WHITE COLLAR CRIME

I got robbed last week.

It wasn’t a violent act and I only lost about P20, but the incident took place in broad daylight and I didn’t realise my money was gone until about an hour later when I got home and checked my receipt.

The theft took place in England, where I now live, but I suspect hundreds of thousands of people in Africa, other parts of Europe and the rest of the world get ripped off in the same way every day… which is why I’m writing about this now.

Here’s what happened:

One of the supermarkets over here lured me in by offering a hot drink with the first purchase of the day, so after I’d collected the items I needed, I scanned the snack section for something to munch with my coffee.

The apple, ginger and dark chocolate lunch bars stood out, partly because the sign on the shelf said I would get a 33 percent discount if I bought two packs. When I paid for the bars, however, I didn’t bother to watch how much I was being charged.

Yeah, that’s right, the theft I’m talking about took place at the till when the computerised cash register charged me the full price for both boxes. My moan may sound a bit lame, but I don’t think it is, even though I got a free drink and was guilty of not paying attention.

I think stealing by deception is just as bad as reaching into someone’s pocket and grabbing their cash. It may even be worse, because in many cases, white collar crime involves people who already have plenty of money stealing from people who don’t.

I’ve been over-charged many times at supermarkets and wholesalers in Botswana and I’m sure it still happens to many Batswana who can’t afford to pay extra. Oddly though, I can’t remember ever being charged less for an item than the displayed price. If these things were just honest mistakes, you’d think they would happen in both directions.

Another reason my complaint may seem lame is that if I take my receipt back to the store, I will probably be able to retrieve my P20… and that’s what I’m planning to do. I didn’t mention that before because I was afraid it might take a bit of the sting out of my tale.

But going back will cost me time and effort… and why should customers have to check these things? And more importantly, what happens to people who struggle with maths and reading? They are the ones least likely to notice they’ve been done.

Anyway, when I get to the store, I’m going to speak to a manager, instead of one of the cashiers who simply apply the prices that have been programmed into the tills, and I’m going to make a lot of noise so other customers know the prices on the shelves don’t always match up with how much they will be charged.

My efforts may not change anything, but maybe they will, so if anything like this ever happens to you, I would encourage you to do the same thing. Theft is theft, even when the crooks wear suits.