A MUM was left shocked after she was allegedly refused service in her local Aldi – because her son had put her beer cans on the conveyor belt.
Shelley Laurence-Fraser had gone shopping with her autistic son Matthew at their local Aldi on Drayton Road in Norwich, Norfolk on Friday.
The 41-year-old claims that after she had finished shopping she let 17-year-old Matthew empty the trolley onto the conveyor belt – a pile of shopping that included a four pack of lager.
The carer was then left astonished when the cashier allegedly questioned Shelley’s beer purchase – before refusing to serve her out of suspicion that she was buying the booze for Matthew.
Shelly says Matthew had placed the cans of beer behind the rest of her shopping before he went to stand away from the hustle and bustle of the till.
The cashier then began scanning the shopping, but allegedly stopped when they found the beer, and questioned Shelley on her intentions.
Shelley told the staff that the alcohol purchase was for herself but members of staff accused her of buying them for Matthew – who is a year below the legal drinking age.
Despite attempting to reason with staff, Shelley claims that they refused to accept her reasoning, leaving her confused son in tears.
Shelley took to social media the next day writing: “I went shopping in my local Aldi.
“My 17-year-old autistic son put the items of shopping on the belt, I had some beer for myself and because my son put them on the belt I got refused as they were apparently for him.
“He has just helped me load [the shopping] and then went and stood at the other end of the packing area near the window to keep out of the way.”
Her post received over 200 likes with more than 600 comments from confused shoppers.
One said: “Jobsworth.”
Another added: “Write to Aldi head office, that’s unacceptable behaviour.”
A third replied: “Ridiculous.”
Another responded: “Most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. The kids always help unload trolleys – I would have 100% left the stuff and walked out.”
A fifth retorted: “This is just ridiculous, where is the common sense here?”
Speaking today Shelley said: “They [Aldi] said that the beer was for my son as he put it on the belt but I said no it’s for me.
“The manager then spoke to me like a bit of dirt and said I am not serving you as I know you’re a liar and the beer is for him.
“Matthew stood there in tears as he does like to help do my shopping, he didn’t understand what was going on.
“I felt upset and my anxiety went through the roof.
“I had been served previously in the shop with no issues.”
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Like all retailers, we operate a Challenge 25 policy at all of our stores, and we apply this to any customers purchasing age-restricted products whether these are for themselves or potentially for others. We encourage customers who may appear under this age to carry photo ID if they intend to purchase alcohol.”
