Police outside a TescoShoplifters cost UK retailers hundreds of millions of pounds a year. Their security staff are always on the lookout for thieves as a result.

Unfortunately, this means that mistakes are sometimes made - with innocent shoppers being "caught" shoplifting. Here, we explain how the law works and what you can do if you are falsely accused.

Know your rights


What does the law say about shoplifting?
There is no specific law on shoplifting, or stealing from a shop. Instead, people who are found guilty of shoplifting are charged with theft under the Theft Act 1986.

If you are found guilty, the penalty will depend of the severity of the offence and whether you have been caught before. For a first-time offender, a fixed penalty of about £80 is common.

You may also receive a caution from the police, which can form part of a criminal record, or be asked by the shop concerned not to enter its walls for a certain period of time. Repeat offenders, on the other hand, risk jail time.

What are your rights if you are wrongly accused?
In-store security guards can ask to check the contents of your handbag, for example, if they suspect you of stealing.

You can refuse to show him or her, but this could result in the police being called and the incident becoming much more serious than necessary.

You may be asked to show your receipt, or allow the guard to look in your bag, while you are within the store or once you have left it. Either way, the best approach is to remain calm and polite while stating your innocence.

You should agree to re-enter the store if you are outside, or to remain in the store if you are inside. However, it may be more sensible to remain in full view of other shoppers and staff, rather than agreeing to go into a separate room where you could more easily be intimidated.

If something has accidentally fallen into your bag, or you have honestly forgotten to pay for an item, one of the best ways to prove your innocence is to ask the store manager to check the relevant CCTV footage. Again, remaining calm should help.

What can you do if you are unable to prove your innocence?
Depending on the value of the item in question, and the shoplifting policy of the store, you may be allowed to leave without facing a fine or a formal police caution.

You may, however, be banned from shopping in the store in future, while your name may also be added a national database of incidents of dishonesty that can be accessed by prospective employers, for example.

You have a right to know if your name is being added to this database and what information will be held about you on it.

If the information has not be proven, is not relevant or does not relate to you, you also have the right to have it removed from the database. (Contact the Information Commissioner for more details.)

For more serious incidents that involve the police, your local Citizens Advice Bureau is a good first port of call.

