Last week I wrote about my humiliating experience when a friend attempted to get away with paying our full rail fare.

This then sparked an hour’s worth of quite alarming admissions from my crowd of pals who were gathered for a catch-up.

“When buying our train tickets, I told the conductor the kids were under five.”

“No mum,” Eilidh innocently piped up.

“We’re seven.”

“No no,” laughed an embarrassed Jenna.

“You’re nearly five.”

“The conductor gave me a knowing look as if to say, I know they’re older than five, but I can’t be bothered arguing.”

“Yes, at the cinema we said our kids were 13 when they were really 15," added Angela.

“And we got away with paying less.”

“Let’s face it,” suggested Fiona.

“We all want something for nothing if we can.”

“But it’s not stealing.”

“There’s a girl in my office who regularly buys clothes, wears them out for the night with the labels still on, and returns them the following day and gets her money back.”

“Really?” I couldn’t imagine having the nerve to do such a thing.

“It’s no big deal,” suggested another.

One after the other the group seemed to have an omission to make about themselves or someone they knew.

“We’ve all walked out of somewhere without paying,” Christine suggested.

“We did it on holiday in Spain,” she admitted.

“It was completely unintentional because I went to the toilet and thought Jim had paid, and he thought whilst I was away, I had paid.”

“And it was only when we got home we realised that neither of us had paid!”

“How many times have we returned home from the supermarket and realised that we haven’t paid for something?” asked Angela.

I wasn’t sure I knew how that was possible until my pal enlightened me.

“I walked out of Tesco without paying for a giant box of soap powder I had forgotten I’d put under the trolley.”

“Every time she’s out and about, my sister-in-law takes the loo roll home with her just in case she runs out,” declared another pal.

“Well, you couldn’t say it way stealing,” suggested Amanda.

“But I always fill my pockets with tomato sauce, vinegar and sugar sachets whenever I eat out.”

“Because they are really handy when I go camping or to the caravan.”

“Every time we go into Boots my husband sprays himself from head to toe in his favourite expensive aftershave,” announced Wilma.

“And it doesn’t cost him a penny.”

“Well, if I’m going out on a Saturday night, I’ll will drop in to one of the big department stores and get a full facial make-over for free,” Susan was pleased to divulge.

“It’s assumed I’ll buy some of the make-up afterwards, but I rarely do.”

“I have a friend who ordered very expensive face cream online.” Mae disclosed the details of her pals’ dirty trick.

“And apparently she squeezed it out into a jar and replaced it with cheap cream before returning it under the 30-day money back deal!”

I couldn’t believe my ears, and was amazed at the lengths some people will go to.

“Well, everyone takes shampoos, soaps and body lotions from hotels,” stated Mae.

“In fact, when my friend was staying at a posh hotel she pretended to use them every day so that everything got replenished and she went home with a case full of expensive toiletries.”

“That’s nothing,” added another pal.

“A guy at my work actually removed a print from a picture frame on his hotel bedroom wall.”

“No way,” I was flabbergasted.

“Now that is blatant stealing.”

“Last December when we were out for our Christmas meal, one of the ladies took the gravy boat to the toilet, washed it out and put it in her handbag because she needed one for her Christmas dinner,” added another.

“Where do you draw the line?” I wondered.

But we all agree that we all knew someone who had taken the odd glass or two they had their eye on in the pub.

“Honestly Janice,” Fiona explained.

“I was sitting at my friends kitchen table the morning after we had had a night out in Glasgow and she lifted her clinking handbag and started to empty it on to the table.”

“Out came one glass after another and another with all sorts of other items.”

It sounded like it was a normal Saturday night routine for Fiona’s pal.

“It was like watching the generation game and all that was missing was the cuddly toy!”

“Stealing?” I looked at Fiona.

“Of course it’s stealing.”

“It’s just that none of us would like to admit it.”