Had a Bad afternoon

I agree with MAWBROON, it does sound rather odd. Usually shops have to apprehend the person just outside the premises with the goods on them. I would do as other posters have said and ring the local police station to ensure the 2 officers are legitimate. I would also go to the CAB (Citizens advice bureau) for advice. Let us know what happens, I hope your predicament is resolved quickly.

Sheer incompetence. Not a bit impressed with our so called wonderful police if this is how they waste their time as well as yours.

Sharonberry
Warning bells. Yes why 12 days.? Phone the non urgent police number and voice your concerns. They will advise you what to do.

Don't accept a caution as it is an admittance of guilt.

You clearly are not guilty and it doesn't sound as if there is any evidence against you that will stick in a court.

If the questioning becomes oppressive or too upsetting, ask for the duty solicitor and do it earlier rather than later. It is not just about whether they will follow it through, it is also about having support in a stressful situation.
Unless you are under arrest, you don't have to go to the station or answer their questions and you could contact them and say that you would prefer them to come back to your house (if that is the case).

I agree with Lilyflower. Don't accept a caution. It can have unexpected consequences and remember that they have to proof it which they obviously won't be able to do.

You poor thing having to go through this when it is obviously a mistake, someone given the wrong address it seems, keep calm, this evening it will be sorted, with a huge apology I hope.Good luck.

Oh Sharonberry, what a dreadful experience, definately send in a complaint and demand a formal apology.This type of thing should never happen.

I am as surprised as you, Nelliemoser.

This is upsetting, of course. However, it doesn't warrant the calls to complain. I think that the police went to interview everyone who had topped up their card at around 5.00pm. I don't think they ignored the earlier one. Also, it would have taken a few days because the theft wouldn't have been discovered immediately, so a couple of days would have passed before investigations started. This would, in all probability, been carried out by a part-time officer or at a lower priority in the caseload.

While terribly upsetting, we need to be a bit more rational and not blame the police for shoddy work. They have a lot to do as we all know.

I agree with GrannieAnnie - although it was a worrying experience for sharonberry the only way that police can do their job is to carry out investigations and that's what they did. No arrest was made, just a request to help the police with their enquiries and having done that sb was exonerated.

This doesn't add up at all. How on earth could they have got your address when no-one approached you in the shop? Sounds rather like either someone who was perhaps stopped for shoplifting has give a false address (yours), or the police came to the wrong house, and it's their mistake. Either way I'd be taking legal advice about the unnecessary stress this is causing you. I'm also surprised that your local police have the time to investigate such a flimsy, unsubstantiated case. There are much bigger fish to fry..

sharonberry my son got a letter about an offence he was supposed to have committed ( he was 18) he and we knew he knew he hadn't been anywhere near the place where it happened so we contacted the Procurator Fiscals office and told them this ,we also spoke to the policeman who reported the offence and he gave us a description of the young man he had apprehended.It was a neighbours son trying to wriggle out of it.What they said to us was thatwhen false details are given its usually someone who knows you well,in this case he didn't know us well enought to know my son used his middle name but always gave his first name on forms etc,and he gave his OWN birthday so we approached his dad.The dad said as it was "only a warning" we had nothing to worry about!!! Tellingly they moved house a few months later,I got the impression he'd done it before.Good luck with it,I know how worrying this can be

Go to the Police Station with your supporter and your head held high. Ask to speak to a Senior Officer and say it’s a ludicrous situation and demand to see what evidence they have against you. Then you can go down the route of Police complaints.

I am so pleased this has been sorted*sharonberry*. As others here have said, I should certainly demand a formal apology.

grannyactivist I hope this never happens to you but if it does then you will understand how dreadful something like this makes you feel.

Please update ! Please go to Citizen’s advice if worried ,

If you have a car, they can trace you through your car Reg. through CCTV on car parks and town centres etc.

Unless you used a Store Card that day, they could trace the address through that.

Sounds to me that something has been seen on CCTV in the store that they think looked suspicious. I would expect to be shown some sort of CCTV to be shown to you so that you can explain what was happening.

Very worrying for you but even if some action has been wrongly interpreted, they have to prove that you did something illegal.

Wouldn't worry too much, tell them you don't know what they're talking about.

GrannyAnnie2010 It ceratinly does warrant the calls to complain. The police get away with too much. The theft would have been discovered the same evening when the CCTV was checked and most stores have a detective so that shop lifting is usually discovered almost immediately. Shop lifters are usually apprehended before or very soon after leaving the store.

Can you get someone reliable to be in your house when you go to the police station just in case it is a ruse?

I agree with ga and GrannieAnnnie. Maybe the police were not as sensitive as they could have been but the OP doesn't know what other enquiries they may have been carrying out at the time.

The paypoint meter would log the keyholder's account details but the police would then have to contact the energy supplier to get name and address etc.

Twelve days does seem like a long time but there may have been other people to rule out as well.

marionk

Please read the thread.

I always thought that shoplifters had to be challenged as they left the store to check they actually had the goods on them. If you are innocent, how is cctv going to show up any evidence of this? They would have to find the goods on your premises too, surely. Sounds like a case for claiming compensation for deflamation of character and stress.

I had a similar incident some time ago in that police turned up at my door in the early hours saying I'd been seen driving 'erratically' by an off duty officer and asked me to take a breath test.

As I don't drink alcohol at all I said it was a waste of time and the cost of the equipment and, anyway, I could have just drunk a whole bottle of whisky after I'd returned home so how could they prove otherwise and while they were wasting their time with me they had probably missed lots of real drunk drivers on the road!!! The test obviously proved negative and they just 'advised' me to be more careful in future. Nothing was recorded that I could see.

I had left a pub very late after chatting about a quiz and was driving a bit more carefully and slowly as my car had developed a (minor) problem but I wasn't going to tell the police that but I would not call that 'erratic'! I think the officer reporting the incident lived opposite the pub and was out walking his dog and thought I'd be an easy target for drunk driving as he probably thought I'd been drinking after hours.

I agree with everything that has been said but want to make a point re the 12 days. I work in social care and have involvement with the police on a regular basis. They often take several days (or even weeks) to investigate a serious situation which we have referred to them.

Do you shop there often. Did you use your ID (credit card, drivers license) every time you buy something there? This could be a case of identity theft. One of their employees could be complicit.

Here's another theory: Someone near you on the queue made it a point to get your information so she would have someone to frame should she get caught. The twelve day delay is the interval between the time she was released and the given court date for which she never showed up. She knew the police would come looking for her but they came to the address they were given. She's probably done this many times. The police should be looking for the same MO in other towns and other similar stores.