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I was wrongly accused of shoplifting at Uniqlo over a misunderstanding linked to the new tills they now have in store.
Those tills are supposed to detect everything you put in a sort of basket area at once, and don't require for you to scan the items one by one. It was my first time using these tills, and on that day I was buying about a dozen items, treating myself after a complicated year and not really paying attention to budget. I thought the amount indicated by the till looked about right for what I had gotten, paid for my items, and made my way out... but the alarm went off as I was passing the doors. I was immediately cooperative and let the guard search my bags. It turned out that one item had not been detected by the till, which is what triggered the alarm. This could have been no big deal, as apparently this happens often with those tills, and I immediately offered to pay for the item.
Problem is that two other items also had not been detected by the till/paid for, because they had no labels!!! I knew the price of the items from the section they were in, and the size from the hangers, so I never bothered to check their labels / if they even had labels at all. The store manager was called based on the suspicion that I had gotten rid of the labels on purpose. I tried to explain that this was all a misunderstanding, but I was very aware (and reminded by the manager) of how bad this looked from the outside... I didn't want to risk things escalating so I agreed to give my name, get my picture taken, and sign a 'banning notice' saying that I understand that I will be banned from Uniqlo UK for 5 years... I think the manager mentioned that this would not be on my record, but I was so scared and ashamed of the situation that what he said is kind of a blur, and I find myself thinking "what if he said that this would be on my record"??. The police was never called (at least not to my knowledge), there was no mention of RLP at all, and I did not give any contact details for them or the police to send me anything.
In the end I had to insist to pay for the three items (which I genuinely wanted lol) because they were just going to take them back. The manager became a bit more sympathetic after this, but the paper had already been signed, so I guess there was no going back.
Anyway I'm scared to death that I will get some kind of criminal record because of this... I know this is highly unlikely, but I would deeply appreciate someone confirming this (it would really help me sleep). Also I am so so so gutted because Uniqlo is my favourite store... When will it be safe to go back to one of their stores (obviously not the one where this happened)? Will my picture really be sent all over the UK stores? Please tell me it won't be visible to the public eye...
Sorry if this all seems naive / has been answered before for other cases, I never expected to be in this situation and it's making me very anxious...
Those tills are supposed to detect everything you put in a sort of basket area at once, and don't require for you to scan the items one by one. It was my first time using these tills, and on that day I was buying about a dozen items, treating myself after a complicated year and not really paying attention to budget. I thought the amount indicated by the till looked about right for what I had gotten, paid for my items, and made my way out... but the alarm went off as I was passing the doors. I was immediately cooperative and let the guard search my bags. It turned out that one item had not been detected by the till, which is what triggered the alarm. This could have been no big deal, as apparently this happens often with those tills, and I immediately offered to pay for the item.
Problem is that two other items also had not been detected by the till/paid for, because they had no labels!!! I knew the price of the items from the section they were in, and the size from the hangers, so I never bothered to check their labels / if they even had labels at all. The store manager was called based on the suspicion that I had gotten rid of the labels on purpose. I tried to explain that this was all a misunderstanding, but I was very aware (and reminded by the manager) of how bad this looked from the outside... I didn't want to risk things escalating so I agreed to give my name, get my picture taken, and sign a 'banning notice' saying that I understand that I will be banned from Uniqlo UK for 5 years... I think the manager mentioned that this would not be on my record, but I was so scared and ashamed of the situation that what he said is kind of a blur, and I find myself thinking "what if he said that this would be on my record"??. The police was never called (at least not to my knowledge), there was no mention of RLP at all, and I did not give any contact details for them or the police to send me anything.
In the end I had to insist to pay for the three items (which I genuinely wanted lol) because they were just going to take them back. The manager became a bit more sympathetic after this, but the paper had already been signed, so I guess there was no going back.
Anyway I'm scared to death that I will get some kind of criminal record because of this... I know this is highly unlikely, but I would deeply appreciate someone confirming this (it would really help me sleep). Also I am so so so gutted because Uniqlo is my favourite store... When will it be safe to go back to one of their stores (obviously not the one where this happened)? Will my picture really be sent all over the UK stores? Please tell me it won't be visible to the public eye...
Sorry if this all seems naive / has been answered before for other cases, I never expected to be in this situation and it's making me very anxious...
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