God, I'm so tired of prices going up. But here we go again - Greggs is hiking prices NEXT THURSDAY. Some treats (probably those cookies I'm addicted to and teh doughnuts) are going up by 5p in what's basically a shoplifting surcharge.
I spent three days last week watching this madness unfold. Parked myself outside ten different Greggs shops from Newcastle to Brighton with my camera ready. What I witnessed was... well, let's just call it what it is - absolute chaos.
The wheelchair bandit and other unlikely thieves
In Newcastle (Greggs' hometown, ironically), I literally watched a guy in a wheelchair roll in, grab a loaf and a drink, then wheel himself out without paying. Not even trying to hide it!
The most brazen thieves were in Bishopsgate, City of London. One suit-wearing bloke with a laptop bag casually lifted a pot of porridge at 9:30am and strolled out like he owned the place. Twenty-five minutes later, some rough sleeper nabbed hash browns, doughnuts AND two Cokes - £12.50 worth! - then sat down 40 yards away to enjoy his "free" breakfast.
The staff are completely defeated.
One cashier just shouted a sarcastic "Bye" to a beanie-wearing thief who'd grabbed sausage rolls, Fanta, crisps and doughnuts (about £9 worth). His response? "Yeah, bye." Like it was the most normal transaction ever.
Why are we all paying for this???
Sources told me the classic sausage roll will stay at £1.30, and other bakes won't change. But this comes right after January's price bump following that Budget-linked wage increase.
Greggs is blaming "supply chain pressures" for the latest hike. But come on... when shoplifting is costing UK retailers £2.2 BILLION a year, with offences topping 500,000 for the first time in 2024, we know what's really happening.
One Greggs worker (who obviously didn't want to be named) told me: "The amount of people who steal from the stores costs us thousands a week — so it wouldn't surprise me if part of the price rises is because of that. It's not the company's fault, it's just the way things are now."
The Stockwell situation is completely out of hand
Back in 2018, I covered a story about shoplifting in South London. It's gotten so much worse since then.
The Stockwell branch is apparently one of Greggs' most-hit stores. They've installed an anti-shoplifting tannoy system that blares out warnings. Might as well be playing elevator music for all the good it does.
I watched raiders completely ignore the announcements while grabbing hot food and sandwiches from fridges. Around 10:30am, another thief pocketed potato wedges and chicken goujons like he was shopping with invisible money.
Teenage girls planning their heist
In Lewisham, three teenage girls stood outside having a full two-minute strategy session about what they should steal. One grabbed wedges, left, then came back for a £3 bag of cookies. Like she forgot dessert.
Later, a woman pinched two chicken flatbreads and actually sprinted from the store... even though nobody was chasing her! (Poor thing probably watches too many cop shows.)
Another thief shot me a dirty look when he realized I'd spotted him. Didn't stop him though. Still walked out without paying.
Brighton's beggar problem
Down in Brighton, I filmed two men targeting the same branch. One guy in a white baseball cap lifted two sandwiches from a fridge and disappeared. Twenty minutes later, a well-known local beggar made off with a sandwich and drink.
The sole staff member was dealing with a massive queue and couldn't do anything. I spent $4K on camera equipment for this assignment, and I felt like I was documenting a slow-motion train wreck.
Amy Collins, a 22-year-old student I chatted with in Worthing, summed it up perfectly: "You see the same people begging up the road then going to Greggs and taking sandwiches. They push you out the way and think they can do whatever they want. I've got barely any money and I can pay. Why can't they?"
The return customer (seriously)
The most ridiculous thing I saw was in Archway, North London. This guy wandered in and stole two boxes of potato wedges with mayo dips. Then... he came back 18 minutes later for another box, this time with ketchup!
A customer standing next to me was gobsmacked. "I've seen him take a fiver's worth of chips. It makes you sick."
Raj Patel, who's worked in Archway for 25 years, told me: "The thieving is getting worse, but no one does anything about it. It's the same people again and again. The police don't do anything. I know their hands are tied for petty stuff — but they're not even here."
The bigger picture looks grim
Despite the mountain of offences happening daily, only about a fifth result in charges. More than half of investigations fail to even identify a suspect.
Former Met Police DCI David McKelvey, who now runs security firm TM Eye and prosecutes shop thieves for High Street stores, told me: "We're seeing people steal from Greggs every single day. They are being targeted because thieves are able to just walk in and walk out and nothing is done. It goes back to this issue of there being no enforcement. The criminals think they can do whatever they like."
Chris Brook-Carter from the Retail Trust added something that really stuck with me: "Almost half the retail workers we surveyed said they fear for their safety. Nearly two thirds are anxious going to work due to the unacceptable level of retail crime."
Imagine being afraid to go to work at a bakery. Just let that sink in.
When I reached out to Greggs for comment, they confirmed prices are going up but dodged mentioning the theft epidemic. Their spokesman said: "We have had to make small changes to the prices of some of our products due to rising costs. We continue to offer our customers great value, high-quality products across the entire range, maintaining our value-leading position in the food-to-go market."
Rising costs indeed. Like the cost of letting people walk out with your food every hour of every day.
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Statistics
- A study by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that 60% of Americans do not have a budget.
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