What happens if you shoplift but return the item?

If you return an item that you have stolen, you have a greater chance of a lighter sentence. The court will likely take your act of remorse into account and charge you accordingly. If you simply keep the item, the court will likely stick you with more strict theft punishments.

What should I do if I accidentally shoplift?

Call the store and explain first what happened and apologize. Then tell them you want to return to pay for the item. Pay for it even if you didn’t want it. You deprived the merchant the opportunity to sell it to someone else by having it.

Can I go back and pay for something I stole?

2 attorney answers Going back and paying for the stolen item is an admission to committing to theft. If you’re trying to buy your way out of trouble it won’t work. If you just want to pay for it because it’s the right thing to do, mail them cash…

Can you get in trouble for accidentally stealing?

The answer is YES. Accidental shoplifting occurs when the person taking merchandise from the store did not really intend to deprive the store owner of their merchandise.

Is it stealing if you intend to return?

A criminal charge of theft (or larceny) generally requires the specific intent to permanently deprive another individual of his or her property. If you legitimately forgot to return a borrowed item to its rightful owner, then you lacked specific intent to steal the item.

Can you get in trouble for accidentally stealing something?

So can shoplifting be accidental? The answer is YES. The whole issue on whether shoplifting is accidental revolves on “intent.” Taking property or merchandise from a store by mistake or accident is not considered theft/shoplifting.

Does CVS do anything to catch shoplifters?

With CVS, who are very corporate, there’s a chance you could get an employee or manager in trouble for neglecting to catch a “shoplifter” or god knows what other byzantine regulation structure they have for a time like this. Just pay more attention next time. What feral_goldfish said.

How do you deal with customers who pick up items without paying?

Just walk in, go directly to the customer service desk, and tell them that these items ended up in your bag without being paid for and now that you’ve realised that, you’d like to pay for them. Just smile and be friendly. This happened twice with me when Kid BlahLaLa was a toddler. Once he picked up an item without me realizing it.

Can you return items through the Register?

But presumably that also means you can return the items, or have them properly rung through the register, which should satisfy any concern they would have. I worked for 5 years as a lead in retail and had to deal with this a whole 3 times.

Can you return items to CVS after they’ve been purchased?

A CVS might be less hand wavey about it, especially since they are physical objects and not bulk consumables you realized you hadn’t paid for after it was too late. But presumably that also means you can return the items, or have them properly rung through the register, which should satisfy any concern they would have.