# banned from shopping centre.....



## medusa_30 (16 Nov 2016)

ok so please no judgement.

Long story short I was verbally told I was banned from a shopping centre a couple of months ago. (One of the shops took my details but not sure how much they shared with the centre etc

I was told to ring after a couple months to have the ban lifted. I rang last week and spoke to the person in charge left a message and they rang me back.They didnt seem to know who I was or what the circumstances were. I told them and they said oh we wouldn't review a ban until at least 1 year. I'm wondering now did I alert them to it and they previously had no knowledge.

Now i'm wondering how much info do they have and if I went back there over busy christmas period would they actually recognise me??

Thanks


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## Chris2014 (16 Nov 2016)

Just go shopping.


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## medusa_30 (16 Nov 2016)

ok yes thats what I want to do but just afraid I will get hauled out or something


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## bleary (16 Nov 2016)

You possibly might, I presume you were caught shoplifting.
 Really depends if the shop keeps a photo of shoplifters caught or not and how vigiliant staff are.
 If you were told to stay away then I would imagine you need to balance the small possibility you will be thrown out with how embarrassed you would be if this happened


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## T McGibney (17 Nov 2016)

I'm not sure how appropriate it is for AAM to assist a shoplifter in evading a penalty imposed on them on foot of their criminal activity.


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## NewEdition (17 Nov 2016)

Not sure if being verbally told you are banned is something that can be classified as a "penalty imposed"
It may be that the member of staff / manager etc has now moved on anyway..
Just go shopping I would say!


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## cremeegg (17 Nov 2016)

T McGibney said:


> I'm not sure how appropriate it is for AAM to assist a shoplifter in evading a penalty imposed on them on foot of their criminal activity.



Thats an interesting question, it must be seen in the context of people often receive advice on AAM on avoiding repayment of debts


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## T McGibney (17 Nov 2016)

cremeegg said:


> Thats an interesting question, it must be seen in the context of people often receive advice on AAM on avoiding repayment of debts


It's not illegal to fail to pay a debt.


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## odyssey06 (17 Nov 2016)

It's not clear if the OP was really banned from the shopping centre... how can the shop reviews its ban if it doesn't seem to know who was or wasn't banned... how can you reconcile "I was told to ring after a couple months to have the ban lifted... they said oh we wouldn't review a ban until at least 1 year."
How binding is a verbal 'ban' whose terms has been clearly contradicted by the manager?
If the shop told him to jump in the liffey as a penalty for criminal activity, would we all be agreeing he should do that?

So whatever happened in the shop, just don't go near that particular establishment - but the rest of the shopping centre? None of us here can really answer as it comes down to how rigorous the procedures are in that particular shopping centre, and whether, in fact, the shop even passed on the information to the rest of the shopping centre.


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## Bronte (17 Nov 2016)

I'd just go shopping, how on earth will they remember you unless you were really naughty.  Also stay away from that particular shop.  Alternatively go to another shopping center.

And exactly what can anyone 'haul' you in for now !


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## medusa_30 (17 Nov 2016)

ya i know its hard to know. I wasn't going to share the reason however it was absent mindedness on my part. Put a couple things in my buggy before paying at the till and one item got left behind and was stopped as I exited.

Frazzled new mum I am. The shop took my details but no guards were called.

The shop security guard told me it was a lifetime ban from the shop but only a few months for the centre. He was the one that told to ring them after a couple of months. The centre security guard verbally told me also I was banned from the centre.


whats the worst that can happen- they just ask me to leave?


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## Bronte (17 Nov 2016)

This happens to everyone, yes me too.  As in leaving something in the trolly.  And I scan my groceries and it's mortification if you've forgotton something.  They do a control every so often but it seems to me I'm now so good at scanning the controls are very infrequent and the staff, who know me, know I'm not trying to steal anything.  It can also go the other way, not good news if you scan a bottle of champagne twice I can tell you. 

I do know however that certain people use children's buggies in particular to shop lift.  So that's probably why your details were taken.


