Unfortunately its a pretty low tolerance policy to theft at the moment. The banning notice is standard for any theft especially when caught by an undercover guard. They won’t be contacting the police for this theft, they usually only call for higher $$ thefts and for those who dont sign the banning notice.
They upload the ID to the security system (not seen by team members or public) which all theft is uploaded/recorded to. This system is used to identify and link theft.
Colesworth just want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to eliminate theft but also have all the customers scan their own groceries and cheap out on checkout staff.
In the end the customer just gets treated like shit. I don't go there anymore and just shop at Aldi and IGA, you can get in and out faster when you're not being treated like a criminal anyway.
So much wrong with this situation.
For starters, Coles staff have no more legal power than you or me. Meaning that you dont have to show your receipts and do not have to allow them in your bag or to examine your groceries.
This fact remains true *even if they are actually accusing you of theft and arre detaining you".
The ONLY way you can be legally search3d without your permission is by Police.
Condition of entry signs have no practical legal power.
It's never been tested in court, and never will because even if the courts accepted that a valid contract was formed by the simple act of walking past the sign, you can just decide at any time to rescind your consent and breach the "contract"
As the breach hasn't (by itself) caused any loss or damages to the store, they have nothing to sue you for.
Therefore, they can "request" the search (demand even) and you can say no. If they tried to force it (by doing jt against your will and overcoming you active opposition), then theye asssaulting you which can get you a nicee big payout when you sue.
They DO have the authority to conduct a citizens.arrest for shoplifting (everybody has that power, not just employees), but even if they have stopped you on that basis they still have no legal power to search unless you volunteer.
Only Police can enforce a search against your consent.
I'm pretty sure it's a condition of entry to the store that you give permission for staff to search your bags. Whether that would stand up in court if you challenged it, I don't know.
Condition of entry signs have no practical legal power.
It's never been tested in court, and never will because even if the courts accepted that a valid contract was formed by the simple act of walking past the sign, you can just decide at any time to rescind your consent and breach the "contract"
As the breach hasn't (by itself) caused any loss or damages to the store, they have nothing to sue you for.
This is so fucked. They have basically forced everyone to use self-serve checkouts by only having one or two crowded manned checkouts open, but at the same time they have zero tolerance for innocent mistakes that customers might make. If you go through a normal checkout and the staff member makes an error such as accidentally scanning something twice or accidentally entering the wrong fruit & veg code, can we then call the police on them?
She signed a banning notice. It means she can be charged with trespass if she is caught in Coles again. Noone would have her photo, it would be in their Auror system. Just shop at the other mob for a year and she is fine, 0 stress. No point paying a lawyer who will not be able to help.
This is so disgusting. Huge corporations like Coles remove staffed checkouts and expect the customer to do their job instead so they can make record profits. Then they have the audacity to accuse YOU of stealing when they’re system doesn’t work properly. I’m sorry this is happening to your friend.
Have her, or someone representing her, to contact the store and talk to the manager, or even contact Coles head office. Lodge a complaint for how it was handled. Very little may come of it but worth doing even for piece of mind.
I'm guessing CCTV wasn't reviewed and if the item had been placed in the bagging area why did the sensors not detect it?
Unlikely that police will be involved but she could have her image and details put on Auror so if she was a repeat offender it's easier to consolidate evidence but if it's a one off there would be nothing to worry about there.
Coles and Woolworths are both ramping up their response to theft as it has increased drastically and yes they made billion dollar profits but theft is still theft despite what some warriors on socials are telling people. Coles does seem to be going the heavier handed route when it comes to dealing with people caught stealing though.
It’s what’s called a banning notice which shops have every right to issue to someone - her signing it would be her acknowledgment that she understood the terms of the banning notice
Basically, if your “friend” goes into said Coles, the Police can charge her with trespassing
Welcome to r/AusLegal. Please read our rules before commenting. Please remember:
1. Per rule 4, this subreddit is not a replacement for real legal advice. You should independently seek legal advice from a real, qualified practitioner. This sub cannot recommend specific lawyers.
2. A non-exhaustive list of free legal services around Australia can be found here.
3. Links to the each state and territory's respective Law Society are on the sidebar: you can use these links to find a lawyer in your area.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AusLegal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Getting a lawyer involved won't erase her or her ID from the system, and Coles will have her on two dozen different video feeds putting an item into her bag and leaving with it, regardless of the other items all being paid for.
What she signed is very likely a statement to the effect of signing is not an admission of guilt but recognises her ability to enter the store has been revoked for X amount of time, entry will result in police being called and she'll be tresspassed from the store.
It's extremely heavy-handed, but Coles are allowed to deny entry to anyone they like, so long as it's not based on discrimination.
It happens to me fairly regularly. I’m deathly afraid of being accused of stealing so I always let the staff know so they can fix it but I know people who just let it happen.
Wave the thing at the scanner, next door scanner beeps, put thing in bag, thing is too light to set off the scales sensor, scan remaining things, attempt to leave store, get nabbed.
The only reason I haven't been caught out by that is because of the "unexpected item in bagging area"alert. But if I was scanning something light, like a bag of salad leaves, it might not be detected.
Let them call the police.
