Supermarket thieves keeping thousands of pounds from charities – by stealing PLASTIC BAGS

One in six of Britons are stealing carrier bags instead
of paying the 5p charge which goes to charitable
causes.
Criminologists claim people do not consider taking
carrier bags from self-service checkouts to be theft.
A third of those not paying the charge do so because
they do not agree with the levy, research claimed.
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The release of the figures has led to calls for stores
like Asda and Tesco to tell customers how the cash is
used to help the world around them.
However a study carried out for the Mail revealed
many shoppers were suspicious about the money
actually reaching charities.
This follows last month’s news that more than 10 per
cent of the money raised from bags in Tesco stores
was taken up by administration costs.
Researchers from Consumer Intelligence, who
questioned 1,050 consumers, found that nearly half of
those who failed to pay for bags claimed they simply
forgot.
Criminology professor Dr Matt Hopkins said the actual
number of people not paying for bags may be higher.
He told the Mail: “The work we’ve done previously
around self-service checkouts suggests they are
creating a new breed of shoplifter.
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A criminologist claimed many do not consider taking
bags from self-service checkouts to be stealing
“People use a variety of neutralisation techniques to
tell themselves that what they were doing was not
really stealing.
“They may tell themselves Tesco is a massive chain
and can afford the 5p charge or they may feel
supermarkets are saving money with self-service
checkouts.
“Because the bags were free and now they’re not,
some shoppers may have a gripe about that.”
Consumer expert Martyn James said it was a “great
shame” the shoppers were stealing the bags.
The money from plastic bags at supermarkets goes to
charity
Mr James of consumer complaints website Resolver
said: “Shoppers risk public humiliation by taking plastic
bags.
“Polls show huge support for phasing out bags and
charging for them, so I’m confident disagreeing with
the charge is just an excuse.
“While some shoppers are unapologetic bag thieves,
many more know they’re doing something wrong but
justify it through ‘getting one over’ on big
supermarkets or their frustration with the self-service
checkout.”

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