that you bought ten supercars and got one for free without knowing then the judge can assume that you noticed the mistake and since the amount of money in this case is considerable you can be charged of theft.
The rule of thumb is that if the shop gives you stuff for free you don't really have to worry about it.
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EPT
