Home Bargains. Mum accused of ‘maybe’ thieving!

[ApolloknewZeus]

Mum shops weekly in home bargains. Due to her unobvious disability... had breast cancer double mastectomy now has avascular necrosis in one shoulder, had hip replacement walks a little slowly and has limited strength in one shoulder. She has difficulty in holding/carrying a metal/plastic basket & would be unable to push a large trolley (only large trollers available in this store).
She has used for the 5 years this store has been open a shoulder bag for shopping leaving her good arm/hand free to pick stuff.
She places her shopping in her bag & COMPLETELY empties bag at checkout turning the empty bag upside down.
Today she was stopped in the 1st aisle to be told ‘you cannot do that, store policy forbids shopping bags to be filled you have to use basket or trolley provided’ she politely explained why this was not an option for her to be told LOUDLY ‘you could be stealing for all I know’
A pushchair user with shopping underneath the chair intervened saying ... you can’t accuse her & what about me? To be told it’s ok for them as they need there arms free to push the chair & care for the child!!!
How can she be accused of ‘maybe shoplifting’

Views please she feels humiliated & embarrassed but was extremely grateful to that mum whoever you were thank you 💐 needless to say she didn’t finish her shop... grrr

The staff member was completely out of line. To get technical about it, goods have only been stolen once you take them out of the door without paying for them. Carrying them around the shop in a bag is not stealing, putting them on the bottom or in the hood of the pushchair is not stealing, even putting them in your pockets is not stealing all provided that you scan them all at the checkout and pay before trying to leave the shop with them.

I'd complain.

Staff member needs training in the disability discrimination act. Businesses are expected to make reasonable adjustments. Allowing someone to use a shoulder bag would most likely be a reasonable adjustment. A quick complaint to the manager should sort it.

Tell your mum to complain. I've done what she does in lots of shops, with no problems.

How does disability discrimination act cover ‘shoppers/shopping’ my poor mum is utterly humiliated & cried to my DB, SIL & I explaining the situation... she said, explaining her inability, & having it ignored was even more humiliating than being told she ‘could be thieving’...DB so fuming

You don't have to leave the store to be accused of theft from a shop. www.quora.com/Can-you-be-charged-and-convicted-of-shoplifting-if-you-didnt-leave-the-store-with-anything-you-were-putting-it-back

You don't have to walk past the till points and out of the store to commit theft, it's just good evidence if you do.
I'd speak to the store manager and explain the situation. The security person needs educating.

I'm sorry this happened. I think if she goes back I'd strongly suggest speaking to security guard on way in and explaining situation. When I was on crutches a few years ago I could only do shopping with a tote bag over my shoulder that I loaded as I went. I was lucky it was a more obvious disability and obv short term, but security were normally lovely about it and some even summoned a worker to carry a basket for me while I did my shop.

I think if I were your mum I'd def complain about this treatment tho. Sorry she's having such a hard time

The act requires businesses to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are as able to use the service as non-disabled people.

Just to say... the Disability Discrimination Act was superseded by the Equality Act 2010.

That was a horrible way to treat a customer, your poor mum

Please do not blame the security guard. He is implementing the shop policy. Ask to speak to the manager separately.

When I read this title I thought they were saying your mum was maybe stealing, but actually all they were saying was that the use of a bag makes it easier to steal, which it does. I wouldn’t take that too personally.

They have to make reasonable adjustments.
I understand them speaking to her, but one she'd made them aware, the onus was on them to act better. Which they failed to do by continuing their accusations/explaination.
I'd email the head office and store manager to complain, details will be on their website.

That's pretty insensitive behaviour from the security guard. He wins the "Mr Jobsworth" award.

I know she shouldn't have to but maybe if she made the stores she shopped in aware that this is what she needed to do in order to shop there, they might be more understanding?

I feel a bit odd when I use the basket on my mobility scooter for shopping as it has sometimes has some of my own things in it too, like my phone and stuff. I'm sure I'm being watched to see if I'm nicking stuff.

The security guard needs training. He was BU to ignore her explanation.

The employee could do with some more training but the way you've explained it doesn't sound like anyone was accused of something.

What the shop employee said is true, I'd have asked to speak to the manager at the time to find a suitable alternative, from the shop's POV it's a reasonable policy imo

Hope this store doesnt get involved with any cancer related charity events like Race for Life or Macmillan coffee mornings because it would be disingenuous at best and hypocritical at worst.

I actually complained to monsoon (accesorize) when they accused my DD of intentionally moving sale stickers and putting them onto something she bought and putting them into the sale section. I was with her and this did not happen.

I complained to head office and they offered me £10 and apologised, I refused it and told them to donate it to charity as I am never going back in that shop with that manager. I also said the manager needed better training

I would complain for sure

The Equality Act 2010 protects people with a protected characteristic from discrimination in several situations, including as a consumer. The shop can make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people to manage the same as able bodied people. They haven't done that in a way that suits your mother, so she needs to use her own aid to manage her specific disability.
They need to let your mother use her own bag and retrain the security guard.

www.gov.uk/discrimination-your-rights

''How you can be discriminated against -

• indirect discrimination - putting rules or arrangements in place that apply to everyone, but that put someone with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage

www.gov.uk/discrimination-your-rights/how-you-can-be-discriminated-against

The store may well be able to use the objective justification caveat to the 2010 Act, though. Yes, it is indirectly indiscriminatory to say people can’t put things into their own bags rather than use a basket, because it places people like your mother at a disadvantage. On the other hand, the policy is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim - protecting their business.

Thank you for replying... it was not a security guard that spoke to my mum but a person stacking the shelves... she asked to speak to a manager & the person brought out was now we have since found out was a supervisor to the ‘stock fillers’ their words. My brother has phoned the Crewe Home Bargains branch to get the information to make a formal complaint... he won’t let this rest now. We have since found out from mum that the ‘supervisor’ marched her to the front door to point out the stores policy regarding filling shopping bags... we went to the store to read this notice, it’s in very small writing underneath an advert for the stores good causes statement. Who reads the small print on a sticker on the windows at an entrance to a store?

Another reasonable adjustment would be for the store to provide someone to carry a shopping basket/push a trolley and assist your mother with her shopping.

There are a couple of stores around here that are more than happy to help in this way, i am aware of this because they helped me when I had surgery and was on crutches and could not put my foot on the floor, they helped with everything including at the checkout and even taking the shopping out to my car and putting it the boot. I just went to customer services and asked for help.

Can you buy her a transparent shopping bag?

There's always a jobsworth and it's a lottery if they bother you.