Such as you are at the grocery store, you find an unattended cart full of stuff you needed (or wanted) to buy (NO personal items are in it), there is an announcement over the PA system "Attention customers, please check to see if you have the right cart, if it is not your cart please bring it to customer service, thank you"
you decide to take the cart directly to the check out, pay for it, get help out to your car, tip the kid that helped you and leave, did you commit a crime?
2006-09-02 09:32:53 · 19 answers · asked by Gardenfoot 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
This happened at the grocery store I was at, it also happened at Borders, when some guy went into the bathroom, left a book on the table, someone snatched his book he was going to buy, he was irritated.
2006-09-02 09:40:18 · update #1
it's merely unethical, and obviously an inconvenience to the person that shopped for what they needed only to have it taken from them, o-so-rudely i must add. you've actually stolen this person's time, which is valuable to all of us. bottom line- not good.
2006-09-02 10:08:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Illegal, no, because everything is still in the store and hasn't been purchased yet. Unethical, perhaps - particularly if the cart was really full. The other person probably took a long time to fill up the cart and will now have to start all over.
2006-09-02 16:39:18 · answer #2 · answered by umassbabe2002 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think the law has adressed this sort of situation.It seems to be of too little consequence to adress in a legal sense.
It is however generally accepted that one picks out items in a store for themselves and not someone else. It would be boorish and lacking in class to take someone else's cart.
It wouldn't be illegal to take the cart, but certainly against civilized societal norms.
2006-09-02 16:41:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i'm pretty sure this is not illegal since the groceries belong to the store until they are paid for? I'm not sure unethical is right word either, but it is definately a lousy thing to do to someone.
2006-09-02 16:38:21 · answer #4 · answered by kla 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How can something that doesn't ever happen be a crime? I've never had a shopping cart assigned to me. Whattya talkin' about here?
2006-09-02 16:37:07 · answer #5 · answered by HisChamp1 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's rude as hell but not illegal since the items belonged to the store before they were paid for.
2006-09-02 17:40:09 · answer #6 · answered by beez 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is not illegal, but it is certainly unethical, indicative of a certified jerk
ethical: conforming to accepted standards,consistent with agreed principles of correct moral conduct
2006-09-02 20:14:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why would you want to buy stuff you didn't pick out? No, it's not illegal, but it is wrong, and maybe just a little stupid. You wind up paying for stuff you really didn't want to begin with.
2006-09-02 16:39:34 · answer #8 · answered by Nc Jay 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it may be unethical to take a cart that someone else was wanting to buy, but its not illegal if its not paid for. finders keepers, if they left the cart unsupervised, shame on them!
2006-09-02 16:40:47 · answer #9 · answered by Not the one for you! 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, but it'd be downright suicidal if you pull a stunt like that on me. I *will* hunt you down and stone you with three week old Twinkies.
2006-09-02 16:38:44 · answer #10 · answered by Wolfeblayde 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