Rita Seymour, a 79-year-old great-grandmother, has been banned from every Sainsbury's in Britain following a dispute over a Euromillions lottery ticket at her local store in Hook, Hampshire. The pensioner, who has lived in Hook since 1981, says she wants to clear her name and have the ban lifted, as the Sainsbury's is only a five-minute walk from her home, compared to a 20-minute walk to Tesco.
Incident at the Hook store
Earlier this month, Rita visited her local Sainsbury's for her weekly shopping. She claims she had to ask for a Euromillions ticket four times before a staff member responded. When the employee finally replied, Rita alleges the worker accused her of being rude and called for management. Rita said: "She went to take a picture of me, and I pushed her camera out of her face. I said 'I've done nothing wrong here, you're not taking pictures of me'. She was flinging her arms about."
Ban imposed nationwide
The following day, when Rita returned to the shop, she was prevented from entering and handed a letter informing her that she had been barred from all Sainsbury's and Argos outlets nationwide. A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "We want everyone to feel welcome when they shop with us and our colleagues work hard to create a positive in store experience. We take any form of abusive and inappropriate behaviour seriously, and following a number of incidents over time, a decision was taken to withdraw this individual's right to shop at our Hook store. This action was not taken lightly, but the safety and wellbeing of colleagues and customers always come first."
Rita denies prior incidents
Rita, who lives with her disabled husband, denied there had been any prior incidents at the store. She said: "I'm not that sort of person, I never cause trouble, I never do any trouble – they're saying it to get out of everything. I want to clear my name." The great-grandmother, who worked in customer services, added: "I'm not interested in money, but I live five minutes away from the shop and I would like this ban lifted."
Impact on daily life
The ban means Rita must now travel 20 minutes to the nearest Tesco for her shopping, a significant inconvenience for the 79-year-old. She is appealing to Sainsbury's to reconsider the ban, emphasizing that she has been a loyal customer for decades.
