A LAWYER has revealed the two sentences customers should never say if accused of shoplifting at a self-checkout.
Eugene Cisco, a lawyer with over four decades of experience, took to TikTok to warn shoppers about the self-serve kiosks.
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The so-called “Self-Improvement Lawyer” (@reallifeandlaw) posts regularly on the social media platform to advise on a number of legal issues.
In a recent clip, Cisco noted that shoplifting charges are up by around 30 percent compared to statistics from the last few years.
Cisco explained that one of the “biggest mistakes” you could make when accused of shoplifting is to say that you forgot to scan an item.
“One of the biggest mistakes an individual can make after a store personnel accuses you of shoplifting is to try to apologize for not scanning an item,” the lawyer professed.
Cisco said it won’t do the alleged shoplifter any good — whether they forgot to scan an item intentionally or not, an employee will not believe them.
“There ain’t a store associate in the world that’s gonna believe that you just forgot to scan an item,” he said.
“And the jury won’t believe ya either.”
Instead, he advises shoppers to remain quiet in the scenario.
“So, the best advice I can give you if a store associate rolls up on you and accuses you of shoplifting — is to shut your d**n mouth,” he said.
The second sentence that you should never say in such a situation is that you have money in your pocket for the unscanned item.
“Telling that associate, a judge, or a prosecutor that you had money in your pocket at the time you were accused of shoplifting won’t help you either,” Cisco said.
“Having money in your pocket is no defense to a shoplifting charge.”
According to the lawyer, self-checkouts have become “a recipe for disaster” with people not used to such machines and not wanting to use them, being forced to.
“In my practice, I have seen literally thousands of individuals come before the court because they were charged with shoplifting after using one of those self-checkout machines,” Cisco explained.
One viewer admitted: “I have missed an item in my cart twice now. On accident.
“Took it back once at closing time. Went in and bought it a second time. Could have been bad….”
“This is why I REFUSE to use self-checkout,” another wrote.