Sainsbury's customer banned for life after row over staff parking at Leeds store

A man says he has been banned for life from all Sainsbury's stores after a row over how staff parked their cars.

Garry Frost, from Leeds, received a letter from the company telling him that the "invitation" to shop at Sainsbury's had been "permanently withdrawn" and he would be treated as a "trespasser" if he entered any of its premises.

The letter said: "We do not tolerate threatening, abusive or violent behaviour."

Mr Frost, a 62-year-old joiner, said it came after he complained that staff at the Sainsbury's Local store in Middleton Park, Leeds, were using parking bays meant for customers.

He said cars were being left in the bays for several hours, despite a one-hour limit Monday to Saturday.

He insisted he had "done nothing wrong" in raising the issue with staff.

Mr Frost told the Leeds Live website: "I wasn’t discourteous, I wasn’t rude or aggressive. I merely pointed out that it was morally incorrect what they were doing."

But days later he received a letter warning him he was banned.

The letter read: "I confirm that the invitation to enter and shop at all Sainsbury’s stores, including car parks, is permanently withdrawn due to the incident which you were involved in.

"Should you enter any of our premises, you will be treated as a trespasser and the police will be called as necessary.

"Under these circumstances we have a statutory duty to protect our colleagues and customers from such behaviour, whether it is face to face, over the telephone or in correspondence. This includes the discretion not to serve any customer that they feel is causing them alarm or distress."

'I thought it was a joke'

Mr Frost said: "I opened up the letter and I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke at first and we had a good laugh about it. But they’re serious."

He said he complained to the Sainsbury's head office, but received a follow-up email reiterating the company's stance. It said: "We have a duty of care to protect our colleagues as much as we have to protect our customers, due to this, we would not be looking to uplift your ban from the store and therefore no further action can be taken."

Mr Frost said:  "It’s totally over the top what they’ve done."

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: "We do not tolerate abuse or threatening behaviour towards our colleagues and are in touch with Garry to explain this."

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