I was shopping in (dept. store) with my baby in the stroller. I was in the store and picked up a couple men's dress shirts and then put them down because I decided to shop in the rest of the mall and go there last because it's were I parked. I get out of the store and the baby started crying so I gave her a snack from my diaper bag and decided to just go back and get what I came for at (dept. store) and then head home because the baby was getting fussy. I return to the store and went to the ladies department, tried on dresses (even asked the lady if I could go into the dressing room with the stroller and she said yes) I only liked one of the dresses so I laid it over top of my stroller and then walked over to the men's dress shirts i was originally looking at. I picked up the three shirts And texted my husband for his sizes and while I waited for his response I continued to look. I had about 4-5 shirts laying on the top of the stroller, all varying in the sizes I thought he wore. I walked over to the men's regular clothing and picked up two men's t-shirts and put them on the top of the stroller. Things started falling so I placed some items underneath the stroller, still in view and not concealed. I continued shopping and picked up a sweatshirt and a hat. By this time my husband responded and I eliminated the shirts that were not in his size range, that left me with three shirts. I had the sweatshirt, a hat, a dress and two tshirts on the top and the dress shirts visibly below. I put back the dress shirts that were not his size and continued around the store and made my way to the register. When I arrived I started putting my items on the counter and she asked me if I had a credit card and I told her no but I had a coupon on my phone. She continued to tell me about the credit card and I again told her no thank you. She insisted that I swipe my debit card, give her my ID and just try for a credit card because it would save me 45%, I was not finished unloading my items and she insisted that I go ahead and swipe my card so she could start the process of my application because it would take a couple minutes. I get my card from my wallet and swipe my card and hand her my ID and go to continue getting my items from the stroller, the lady behind me started talking to my baby and I acknowledge her conversation and then the cashier said it asked me a question on the credit card machine regarding my application to further the process. By this time two people were in line behind me and I felt rushed because the cashier realized two people joined the line. The cashier told me they needed more information and would go ahead and take off $27.51 off instead of the 45% and I would receive the information in the mail. I told the lady I wanted to make sure she didn't use my card I swiped for the application to be used for this purchase and she immediately said do you want to use the same card or a different one, despite me telling her already. I told her I wanted to use a different card and she asked me to swipe it. She again stressed they took off $27.51 but never said the total. I swiped my card and waited for her to bag my items. She gave me my receipt and the bag and I saw another bag laying on the counter and I asked if that was mine too, she said no it was not and I said oh ok, I'm surprised all those items I bought fit into one bag and started to walk away. I get to the door and press the handicap sign for the automatic door to open because I had the stroller but it did not open. I turn the stroller around and go to open the door with my back and pull the stroller in reverse. I didn't even have the door open yet and a man came running up to me and pointed down at the undercarriage, I said oh my gosh thank you so much I was in such a chaos with the cashier I totally forgot to grab them. I go to walk back to the cashier and he asked me to follow him and showed me some bag called loss prevention. I immediately thought he was going to ring my items for me at another register since the lady had a line. He brought me into the back office that looked like a warehouse, which made me feel very uncomfortable with a baby and being a young Caucasian women. I asked him what was going on and he said I was a liar and tried to steal. I was immediately taken back because this was far from my intent. He started yelling at me and said if I admit to doing it then it would make things easier. I tried to explain to him that the cashier pushed the credit card on me and kept distracting me from finishing unloading the items and when I told her I did not want to use my debit card she had, she made me feel like she accidently ran it and I immediately became concerned and then she asked for the other card, I was confused during the entire process and was concerned she was messing up my payments and cards. I told the man it was an honest mistake and I understand he was doing his job and I would gladly pay for the items, like I planned. I told him he could check the stroller, my purse and diaper bag because I had nothing to hide. He then calmed down and said these accidents happen all the time and they would not be pressing charges. He said he just needed to ask me a few questions for their paperwork. They were private questions about my income, my job, how much money I had on me and cards. I gladly answered the questions because I was innocent and had nothing to hid. He then asked me to sign something and I asked him was this me admitting I did something and he said no. A lady then came in and said I was banned from (dept. store) for life and would have to pay $350 today. I asked her why was that when I am innocent and when I got to my car I would have realized it was in my stroller and came back inside. She said that I still had to do this because the merchandise left the store, I understand this being a policy and they are just doing their job but I did not leave the store. I was at the door and was pushing my back at the door to reverse out when the man stopped me, I didn't even make it past the doorway and myself and the stroller were both still inside the store. I probably would have seen the shirts below as I was pulling the stroller out but the man stopped me before I could have noticed. I understand these people are just doing their jobs and policies are made for a reason. I am an honest, hardworking school teacher, I have never been in trouble in my life( not even a speeding ticket). I was told if I was smart I would pay the $350 and the incident would never leave that room and no one would ever know about it and they continued by saying as a school teacher this is what you want to do. She said if I didn't then it would go to court and be on my record, even if I was found innocent. I was then freaking out because I know I was innocent and it was an honest mistake and they even agreed at some point. I felt that I would rather pay the $350 and never have to worry about it again and was just overwhelmed by the accusations and my baby was still fussy and I needed to get home. It has now been 24 hours and I can not stop thinking about it. I feel as if it was an insult to be accused of such a horrible thing. I know I did nothing wrong and feel I shouldn't be banner for life and charged $350. Over all in my defense, the shirts were never concealed and clearly visiable, if I was stealing they would have been hidden. The cashier distracted me multiple times during the transaction. During my entire visit I pulled the shirts out from beneath to put them next to other shirts to compare and even swapped them out. I feel if I was guilty I would not have brought so much attention beneath. My questions are:
1. Can I contact someone to explain my story without them changing their mind and prosecute me. I know I'm innocent but do not want the trail to even be on my record.
2. Can the store still charge me even though they said they would not and no one would ever see the event but them?
1. Can I contact someone to explain my story without them changing their mind and prosecute me. I know I'm innocent but do not want the trail to even be on my record.
2. Can the store still charge me even though they said they would not and no one would ever see the event but them?
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