Bellshill shop owner says minimum unit pricing has increased thefts

Umar Majid, who runs Costcutter and Baba’s Kitchen in Bellshill, says when MUP was first introduced in 2018 he saw a rise in thefts. 

He said: "With minimum unit pricing what we’re concerned about is people can’t afford alcohol and some are just going to resort to stealing.  

"We found when MUP was introduced theft increased more.  

"I couldn't give a figure to how much, but it definitely increased."

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(Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest) MUP was first introduced in Scotland in 2018 and priced at 50p per unit.  

From September 30 this year, it has increased to 65p per unit.  

Umar says as well as increasing thefts, MUP has increased the amount of abuse he and his staff at the North Road store face with people blaming them for the increase in price.  

He also believes the Scottish Government did not do enough to raise awareness of this year’s increase which has also left many customers shocked at the price and taking it out on staff.  

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(Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest) The 27-year-old said: "Minimum unit pricing has gone up by quite a bit, so we've already seen people are complaining and I reckon within the next two or three months theft is definitely going to increase.  

"We've had a lot of people complaining and you’re trying to explain it’s not us implementing this, it’s the government. 

"I think the awareness from the government wasn’t that good because we had a lot of people coming in saying ‘how come that’s that price’. 

"I’ve had staff members tell me that people have been shouting at them, they have been giving them grief, they’re saying ‘this is unacceptable, this is a rip off’ and it tarnishes our brand.  

"For example, the litre of Glens went from £19 to £24 and if people aren’t informed, they think you’re just ripping them off."

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(Image: Newsquest) We previously reported enforcement of the law has been an issue for members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw), particularly around alcohol sales and other age-restricted products with around 48% of respondents to their 2023 survey saying they found it was a trigger for abuse.  

Umar says he has experienced racial abuse when asking for ID or refusing service.  

He explained: "It feels like there’s a lot of regulations and restrictions coming through right now, it seems to be every year we’re getting impacted by something and we’re meant to take the hit and it seems a bit unfair.  

"The government is adding pressure onto us as retailers."

He continued: "I’ve personally been racially abused and about two or three years ago I was assaulted within the store as well.  

"It’s quite sad but there’s not much we can do about it.  

"I tend to be out on the shop floor and I’ve refused customers either because they’re drunk, not got ID or I’ve caught them stealing and as a result of that they’ve then kicked off and called me every word under the sun, threatened me.  

"I would say racial abuse has increased in the past three years. Not by much but the fact it's there is still the problem."

Umar also believes the cost-of-living crisis has contributed to the rise in thefts and says in the last three years he has seen a 70-80% increase in the number of incidents with him losing around £80 to £100 each week.  

Neil Gray, Health Secretary, said: "Research commended by internationally-renowned public health experts estimated that our world-leading policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to tackling health inequalities.

"We worked with the Scottish Grocers Federation to publish a guidance for businesses and provided materials for in-store posters and shelf displays to ensure retailers, and their customers, had all the information they needed ahead of the increase.

"The Scottish Government recognises the significant disruption and harm retail crime causes and condemns any violence against retail workers.

"We would always encourage retailers to report all crimes to Police Scotland."