Stealing shopping baskets has become a way of survival for many. Currently, there are authentic organized mafias that are dedicated to stealing these supermarket carts to sell them as scrap metal on the black market.
Maybe you didn’t realize the issue, but do you know what the consequences of this type of crime are? We are going to offer you a broader vision of this problem, which occurs not only in Spain but also in many other parts of the world.
The economic losses that medium and large stores have to endure for this reason become truly substantial. We will show you a balance so that you become aware of the scope, also, we will tell you what the legal situation is in this regard at the moment.
Likewise, we will explain to you what sanctions are faced by those who commit these thefts or simply misuse these tools that establishments put at the service of their clientele to facilitate their purchasing process.
Stealing shopping baskets, an increasingly common practice
Unfortunately, stealing shopping baskets is becoming a very common practice around the world. In the United States, since a project banning single-use plastic bags at check-out counters came to light in November 2020, this bad practice is becoming increasingly widespread.
Customers, instead of bringing their bag from home or purchasing a reusable the same establishment, are directly choosing to shamelessly take the classic plastic baskets that we are used to seeing stacked at the entrance or next to the checkout.
Such is the impact of this problem that many business owners are choosing not to replace those that disappear, aware that this would mean losses that are difficult to bear. In other cases, as is the case in important Spanish supermarket chains, the solution has been to hire personnel in charge of collecting abandoned carts on public roads and returning them to their place.
Losses exceed 7,500 euros per month
We have not found official and verified figures. However, analyzing the publications where heads of large businesses and commercial areas talk about the problem, we conclude that there are companies that lose up to 7,500 euros per month.
Don’t you think this is a devastating fact? And all this is due to the lack of awareness or apathy of users. Many simply do not make the effort to walk a few meters to put the cart in its place. Others take the opportunity to take the purchase home and then leave it lying around anywhere.
Public cleaning services, when they find them abandoned on public roads, are obliged to transfer them to the corresponding plant for recycling. Some supermarkets admit that they miss even more than 50 shopping carts in a single month.
Taking into account that, on average, plastic hand baskets can cost these businesses around 4 – 6 euros, the amount they lose is considerable. And when it comes to metal or plastic carts, the numbers skyrocket.
Organized mafias dedicated to the theft of shopping carts
In the latter case, this is because the material with which they are made is relatively expensive. This is what has led to the creation of real mafias dedicated to stealing metal shopping baskets and then selling them as scrap metal.
In January 2021, for example, a resident of Gijón, a northern city of Spain was arrested for stealing 85 carts, following an investigation initiated following a complaint from a well-known hypermarket chain. In Chile, last August, the police seized 48 of these carts hidden in a warehouse.
One of these carts can be valued at up to 120 euros. An easy and succulent goal for friends of other people’s things.
What are the fines for misuse of shopping carts?
In Spain, stealing any object valued at an amount equal to or less than 400 euros is classified as theft, not robbery. Therefore, the consequences for those caught red-handed do not go beyond having to return what was stolen and, at most, being punished by a small financial penalty.
This is unless it is proven that the loot is more than one cart and that its value exceeds this figure. In certain cases, it may constitute a crime punishable by imprisonment if there are aggravating circumstances. There are also penalties for driving these carts at high speed outside the establishment or throwing them onto public roads. The fines are around 100 euros in these cases.
At Shopping Basket, we are aware of the problem caused by stealing shopping baskets from many of our customers. Therefore, our products have internal security systems to put an end to this problem. Check our catalog!
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