Theft at Sainsbury's Options

[Berkshirelad]

I went to Sainsbury's today with other-half. As she was clothes shopping for daughter and I was food shopping, we took two trolleys and in each case inserted our £1 coin to release the trolley.

We met up in the Cafe and had drink/snack. As I was queuing, OH suddenly disappeared of towards the parked trolleys to interrupt a bearded older guy fiddling with her trolley. She stopped him, but my trolley had had an empty trolley attached to it and the £1 coin was missing. She alerted a member of staff who separated the trolleys using the usual unlock tool. Two other trolleys were missing their coins

When we had finished, I approached the customer service desk, more in hope than expectation. Once the queue of people buying last-minute fireworks subsided, the guy at the desk refunded me without question ans said that I was about the tenth that week.

Before xjay has a go about it only being £1, that is not the point; it is theft, pure and simple.

[user23]

Someone stole a pound coin?

[dannyboy]

Someone stole a pound coin?

No, someone got their quid back by attaching their empty trolly to another empty trolly.

[Cognosco]

No, someone got their quid back by attaching their empty trolly to another empty trolly.

Someone got someone else's quid back by attaching an empty trolly to someone else's trolley that was in use?

Ergo stolen pound coin. So ten in an hour and not a bad days wages for walking round a supermarket with an empty trolley at the ready?

[dannyboy]

Someone got someone else's quid back by attaching an empty trolly to someone else's trolley that was in use?

Ergo stolen pound coin. So ten in an hour and not a bad days wages for walking round a supermarket with an empty trolley at the ready?

Err, don't you have to put a quid in to get a trolly at Sainsburys....

[Berkshirelad]

To clarify, it was somebody else's empty trolley in the cafe bays

[JeffG]

Err, don't you have to put a quid in to get a trolly at Sainsburys....

If staff have an unlock tool, I wouldn't be surprised if these thieves had acquired one too. You can probably buy them on eBay

[LOL - I Googled "trolley unlock tool" and the sixth entry is: "Theft at Sainsbury's - Newbury Today Forum" ]

(I also found this educational You-Tube video)

[NWNREADER]

It used to be our 2p coin was an exact match for the French 2FFR coin. The local oils made a good profit begging 2 p coins and snaffling the french coins from the trolleys carelessly left with coin in...

[GrumblingAgain]

I am surprised one of those 'operate by night metal recycling agencies' hasn't turned up at a supermarket carpark and cleared the place of all metal trolleys in one fell swoop. I am sure they would be able to shove several rakes of trolleys up a ramp and into the back of their lorry and be off before anyone noticed.

[Berkshirelad]

I am surprised one of those 'operate by night metal recycling agencies' hasn't turned up at a supermarket carpark and cleared the place of all metal trolleys in one fell swoop. I am sure they would be able to shove several rakes of trolleys up a ramp and into the back of their lorry and be off before anyone noticed.

I don't think that there is much of a market for chrome-plated steel

The 'agencies' to which you refer are more interested in copper, lead and aluminium

[Guest_xjay1337_*]

Err, don't you have to put a quid in to get a trolly at Sainsburys....

You do. I got a "fake" coin that says "Samaritans" on it that I use.

Before xjay has a go about it only being £1, that is not the point; it is theft, pure and simple.

I would, if you had dropped the pretentiousness, have agreed with you in this case. It's a pain in the *** and, well to me at least, a pound coin is quite a chunk of money. It can buy a McFlurry or a Hamburger or (in some places) a bottle of coke. Plus it means you won't have 2 random trolleys chained together in the middle of a supermarket.

I would join in with some people "beggars belief this happens, it's a shambles and the death of England as we know it" but while it's wrong and I don't advocate it, it's actually quite an ingenious way of making money.

[Strafin]

I still don't really understand this. To get a trolley in the first place you need to put a pound in, so if you couple it up to another, surely you only get your own pound back? If you have a tool to get pounds out, why would you need a trolley?

[Vodabury]

I still don't really understand this. To get a trolley in the first place you need to put a pound in, so if you couple it up to another, surely you only get your own pound back? If you have a tool to get pounds out, why would you need a trolley?

From what the OP describes, it appears the thief is interfering with unattended trolleys and joining 2 together in order to steal the pound coins. If he is coming in with a trolley, then he may have obtained it by using some disk/foreign coin to undock or found one already undocked.

The thief may be reluctant to use an actual tool, as if such were to be found on his person when stopped, it would be seen as evidence of intent and could mean him facing additional / more serious charges.

[blackdog]

I still don't really understand this. To get a trolley in the first place you need to put a pound in, so if you couple it up to another, surely you only get your own pound back? If you have a tool to get pounds out, why would you need a trolley?

From time to time I have found unattached trollies with no pound in.

[Blake]

I would think the thieves are on camera.

I would urge the store to inspect them and pass the imagery onto the police for investigation.

[Nothing Much]

Slightly strange topic. Dumped trolleys, used to take stuff home are a bit of an eyesore.
Not to mention a nuisance in canals.
They never seem to have any coins so I resist being the good neighboy! Or Neighbour...
The local large outlet has a constantly roving truck to pick up lost trolleys.

Another outlet has a system that immobilises free to use trolleys beyond a certain point.
Not tried it but I wonder if that has been the cause of some strange events with parked cars and key fobs recently.

Nicking the pound instore is a bit odd, but not quite as bad as eating the sandwich and leaving the
wrapper on a shelf.
ce

[Biker1]

I still don't really understand this. To get a trolley in the first place you need to put a pound in, so if you couple it up to another, surely you only get your own pound back? If you have a tool to get pounds out, why would you need a trolley?

No, they nick your trolley with the £1 in and link it to an empty trolley.
They then get your £1.
Think that's how I read it from the OP?

[Nothing Much]

Looks like Banannabury should be on the case..
hex

[Berkshirelad]

Another outlet has a system that immobilises free to use trolleys beyond a certain point.
Not tried it but I wonder if that has been the cause of some strange events with parked cars and key fobs recently.

No, the immobilisation is purely mechanical. The wheels are nigh on impossible to push across the threshold (in much the same way as the trolleys 'lock' onto the travelators in Sanisbury's

[Nothing Much]

Nigh on impossible to use trolleys instore either.

The stop sign taking your trolley is about 100 metres from the store,I sometimes use
Just wondered whether GCHQ had a hand in it!!!
The recent odd carpark problems make you .... well post rubbish.
hex