I Was Accused Of Petty Theft And That I Was Barred From The Store For One Year.

Location: Montana, US

I was at a supermarket before work today to grab some groceries and basics. I like to go in the early morning before traffic gets too hectic. When I walked in, I immediately saw a display of nutrition bars that I had not seen before. I grabbed one and took a look at the nutrition info. When I was done, I put it back on the shelf. I continued with the rest of my shopping, which I did with a hand basket. I went to the front after about 15-20 minutes of shopping and as I put down the basket, I was approached by a man who identified himself as Asset Management.

He held up a nutrition bar that was the same brand from earlier. He said that I took a bite out of it and then put it in someone's else cart. He then ordered me to pay for it. I told him that I did no such thing, but he insisted that I had. When I pushed back again, he held up his phone and on it was a still from the security camera above the front and I was standing there holding the nutrition bar. I then told him to play the rest of the video and he would see that I just looked at it. He refused the play the rest of the video and again ordered me to pay for it. I refused again. He said he would wait until I was done, look at my debit card info and use it to file a police report. He also said he would be looking through my past transactions.

I told him that I was leaving and I did just that. He yelled at my back that he would be filing a police report for petty theft and that I was banned from the store for one year. A lot of my friends and family say that I was harassed and should be compensated for it, but that sounds like a lot of work. Before I talk to an actual lawyer, I wanted to see if anyone thinks I have a case.