Leyton woman ‘felt like criminal’ after Asda shopping trolley ban

A woman from east London said she was made to feel “like a criminal” after she was stopped from taking her personal shopping trolley inside her local supermarket due to what was described as “issues with theft”.

Aga Moss, 46, from Forest Gate, said she had “never had an issue” with taking the item into the Asda at Leyton Mills before until 16 June, when she said she was told by a security guard she could not take it inside the store.

Ms Moss said she was told it was because the store was having problems with shoplifting.

An Asda spokesperson said individual stores were free to create their own policies, but it regretted “that this customer had a negative experience on this occasion”.

Ms Moss told BBC London she had seen trolleys “around the security desk” before but had never been asked about hers.

However, on Sunday, she said she was approached by a security guard who told her she needed to leave the trolley at the entrance.

“I explained that the trolley is my property and I’m not really happy with leaving it there,” she said.

“While waiting for the manager I actually called Asda customer services to double check if the head office knows what the guys in Leyton are doing, and the person actually could not even understand the issue… they were not aware that the shop has such a policy.”

Ms Moss said the manager told her they were “having issues with theft” and they were “not letting people in with trolleys”.

Ms Moss said she had to leave her trolley with a ticket number attached to it.

It comes amid a record high in reported shoplifting offences in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

More than 430,000 offences were recorded last year – up by more than a third than the previous 12 months to December 2022 – the highest figure since current police records began in 2003.

In London, Metropolitan Police data shows retail crime continues to increase, with shoplifting up almost 50% in the past year from May 2023 to May 2024.

However, Ms Moss said she felt “discriminated against” for using a shopping trolley.

“It just literally looks like people with trolleys are targeted because none of the other ways of packing shopping, they don’t have an issue with it,” she said.

“I’ve seen – actually waiting for the manager – a couple having an empty bag using it for their shopping.

“I said I don’t mind opening my trolley and showing the inside on the way out. Nope, that was not an option.”

Asda said individual stores were free to create their own policies, but it was not aware of this policy being enforced more widely.

An Asda spokesperson said: “Our top priority is to keep our customers and colleagues safe which is why our stores will implement policies that seek to deter shoplifting including the use of external trolleys.

“All of our stores have trolleys and baskets available for customers to use whilst shopping with us.”

The spokesperson added: “We hope that our customers understand the need to keep our stores safe for everyone.”