What should happen to a customer at a store, or transit system without proof of purchase?

My word is my bond, and an upright adult , I would just say that I lost it and I would be believed.

In some stores the Po-Po would be called and you would get a trip to jail.

I’m not sure, anymore. In a small town where everyone knows everyone else, maybe nothing, you’d be given the benefit of the doubt—the first time. But I think those days are gone and Tropical Willie is right. You’d probably have to go down to the station and ‘splain yourself, Lucy.

This is the problem: Why, if you’re still in the store of purchase, don’t you have a receipt? And why are you still in the store?

I’ve been in situations where I had to re-enter the store of purchase immediately after shopping there and, even though I usually have my receipts, I will always leave my bag of purchases with the a cashier or customer service. I hate being accused of shit I don’t do and I certainly do not want to have to spend my entire afternoon explaining myself to some idiot store manager on autopilot, some fuckwad cop with the personality of a Doberman none of the intelligence, or sitting in some county facility waiting to get bailed out and wondering if I should get a lawyer. My was is easier.and cheaper.

The transit part of the question is simple. By law, we are not required to carry receipts for every possession we have on us, unless, of course, you are a minority in America. They don’t have a case unless they have an eye-witness or footage of you stealing the item. They can arrest you—they can always arrest you—and cause you some expense, time and discomfort, but without proof you will be exonerated. That’s another reason not to piss off today’s cops.

It depends. With grocery stores, it’s not usually a big deal if you don’t carry a receipt for an item purchased elsewhere. At worst, I could go back to the other store and show that I’d bought it there. I find it hard to believe store employees would harass someone for theft unless they’d actually seen it occur. As far as I know, failing to carry a receipt for an item is not sufficient evidence of theft.

But transit systems almost always require the traveller to carry some proof of purchase with them for the duration of their trip. And they specify the penalty for not doing that; it’s usually posted publicly. If you don’t think the penalty is fair, you’d have to take it up with are the transit authority in question.

Is there a specific example you’re thinking of in comparison, @flo? I don’t recall seeing a related story in the news lately.

@Espiritus_Corvus Why the distinction between a store and a transit system?

@dappled_leaves I just don’t understand why people don’t have the attitude: “I hate being accused of shit I don’t do and I certainly do not want to have to spend my entire afternoon explaining myself to some….” to quote @Espiritus_Corvus

@flo Because on the transit system you are off store’s property and it becomes more difficult to prove where the item came from. But I didn’t know about these transit laws that @dappled_leaves is talking about. I suppose things are getting a lot worse than I thought.

@flo “I just don’t understand why people don’t have the attitude:...”

If I thought I would be harassed by the authorities, I guess I might have that attitude, and keep receipts on me all the time. But no one has ever followed me out of a store to accuse me of theft, even on occasions when I’ve neglected to pay for an item (in which case, I always march back into the store to pay for it when I notice).

I’ve worked retail in the past, and the rule has generally been that if you see theft taking place, you can follow the person out and accuse them. But under absolutely no circumstances were we ever to accuse a person of theft unless we were 100% sure we’d seen them willfully hide merchandise on their person. Since I don’t do that, I’m not concerned.

But yes, transit systems are different. I don’t know why. Here, for example, is a quote from the Calgary Transit policy manual (Section A, 9b):

“Any person who is found entering or within a restricted fare area and who fails to produce to an Officer upon demand a valid ticket is guilty of an offence.”

Likewise, in Toronto (provision 2.6): “Failure to surrender fare media or identification card” is punishable by a fine of $425.

I assume all major cities have such rules set by their transit authorities. I’m not sure why @Espiritus_Corvus sees this as “things getting worse”.

@Espiritus_Corvus but I wasn’t referring to a senario where you get out of a store and get into the transit. Say today I’m in a store and tomorrow I’m in a transit system. In both cases in I better make sure I treat the ticket and the reciept the same way, i.e like they are valuablew documents. Esp. if I heard already heard about the fines, as in the case of the transit systems.

@dappled_leaves I haven’t had a bad experience either and I want to keep it that way. esp, after the stories I’ve heard in the media. What a nightmare! Besides some items you might need to return them or exchange them. Now that I have had experienced.