The whole self-checkout push by big retailers like Walmart and Target has dissatisfied many customers. It is no coincidence that the first four letters of dissatisfied spell "diss".

A lawyer is going viral on TikTok with another good reason not to use them. Dod Ghassemkhani of the Dod Law Firm in San Diego says self-checkouts open you up to criminal charges.

Dod says in the video,

"The number one way for somebody to get caught up in a shoplifting case is by using these self-checkout lines.

"Typically what happens is most stores, TargetWalmart - you know other stores that have these self-checkout lines - every few days they're going to do an inventory check.

"And if something is missing, what they're gonna do is they're gonna get their Lost Prevention Officers to go back and just review video."

The next time you're in the store, you'll get a citation, according to Dod. Even if it was an accident, you would have to go in front of a judge. And fight the charge. That can cost money and attract the wrong kind of attention.

Another lawyer agrees. Carrie Jernigan @carriejernigan1 says in the early days of self-checkout, stores were lenient in letting people off if they forgot to scan an item. Now, stores are not forgiving. Because shoplifters have become so good at stealing from self-checkouts in stores, stores are taking no gambles on whether a theft was accidental.

"They have lost all sympathy, and they are just taking a 'Tell it to the judge approach," Jernigal said.

 

Both Dod and Jernigan agree that genuinely innocent people are getting charged long after the day they bought something.

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Asset protection will do quality-control checks or inventory weeks or months after you complete the self-checkout. If something comes up short, they will begin watching hours of video. These checks can sometimes result in shoppers getting charged unfairly simply because they bought one of the items that went missing.

Last week, a TikTok went viral when @gregmurphy77 showed what happened when he was accused of stealing at a Walmart.

Most people who are wrongly accused of shoplifting at self-checkouts clear their names. It can be a lengthy and expensive process. Often, the damage is done. Just getting charged with theft can cost you your job and your reputation. All because grocery stores want to save a few dollars and cut jobs.

In the end, the resounding advice from legal experts is: Don't Use The Self-Checkouts.

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