Tooterelli

I am always surprised when I see people opening their personal bags and letting a security person in a shop look inside (without even being asked).

I have now been asked on two different occasions to open my bag and let them nosey in and they seem surprised when I say no. The first time the woman said "well the next time you come in you might not be served at the checkout". I had to laugh...if I was a shoplifter I wouldn't be wanting to be served at the checkout!

How very dare they! and why on earth do the Ozzies put up with this???

DunRoaminTheUK

How very British...

The_Wookie

It's common practice, and most shops have signs up stating they will do this.

Australia's not the only country where they do it either. Happens in France also, where in some shops you have to hand your bag in when entering a shop.

Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Deutschmaster

Germany was like that. Although what was contradictory was that most pubs where I lived would set you up a tab and you paid at the end. Even when it was really busy and it was obvious that the bar staff were too busy to cope nobody ever seemed to contemplate doing a runner.

Although in Switzerland I noted how if I ordered in German we would always get a tab, order in English and you had to pay when it came. Says something about the Swiss perception of the British!

DunRoaminTheUK

Maybe based on experience?

Officer Dibble

Ive seen this issue pop up a few times on 'various' forums and I agree. As someone with a toddler in a stroller, Im singled out all the time especially if I dont buy anything. Any shoplifter with a brain wouldnt put stolen goods in their bag. But sometimes I will just completely ignore their requests because I can be a difficult bas***d sometimes.

viviennef

I completely hate it. I often have to completely unpack my whole stroller ( I usually buy heaps and have it packed up in the bottom).

It really really gets me plus I feel like a shoplifter when they go in my bag. I hate people going in my bag - its like my life - untidy and disorganised.

I am more used to it now and actually dont seem to be asked as much any more but it drives me crazy and I dont say anything but it really does annoy me.

I agree - why is it ok? Its not a slur on Australia - if it were in the UK I would still protest - Ozzies should get together and say - its not ok wherever you are.



Vivienne

ABCDiamond

They quite often catch shoplifters without brains, for putting stolen goods in the bags, hence they check them

We caught a few ourselves, and seemingly respectable people too, which surprised me at first.

Most Australians put up with it because it is the law, and because most people are happy to prove they have done nothing wrong. It takes but a few seconds.

The check-out till people can do nothing very little about it though, and most criminals know this, and will refuse to allow their bags to be searched.
This indicates their guilt to most people watching.

DunRoaminTheUK

I can't understand why they don't simply just attach proximity mines to every item of stock, which are triggered by the barriers at the entrance to the store? I'd like to see a shoplifter beat that system?

viviennef

He could if he wanted to, but even my husband wouldnt go in my bag without asking. nor my children or anyone else in my family or my friends.

I see it as my one place of privacy where I keep things belonging just to me

Vivienne

DunRoaminTheUK

..that take 4 AA batteries?

ABCDiamond

They do have them, on some stock, but they aren't allowed to attach any explosives (yet) to them, so we just get an alarm

ABCDiamond

Take a hand bag that is smaller than an A4 sheet of paper, (not the thickness of course), and they cannot look in that.

FluffieFaerie

This never really bothered me until the other day when we were in town and left Target without buying anything. I had a handful of Xbox games in my bag which we were taking to EB Games to exchange and the woman on the door insisted on taking out every single one, opening it up and examining them in detail - surely if I'd just nicked them from the store it would have a security tag on it and usually be in a sealed wrapper..?!!!?!! She then told me that in future I should advise them I was bringing the items into the store before I came in - I thought WTF?!?!!! "Oh hello lady, I just bought a coke from a vending machine and obviously I don't have a receipt for it but I just thought I'd let you know in case you thought I stole it from this store" - If that wouldn't make me look dodgy, I don't know what would.

I can understand why they do it but there are so many loopholes that I feel it's all a bit nuts really. I could easily ram my bag full of stolen goods and then pass through the checkouts and buy a 50c lollipop for my kid and nobody would bat an eyelid at me.

DunRoaminTheUK

Most of the women's handbags that I've peered into seem to be designed around the "Tardis Principle" so I can't see this being an issue with most women who don't want to be searched?