£10 voucher given to disabled man who was wrongly accused of shoplifting by supermarket giant

A Bulwell man who suffers from a debilitating condition has criticised a supermarket chain after they wrongly accused him of shop-lifting, then sent him a £10 gift card as a ‘good will gesture’.
Adrian Hardy was wrongly accused of shoplifting whilst shopping at Bulwell TescoAdrian Hardy was wrongly accused of shoplifting whilst shopping at Bulwell Tesco
Adrian Hardy was wrongly accused of shoplifting whilst shopping at Bulwell Tesco

Adrian Hardy, who suffers from reumatic condition fibromyalgia, told the Dispatch he had just finished checking out his shopping at a self-service till from the Tesco store in the town when a member of staff shouted: “Stop him, he’s not paid for the bread!”

Once his receipt had been checked and no theft was found, Mr Hardy says he received no apology from his accuser. 
After he contacted the complaints department he received the gift card a week later from the company.

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Mr Hardy (pictured), 52, of Norwich Gardens, Bulwell, said: “I am now branded as a thief by people who know me and in my eyes Tesco should make a public apology to me for the embarrassment they have caused.

“What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

“Now I have people pointing fingers and making comments about me being caught stealing.

“I have lived in Bulwell all my life and over this time got to know a lot of people.

“I contacted the complaints line for Tesco’s and they advised me that the manager of the store would be contacted and this would be looked into.”

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But when he returned to the store he was told that no one knew what he was talking about.

Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic condition characterized by pain and stiffness. Mr Hardy needs a cane to walk because of the severity of his condition, which forced him to leave his job as a systems administrator three years ago.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We would like to apologise to Mr Hardy once again for the misunderstanding.

“Our store manager has since spoken to him and a good will gesture was sent in the post.”

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