Son falsly accused of shoplifting

[missams]

Yesterday I was at a grocery store with my two sons which are 11 and 12. We were almost done all I had left to do is get some pop. I bent over to get the pop and this guy that works there says from the end of the isle "excuse me but I just watched your son stick two toys in his pocket". I was surprised because I have never had that problem, but right then I lifted my sons shirt checked his pockets and around the waist of his jeans and yelled back down the isle and said there is nothing in his pockets. Then the guy yells back and says well there is one in there somewhere and he threw the other one in the bin. Remember he had just said he watched him stick two in his pants. So I look all through the bin that was full of pop and only pop and went to look back up to yell I don't see anything and he was gone. So I go around the isle where he has started talking to someone else and say excuse me but I don't appreciate my kids being accused of stealing. Can you come show me what he stole. Because if he did I was gonna pay for it and my son would have got into trouble. The guy said rudely oh he did I saw him. So I brought him back to the pop isle and told him to show me. There happened to be a bunch of dog toys knocked off of the shelf on the other side of the isle, he picked one up and said it was this. So I looked at the guy and said that is a dog toy and besides that two of those won't even fit in my sons pocket. At that time my son looked up at me and said mom I didn't steal anything. The guy leaned in towards my son that is only 11 put his finger in his face and yelled yes you did and you know you did you liar. Well at that point I was mad. All I wanted to do is know for sure if my son did steal or try to steal so I could do what I had to do to let my son know that Its not OK to steal. I told the guy, listen don't yell at my son don't even talk to him, talk to me I am right here. All I wanted at that point was an apology. Well he stuck to my son did steal. He kept yelling at me and my son. So I asked him if there was a manager I can talk to. He was the manager. I said well then who is over you and he told me nobody. So I went to the front and found a cashier to ask her who I could talk to because he wouldn't tell me and he followed me up there yelling my son stole in front of everyone. I left the store with my information on who to call and he even followed me out saying he could call the cops and that my son did steal. He kept going on about how my son stole and was yelling at the both of us even after I proved that he didn't steal anything. My son's father went in a little later and asked the guy if he could see the video, because we really wanted to know still if my son did try to steal, he told him that he didnt know what he was talking about he didn't accuse anyone of stealing that day and that he needed to leave. I just want to know if there is anything I can do about this. Thank you.

 

[mightymoose]

It is possible the boy's father didn't speak with the same person, and possible there was no video either. It is even more likely that any video you might have seen would be from too far away to be omuch use.
There isn't much for you to do other than speak to your kids about it and make sure they are aware of the consequences for stealing. The man at the store did not do anything illegal that you need to take action on.
Shop somewhere else if you don't like how you were treated. Though the man may have been wrong, he apparently was confident about what he had seen. It is possible your boy got caught in the act and quickly got rid of whatever he had. It happens.

 

[shrinkmaster]

If this is a chain store contact corporate office. This is called a "bad stop" in the Loss Prevention profession and most stores deal harshly with anyone falsely accuser customers of theft. I have actually seen some customers handsomely rewarded after it was discovered they were accused or stop unnessarily. Do not name store here!!

 

[missams]

mightymoose, thats why I am so angry at this is because when he said he seen him put toys into his pocket, the manager had not walked away yet. He was starring the whole time. He would have seen him drop the toy. Not just assume he did because he had nothing in his pants. I checked my son right then in front of the guy. All he had to do was apologize, say I thought I seen him. Because obviously he seen wrong. He did not have a toy in his pocket. After he was proven to be wrong is also what I'm mad about. He still yelled at my son quite a few times and me and was saying he knows he put it in his pants. If he was so confident, Why did he just walk away in the middle of me still searching. Shrinkmaster, Thanks, I called corporate, they said they would pull the video's and call me back. Still haven't heard back from them two days later.

 

[shrinkmaster]

These things dont happen quickly so you may want to call back or request a resolution since it was already proven your son had no items. Check your PMs (private messages) on this site for additional info

 

[mightymoose]

Because obviously he seen wrong. He did not have a toy in his pocket. After he was proven to be wrong is also what I'm mad about.

Well I am not sure you proved him wrong. There was just a lack of evidence to support him and prove him right.

Still, it is over. There is nothing to be done. People make mistakes all the time.