‘They will begin watching hours of video to see the last person who checked out.’ A Lawyer Warned Viewers on TikTok to Be Wary of Using Self-Checkout at Stores

Most people think that self-checkout kiosks at stores are the way of the future, but the advice you’re about to hear from a lawyer named Carrie Jernigan might make you think twice.

Because she warns people that they should actually avoid self-checkout because some stores have gone after people for theft in instances when nothing was actually stolen.

Carrie explained that retailers used to be lenient towards people who may have accidentally taken things without paying for them but they’ve been cracking down because shoplifters have become more sophisticated at stealing more expensive items.

In her video, the lawyer broke down people who have been charged with shoplifting into three categories.

Photo Credit: TikTok

She said, “The first group of people getting charged with shoplifting using the self-checkout are people going into the stores with the intent to steal.”

Carrie continued, “The second group of people catching this charge, I will call the theft-by-mistake. These are the people that I genuinely think just forgot to scan an item. It is usually something that was on the bottom rack of the cart or say a DVD that has slid under the purse, and when they are walking out, asset protection stops them.”

Photo Credit: TikTok

And the third group of people are people who had previously been to a store quite a while ago but have been targeted when store inventory comes up short.

Carrie said, “It is something that, say, asset protection is doing a quality control check or inventory weeks, days, months later comes up short, so they will begin watching hours of video to see the last person who checked out with the Mario Lego set because they’re too short, or an Xbox game, and for some reason, they pinpoint that they think you did it.”

She went on to explain that big corporations will prosecute people with very little evidence and some people have to spend a lot of time and money trying to prove that they are innocent.

Photo Credit: TikTok

Take a look at her video.

@carriejernigan1 Reply to @afamily20202 ♬ original sound – LAWYER CARRIE

Carrie posted a follow-up video where she advised people to only use self-checkout for small purchases, always pay with a card, and to keep the receipt just in case.

@carriejernigan1 Reply to @briannapatterson09 ♬ original sound – LAWYER CARRIE

Here’s what people had to say about this.

One viewer made an excellent point about what’s going on here.

Photo Credit: TikTok

Another person said their mom had a bad situation dealing with self-checkout.

Photo Credit: TikTok

And this TikTokker said it took them a long time and a lot of money to clear their name dealing with something like this.

Photo Credit: TikTok

My take? Nobody should be prosecuted for making any type of mistake at self-checkout. Corporations like Walmart are putting the burden of doing a job on the customer, and people are going to make mistakes.

I smell a class action lawsuit coming in a few years…