I can’t believe I’m writing this post. I guess it’s almost inevitable that if you lift for long enough you’re bound to be caught at some point. Especially if you get cocky like I did. I’ve lifted well over £15,000 worth of stuff. I’ve lifted thousands worth of designer clothes from the highest end stores there are, and it was always so easy. I got too comfortable. I thought I’d never be caught. That all changed today.

I’m going out tonight, so went to the mall to lift some clothes and stuff. When I got here I realised I forgot my magnet. I was super annoyed, but rather than go back home just to pick it up, I decided to buy the stuff instead, and then lift the same things this weekend so I could return them. Perfect plan.

So I bought some clothes from various stores, all paid for, but couldn’t resist lifting a VS perfume and some heels. Easy peasy. Last on my list was a tangle teezer. I headed to b00ts. This store was huge, and had cameras EVERYWHERE. I’m used to lifting from a smaller b00ts with blind spots galore. Stupidly, the cameras and sheer size of the store/staff presence didn’t put me off. I thought ‘I’ve never been caught until now, even when I lifted a V3rsace dress, so this will be easy’. I couldn’t resist grabbing some expensive branded face creams from the beauty counter (for those outside the UK- boots has counters for various expensive skincare/makeup brands with staff & tills at each counter). I think that was what got me watched, walking off without paying for the products at the counter. I then created a blind spot (obviously not a very good one) and put a total of 4 items in my bag. I dropped my decoy items and was about to make my exit.

Before I even made it to the door, a guy in plain clothes came up to me and said ‘you, come with me’. For a split second I was confused and was like ‘...what?’, then I almost shat myself when it sank in that he was LP. A security guy came up to me and said the same thing, to come with them. They start walking behind me, and I asked where I’m meant to go. He said ‘look I’ve already said you’re coming with us’. I said ‘yeah I’m coming with you, but can you tell me where I’m meant to go since I’m walking in front of you’ 🙄 So the LP walks in front of me and security behind. I didn’t even have time to be embarrassed, I was too busy shitting myself and thinking my life was over. When we got into the room the LP pointed at the camera and said ‘look up there, everything is being recorded just so you know no one will hurt you’ which was nice I guess. He asked ‘how many products do you have in there?’ I replied ‘3 I think’. He said ‘it’s more than 3’. I said ‘maybe 4?’. He replied ‘it’s more than that’. I said ‘I’m not sure then, I’ll show you’. He grabbed the shopping bags before I could and asked ‘are these stolen too?’ I said no, the receipts are in the bags (THANK GOD I FORGOT MY MAGNET TODAY!). He checked the receipts, but thankfully not close enough to realise the perfume and heels were lifted. He asked me why I did it. I said ‘I honestly don’t know, I’ve never done this before’. He said that’s not an excuse. He asked why I stole from them if I have money to buy from other stores. I said I’m a student and can afford clothes and the necessities but not skincare etc. He seemed sympathetic, and said ‘can I give you some advice? Don’t do this again. In future if you can’t afford it, don’t get it. It’s not worth it’. He asked for ID and proof of address. I had my passport on me, but not proof of address. He asked to see an online bank statement, but I had no signal since we were at the back of the store. He said if I couldn’t prove my address he’d have to call the police. As a last resort, he asked if I could call anyone to confirm my address. I said ‘no... I can’t exactly call my landlord’. He said ‘I’m not going to tell him you’re stealing, just ask him to confirm your address on speaker phone’. So I did. LP totalled up how much I stole (£94), wrote down my details, banned me from the store for 5 years, and said ‘you’ll receive a fine in the post, if you pay it that’s the end of it. If you don’t pay it then you’ll have a criminal record’. He then called mall security. I was banned from the mall for 3 months, and had my picture taken. I felt like I was having a mugshot taken. I was then escorted out by the mall security. On the way he said ‘I just want to give you some advice, don’t do this again. It’s not worth it for things you don’t even need. You were very lucky they didn’t call the police, you would have got a criminal record. Think before you do this again’.

Then I left and went home. I’m still in shock. Moral of the story: don’t get too comfortable. Listen to your gut feeling. My gut was telling me this store was too well guarded to lift from, but I thought I was invincible. I’m going abroad next week for 3 months, so I’ll be taking that time as a break from lifting. I hope my story can help someone in any way. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

Total: £34.36