Banbury pensioner in tears after regular shoppers crowd the 'vulnerable' queue during Tesco shopping hour

A pensioner was left in tears after failing to buy any food because other customers were disregarding the dedicated hour at Banbury's Tesco store.
Tesco has offered a delivery to an elderly couple who could not do their shopping in the dedicated slot at the Banbury store. Picture by Getty ImagesTesco has offered a delivery to an elderly couple who could not do their shopping in the dedicated slot at the Banbury store. Picture by Getty Images
Tesco has offered a delivery to an elderly couple who could not do their shopping in the dedicated slot at the Banbury store. Picture by Getty Images

The 75-year-old woman, who suffers from a chest complaint, went to the Banbury Cross Retail Park Tesco to take advantage of the dedicated shopping times for the elderly and vulnerable.

But she went home with nothing because of a huge queue of ordinary shoppers.

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Her husband, who we are not naming, said: "The times allocated for older people at Tesco Banbury, between 9am - 10am on Monday Wednesday and Friday, are not working due to them allowing anyone, regardless of age, to queue for food. It makes a joke of what Tesco are claiming.

"My wife went today but gave up due to the ridiculously long queue of people of all ages wanting food when it should have just been for the elderly. She was in tears when she returned having given up the idea of being able to buy food.

"Maybe the security staff have not got the nerve to tell these people to come back later after the elderly have done their shopping."

The couple have underlying health issues. One suffers a chest complaint, the other has diabetes, hypertension and asthma.

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"We really need to self isolate but my wife thought she might have been able to take advantage of the hour reserved for the elderly. She tried to stay in queue but due to length of it and having been there for a considerable time she had to come home without any shopping. She was really upset.

"We have tried to get a Tesco delivery but all the slots are taken. I fear the only option for us is that I will have to go for food but this makes me nervous because if either of us get the virus it would be very serious for both of us."

A spokesman for Tesco said the store had offered to make a delivery to the couple and the company urged customers to respect the dedicated shopping times for certain groups of people.

He said: “We’re very sorry to hear this. Our priority shopping hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 9am-10am are for elderly and vulnerable customers.

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"They are one of the ways we’re trying to help these customers get access to the things they need. Whilst overall the feedback has been positive, we know some stores have been very busy during this time, as they had been since 6am when they opened.

"We’re working round the clock to get products on shelves but the reality is availability is challenging at the moment and that’s why we’re asking customers to help us by giving priority to elderly and vulnerable customers during these times slots, which are advertised in stores.”

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