M&S shopper 'grabbed' by police and accused of theft after trying to return Christmas presents
12.01.2024 - 12:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A woman was left "horrified" after being grabbed by police and accused of theft when trying to return presents at an M&S store.
Roxana Shirazi says the 'mistake' saw her being confronted by a number of officers in the middle of a busy street. The journalist and author from Bristol visited her local Marks & Spencer branch in Cribbs CAuseway on Satuday, January 8.
She was there to help her friend Roy, 93, return Christmas presents he received from his family. He was hoping to get either a voucher or exchange for a cardigan and jacket.
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She said: "He just wanted to exchange the gifts - which had tags on - but did not have a receipt, as he was embarrassed and didn't want his family to know. So I walked in with a bag filled with his things, went to the cashier and explained the situation.
"She scanned them and told me the items had never been purchased as there had 'never been a purchase history'. It was very odd, they had definitely paid for the items so I said they had certainly been purchased, but that was all she would say."
Roxana was left confused so she decided to walk away in order to give them items back to Roy. However, before she could leave the store, she said she was "grabbed" by a security guard who accused her of stealing the items.
"I told him to look at the CCTV which showed me walking into the store with the bag of items," she said. "He said to me I had stolen them before and brought them back into the store to get money for them.
"I was shocked and said they aren't mine they are a 93-year-old man's. I tried to explain the situation but he said it was theft and was going to call the police."
She added: "It was so