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## michaelm (17 Nov 2016)

medusa_30 said:


> whats the worst that can happen- they just ask me to leave?


Yes.  That's the worst that can happen.  I would just go shopping and not be asking permission from any Security people.


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## Chris2014 (17 Nov 2016)

Just watch out for Paul Blart.


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## Ceist Beag (17 Nov 2016)

medusa_30 said:


> ya i know its hard to know. I wasn't going to share the reason however it was absent mindedness on my part. Put a couple things in my buggy before paying at the till and one item got left behind and was stopped as I exited.
> 
> Frazzled new mum I am. The shop took my details but no guards were called.
> 
> ...


The security guard was talking This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language to put it mildly! He has no authority over the shopping centre (or any other shop in it) - it is a public space and you are fully entitled to go there if and when you wish. The only thing they can do is ban you from their shop. So don't worry about whatever he said and go shopping.


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## T McGibney (17 Nov 2016)

Ceist Beag said:


> He has no authority over the shopping centre (or any other shop in it) - *it is a public space* and you are fully entitled to go there if and when you wish.



This isn't necessarily true. At least one of Dublin's biggest shopping centres and its grounds are 100% privately owned property and entry thereto is by permission and at the discretion of the owners.

At least that's what a friend of mine was told by management when he tried to bring a group there to fundraise earlier this year.


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## Ceist Beag (17 Nov 2016)

Tommy does that mean one shop can ban someone from all other shops purely at their own discretion? I would find that very hard to believe tbh.


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## T McGibney (17 Nov 2016)

Ceist Beag said:


> Tommy does that mean one shop can ban someone from all other shops purely at their own discretion? I would find that very hard to believe tbh.


I have no idea - perhaps a property law expert would know.


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## sunnydonkey (18 Nov 2016)

Ceist Beag said:


> Tommy does that mean one shop can ban someone from all other shops purely at their own discretion? I would find that very hard to believe tbh.



Im sure they have an agreement between them on how to deal with shoplifters, and that would include a ban from the centre. No shop would want that shoplifters are simply ejected from one shop to enter another or that known shoplifters would be congregating in the centre.



medusa_30 said:


> whats the worst that can happen- they just ask me to leave?



Well, if they have your details, they could still report your original offence to the Gardai and activate legal action. Its only a couple of months ago, after all.  Thats the worst, I think.  They might also let all the security people know about you (theyre often linked by walkie talkie earphones) so that you get watched like a hawk while you do your shopping.


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## trasneoir (18 Nov 2016)

Ceist Beag said:


> Tommy does that mean one shop can ban someone from all other shops purely at their own discretion? I would find that very hard to believe tbh.


While one tennant can't exactly speak for the management/owners of the shopping centre, you can be reasonably confident that they will back up their tennants in situations like these.

The security staff in a CC (including CCTV monitoring) all talk to one another, usually with a shared two way radio network. When known 'heads' are spotted, the word goes out, and any security guard who doesn't know the face will pop out of their shops to take a look. If the person is known to be banned, they will be turned around. If not, they will be tracked (discreetly or otherwise, depending on their profile) until they leave.

I think OP would have to be banned by an agent of the CC's management before she is actually trespassing, and unless she's a serial nuisance, she's in no danger of having a problem with the police. Excepting the professional shoplifters, it's not worth the time and legal exposure to hold somebody for an hour until police arrive.


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## Leo (18 Nov 2016)

Ceist Beag said:


> Tommy does that mean one shop can ban someone from all other shops purely at their own discretion? I would find that very hard to believe tbh.



The owner of a premises have full discretion over who they allow in, and do not need to give a reason for doing so. The only difficulty they could face is if it could be shown they were in breach of discrimination law.


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## Firefly (18 Nov 2016)

medusa_30 said:


> Put a couple things in my buggy before paying at the till and one item got left behind and was stopped as I exited.
> 
> The shop security guard told me it was a lifetime ban
> The centre security guard verbally told me also I was banned from the centre



Sounds excessive for what is supposedly an innocent mistake...


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