Tesco says sorry to mother accused of stealing

A LOYAL Tesco customer has received an apology from the supermarket giant after a store security guard detained her for an hour and a half after wrongly accusing her of shoplifting.

Mother-of-three Shelly Johnson said she was “held against her will” for 90 minutes in a back office at a store in Bradford despite protesting her innocence and asking for the police to be called.

Miss Johnson said she was left “extremely traumatised” by the ordeal and felt unable to return to work that day because she was shaking and tearful.

Despite receiving an apology from a senior member of staff, Miss Johnson is now considering suing the supermarket for the distress they caused her.

The Yorkshire Post understands that the security guard resigned shortly after the incident.

Mrs Johnson, who visits the Great Horton Road store every day and spends around 5,000 a year on groceries, said: “I was humiliated, scared and intimidated. I was threatened with the removal of my mobile phone, potentially rendering me isolated from anybody who may have been able to help and support me.

“When the security guard found I had phoned my partner he said I would not be allowed to see anybody.”

Her ordeal began on a Monday lunchtime as she shopped during her lunchbreak from her job as a finance officer at a local primary school. She was stopped by a security guard who took her to a staff-only area where another guard was waiting.

“They told me I had left the store 10 days earlier without paying. They didn’t have any evidence. He kept threatening to call police and gave me the option of paying for the goods. I was quite happy for him to call the police.”

The guard claimed she had taken groceries worth 60 through the self-service check-out without paying and that a member of staff had recognised her from a CCTV still image.

But after 90 minutes it was realised that there had been a problem with the till at the time and her payment had not registered, a fact she was not aware of.

Although she says the security guard refused to apologise, a manager did say sorry and she left the store with her partner who had rushed to her aid.

“A regional manager just happened to be in the store. He apologised on behalf of Tesco for any distress that had been caused.

“I was not able to go into work; I was shaky and extremely traumatised. They only had to check their records and see how often I shop there. They had no reason to treat me like a criminal. I work nearby and go in there every day.”

Later that day she received a telephone call from a Tesco manager. “He was extremely apologetic and acknowledged it hadn’t been handled in the correct manner. The security guard handed his notice in after the incident.”

Miss Johnson, who lives in Thornton, Bradford, said she was now considering switching to Sainsbury or Asda. She is awaiting advice from her solicitor and is considering legal action.

Last night a Tesco spokesman said: “We are aware of this incident and are carrying out an internal investigation.”

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