10 of the biggest consumer rip-offs

  • 1. Mobile data roaming charges
    <p> <span style="text-align: left; ">Using a mobile phone to make and receive calls, send texts and browse the web while abroad can be extremely costly &ndash; especially if you are travelling outside the European Union (EU), where calls can cost up to 10 times as much as at home.</span></p> <div> </div> <div> To avoid high charges, Carphone Warehouse suggests tourists ensure a data cap is in place, use applications to check data usage, turn off 'data roaming', avoid data-intensive applications such as Google Maps and YouTube and use wi-fi spots to update social networking sites.</div>
    1. Mobile data roaming charges
  • 2. PPI
    <p> <span style="text-align: left; ">Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) is supposed to help people to continue meeting their loan, mortgage or credit card repayments if they fall ill or lose their jobs. However, policies are often over-priced, riddled with exclusions and sold to people who could not make a claim if they needed to.</span></p> <div> </div> <div> At one point, sale of this cover - which was often included automatically in loan repayments - was estimated to boost the banks' profits by up to &pound;5 billion a year.</div> <div> </div> <div> Now, though, consumers who were mis-sold PPI can fight back by complaining to the bank or lender concerned and taking their case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (08000 234567) should the response prove unsatisfactory.</div>
    2. PPI
  • 3. The Lottery
    <p> It could be you, but let's face it, it probably won't be. In fact, buying a ticket for the Lotto only gives you a 1 in 13.9 million chance of winning the jackpot.</p> <div> </div> <div> With odds like that, you would almost certainly be better off hanging on to your cash and saving it in a high-interest account.</div>
    3. The Lottery
  • 4. Budget airlines
    <p> No-frills airlines such as EasyJet may promote rock-bottom prices on their websites. But the overall fare you pay can be surprisingly high once extras such as luggage and credit card payment fees have been added - a process known as drip pricing.</p> <div> </div> <div> Taking one piece of hold baggage on a return EasyJet flight, for example, adds close to &pound;20 to the cost of your flight, while paying by credit card increases the price by a further &pound;10.</div> <div> </div> <div> It may therefore be worth comparing the total cost with that of a flight with a standard airline such as British Airways.</div>
    4. Budget airlines
  • 5. Credit card cash withdrawals
    <p> Cash advances, which include cash withdrawals, are generally charged at a much higher rate of interest than standard purchases.</p> <div> </div> <div> While the average credit card interest rate is around 17%, a typical cash withdrawal of &pound;500, for example, is charged at more than 26%.</div> <div> </div> <div> What's more, as the interest accrues from the date of the transaction, rather than the next payment date, costs will mount up even if you clear your balance in full with your next payment.</div>
    5. Credit card cash withdrawals
  • 6. Supermarket 'deals'
    <p> Supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda often run promotions under which you can, for example, get three products for the price of two.</p> <div> </div> <div> However, it is only worth taking advantage of these deals if you will actually use the products. Otherwise, you are simply buying for the sake of it, which is a waste of your hard-earned cash.</div> <div> </div> <div> To avoid paying over the odds, it is also worth checking the price per kilo to ensure that larger <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/05/24/supermarkets-slammed-for-multi-buy-rip-offs/">'economy' packs really are cheaper</a> than the smaller versions.</div>
    6. Supermarket 'deals'
  • 7. Train fares
    <p> Buy a train ticket at the station on the day of travel and the price is likely to give you a shock - especially if you are travelling a long distance at a busy time of day.</p> <div> </div> <div> However, <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/03/13/how-to-cut-the-cost-of-your-commute/">you can cut the cost of train travel</a> by 50% or more by going online and making the purchase beforehand - especially if you book 12 weeks in advance, which is when the cheapest tickets are on sale.</div> <div> </div> <div> Other ways to reduce the price you pay include avoiding peak times and taking advantage of so-called carnet tickets, which allow you to buy, for example, 12 journeys for the price of 10.</div>
    7. Train fares
  • 8. Packaged current accounts
    <p> Most High Street banks offer packaged accounts that come with monthly fees ranging from &pound;6.50 up to as much as &pound;40, with a typical account charging about &pound;15 per month.</p> <div> </div> <div> Various benefits, such as travel insurance and mobile phone insurance, are offered in return for this fee. But whether or not it is worth paying for them depends on your individual circumstances.</div> <div> </div> <div> Before signing up, it is therefore essential to <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/01/14/maximise-your-current-account/">check that you will make use of enough of the benefits</a>, and that you cannot get them for less elsewhere.</div>
    8. Packaged current accounts
  • 9. Overseas withdrawals/card payments
    <p> Overseas money transfers or travel money purchases attract the same high rate of interest as credit card cash withdrawals.</p> <div> </div> <div> Worse still, most credit cards &ndash; and debit cards &ndash; also charge you a foreign loading fee if you use them to make purchases while abroad.</div> <div> </div> <div> You can, however, <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/02/17/how-to-avoid-overseas-bank-fees/">avoid these charges</a> by using a Saga Platinum or Nationwide Building Society credit card.</div>
    9. Overseas withdrawals/card payments
  • 10. Premium rate phone lines
    <p> Numbers starting 0871 cost 10p or more from a landline, while those starting 09 can cost more than &pound;1 a minute <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/03/21/call-0800-0808-and-0870-numbers-for-free-from-your-mobile/">from a mobile phone</a>.</p> <div> </div> <div> And the operators of these high-cost phone lines, some of which are banks, often get a cut of the call charges.</div> <div> </div> <div> Most 09 numbers are linked to scams and should therefore be avoided at all costs, while 0871 numbers can often be bypassed by searching for an alternative local rate numbers on the saynoto0870.com.</div>
    10. Premium rate phone lines

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