Why an elderly couple have been banned from Aldi over altercation at the till
A pensioner and his wife have received a lifetime ban from their local Aldi after being accused of being abusive to staff.
Anthony Taylor and his wife Regina vehemently deny the claims after a disagreement with staff working on the till.
The couple, from Bootle in Liverpool, were doing one of their monthly bulk buying shops in the supermarket on 4 October when the incident took place.
Anthony, 75, says he has been doing their shops at the store since it opened 10 years ago, and has never had an issue before.
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The couple say they regularly fill their trolley with bulk bought items, leaving the majority in the cart and taking just one of each item out for the cashier to scan and letting staff know how many they have in their basket.
"The member of staff demanded that we had to empty the trolley. She said she couldn't see what was in the trolley so I said she needed to go to Specsavers," Anthony, who originally hails from South Africa, told the Liverpool Echo.
"If she could not see what was in the trolley she needs glasses. The manager then came over and took the trolley from us and told us to leave the store.
"I know it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things but there I had put a pound in the trolley so I went back in and I asked for the pound back."
While the pensioner has admitted becoming involved in a dispute with the staff member, he is adamant that the claims he was verbally abusive towards staff are untrue.
He did, however, confess to telling the security guard to 'get your f***ing hands off me,' as he was worried about losing his balance.
An Aldi spokesperson said: "Our colleagues work hard to provide great customer service, and we don't tolerate any form of abusive behaviour in our stores.
"In line with our policy, all products must be scanned through the till at point of sale, however, our colleagues are always happy to assist customers who may need a little extra help."
Anthony said: "I am very old school. I'm old enough to have been brought up in a very different era, an era where you do not swear in front of women.
"We are embarrassed and we are incensed by it. We have shopped there since the store opened and now we are travelling three or four miles to get our shopping. We just want an apology and to be able to do our shopping at our local Aldi."
Emma Rosemurgey