January 12th 2024.
Roxana Shirazi, a journalist and author from Bristol, found herself in a distressing situation when she visited the Marks & Spencer store in Cribbs Causeway on a Saturday morning. She was accompanied by her 93-year-old friend, Roy, who needed to return some unwanted Christmas presents from his family. Roxana hoped to exchange the items for a voucher or a different item, as Roy did not have a receipt and did not want his family to know about the return.
However, things took a turn for the worse when the cashier informed Roxana that the items had not been purchased and there was no record of them in their system. Roxana was confused and decided to return the items to Roy. As she was leaving the store, she was stopped by a security guard who accused her of stealing the items. Despite her attempts to explain the situation and even showing the CCTV footage of her entering the store with the items, she was not believed. The security guard even threatened to call the police.
In a state of shock and embarrassment, Roxana left the store and was immediately approached by two policemen in the middle of a busy street. She was mortified as they accused her of theft and refused to listen to her explanation. They even took the items from her and noted down her personal information. Roxana felt like a criminal, especially with people watching the whole ordeal. Her friend Roy, who was on the phone with her, was also shaken and upset by the incident.
Roxana took to social media to express her frustration and M&S responded by saying they would look into the matter. The next day, she received a call from them admitting their mistake and acknowledging that no shoplifting had taken place. However, they did not offer an apology for the traumatic experience. This left both Roxana and Roy in a state of shock and distress.
Roxana wonders if others have been subjected to the same treatment when returning items and believes this exposes a flaw in the store's return policy. She also questions why M&S and the security guard made such serious accusations without any evidence. Roy, who is not in the best of health, was embarrassed to return the items and now feels even worse after this incident. Roxana has yet to retrieve the items taken from her and has received no apology from either the store or the police.
It is a terrible thing to be treated like a criminal when you have done nothing wrong. Roxana believes that M&S and their security team need to reassess their decision-making process and treat their customers with respect. A spokesperson from M&S has reached out to Roxana to apologize for her experience and the store is currently investigating the incident.
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