‘I’m not on the breadline but we are the definition of the squeezed middle’
As food prices remain high, one woman has admitted to being a ‘middle-class shoplifter’ and ‘regularly’ walking out the supermarket with items they haven’t paid for.
Writing for the Independent, the anonymous shopper said that when she were younger she “never even stole from the Woolworth’s pick’n’mix,” but that things changed in her thirties,
She explained that only a few days ago, she swiped “a pack of leeks alongside a large pot of Yeo Valley Greek organic yoghurt” from a “big-name store.”
The shopper went on to say that she is a “nice middle-class woman with young children” but that, whilst she isn’t “on the breadline’, food is “still expensive.”
“We are the very definition of the squeezed middle” she added.
The mum wrote: “I realised how easy it was when I downloaded an app from a leading supermarket where they trust you to do everything yourself. What is this magical thing? You scan the items, bag them, and then just check yourself out.
“I didn’t even consciously steal things at first, it was a genuine mistake – in a haze of walking round the supermarket with ‘two-under-two’. The first time I realised I’d done it I was mortified, and then a little bit excited. But I didn’t stop myself from doing it again.”
After listing some of the items she had stolen over the years – including baby grows, organic salmon, sourdough crumpets and butter – she continued: “I have always been very lucky that I’ve never needed to worry about how much I spend on groceries, but the cost of living is painful and definitely on my mind now.”
The mum explained that sometimes she would be able to blame her children if she was ever caught, but now is more selective about when she shoplifts, knowing that her bag is usually checked “on every five occasions or so.”
She said the feeling leaves her “confidently walk out, buzzing inside at the money I’ve ‘saved’, smiling broadly at the security guard as I leave.”
But she did say it was a “shameful secret” and that her partner was “mortified” when she told him.
“He thinks I’ve stopped,” she added. “My friends and family would be horrified that someone like me does this, but I still do it.”
Justifying her actions, the mystery shopper said she would never shoplift from a small business and only targets the big supermarket chains. \
She explains that if there’s ever pricing mistakes on her bill in somewhere like a cafe or restaurant, she always points it out so she pays the correct amount.
She finished by saying: “My honesty goes into overdrive in these situations, because I want the little guys to do well. And perhaps that’s my issue. The greed of the multinationals – I want something from them, and this is my way of taking it.”
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