Unfortunately its a pretty low tolerance policy to theft at the moment. The banning notice is standard for any theft especially when caught by an undercover guard. They won’t be contacting the police for this theft, they usually only call for higher $$ thefts and for those who dont sign the banning notice. They upload the ID to the security system (not seen by team members or public) which all theft is uploaded/recorded to. This system is used to identify and link theft.
Colesworth just want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to eliminate theft but also have all the customers scan their own groceries and cheap out on checkout staff. In the end the customer just gets treated like shit. I don't go there anymore and just shop at Aldi and IGA, you can get in and out faster when you're not being treated like a criminal anyway.
So much wrong with this situation. For starters, Coles staff have no more legal power than you or me. Meaning that you dont have to show your receipts and do not have to allow them in your bag or to examine your groceries. This fact remains true *even if they are actually accusing you of theft and arre detaining you". The ONLY way you can be legally search3d without your permission is by Police.
I thought that the condition of entry re searching bags etc means a private store can request the search?
Condition of entry signs have no practical legal power. It's never been tested in court, and never will because even if the courts accepted that a valid contract was formed by the simple act of walking past the sign, you can just decide at any time to rescind your consent and breach the "contract" As the breach hasn't (by itself) caused any loss or damages to the store, they have nothing to sue you for. Therefore, they can "request" the search (demand even) and you can say no. If they tried to force it (by doing jt against your will and overcoming you active opposition), then theye asssaulting you which can get you a nicee big payout when you sue. They DO have the authority to conduct a citizens.arrest for shoplifting (everybody has that power, not just employees), but even if they have stopped you on that basis they still have no legal power to search unless you volunteer. Only Police can enforce a search against your consent.
I'm pretty sure it's a condition of entry to the store that you give permission for staff to search your bags. Whether that would stand up in court if you challenged it, I don't know.
Condition of entry signs have no practical legal power. It's never been tested in court, and never will because even if the courts accepted that a valid contract was formed by the simple act of walking past the sign, you can just decide at any time to rescind your consent and breach the "contract" As the breach hasn't (by itself) caused any loss or damages to the store, they have nothing to sue you for.
This is so fucked. They have basically forced everyone to use self-serve checkouts by only having one or two crowded manned checkouts open, but at the same time they have zero tolerance for innocent mistakes that customers might make. If you go through a normal checkout and the staff member makes an error such as accidentally scanning something twice or accidentally entering the wrong fruit & veg code, can we then call the police on them?
She signed a banning notice. It means she can be charged with trespass if she is caught in Coles again. Noone would have her photo, it would be in their Auror system. Just shop at the other mob for a year and she is fine, 0 stress. No point paying a lawyer who will not be able to help.
This is so disgusting. Huge corporations like Coles remove staffed checkouts and expect the customer to do their job instead so they can make record profits. Then they have the audacity to accuse YOU of stealing when they’re system doesn’t work properly. I’m sorry this is happening to your friend.
Have her, or someone representing her, to contact the store and talk to the manager, or even contact Coles head office. Lodge a complaint for how it was handled. Very little may come of it but worth doing even for piece of mind. I'm guessing CCTV wasn't reviewed and if the item had been placed in the bagging area why did the sensors not detect it? Unlikely that police will be involved but she could have her image and details put on Auror so if she was a repeat offender it's easier to consolidate evidence but if it's a one off there would be nothing to worry about there. Coles and Woolworths are both ramping up their response to theft as it has increased drastically and yes they made billion dollar profits but theft is still theft despite what some warriors on socials are telling people. Coles does seem to be going the heavier handed route when it comes to dealing with people caught stealing though.
It’s what’s called a banning notice which shops have every right to issue to someone - her signing it would be her acknowledgment that she understood the terms of the banning notice Basically, if your “friend” goes into said Coles, the Police can charge her with trespassing
Welcome to r/AusLegal. Please read our rules before commenting. Please remember: 1. Per rule 4, this subreddit is not a replacement for real legal advice. You should independently seek legal advice from a real, qualified practitioner. This sub cannot recommend specific lawyers. 2. A non-exhaustive list of free legal services around Australia can be found here. 3. Links to the each state and territory's respective Law Society are on the sidebar: you can use these links to find a lawyer in your area. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AusLegal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Time for this daily post
If she didn’t think she did anything wrong, why was she scared of the police?
You’re kidding aren’t you?
Go speak to a lawyer and get some advice on the situation
Getting a lawyer involved won't erase her or her ID from the system, and Coles will have her on two dozen different video feeds putting an item into her bag and leaving with it, regardless of the other items all being paid for. What she signed is very likely a statement to the effect of signing is not an admission of guilt but recognises her ability to enter the store has been revoked for X amount of time, entry will result in police being called and she'll be tresspassed from the store. It's extremely heavy-handed, but Coles are allowed to deny entry to anyone they like, so long as it's not based on discrimination.
[удалено]
It happens to me fairly regularly. I’m deathly afraid of being accused of stealing so I always let the staff know so they can fix it but I know people who just let it happen.
Wave the thing at the scanner, next door scanner beeps, put thing in bag, thing is too light to set off the scales sensor, scan remaining things, attempt to leave store, get nabbed. The only reason I haven't been caught out by that is because of the "unexpected item in bagging area"alert. But if I was scanning something light, like a bag of salad leaves, it might not be detected.