Aldi mistakes mum for thief and then offers her £5 voucher to say sorry

A mum who was left "embarrassed and humiliated" after Aldi staff mistakenly called her a thief was handed a £5 gift voucher as compensation.

Felisa Sanchez, 43, was banned from the supermarket in Gillingham, Kent, when two staff members said she had been caught on CCTV trying to steal goods.

She said the accusation was made in front of other customers and she was told to leave her groceries behind and leave the premises.

The mum-of-one returned with her partner Chris Harris to complain to the manager and, after also writing to the Aldi chief executive, received an apology.

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But she said the letter of apology and a £5 voucher as a goodwill gesture to spend at any branch was "an insult".

Sanchez said: "It really doesn't cut it. I have been using the shop for years and now I was being accused of shoplifting with no proof.

“I have never been in trouble before. We normally spend about £20 a week, so we'll be stocking up the freezer.

"I'm pleased this has proved I was right all along and they had made a mistake. To call me a thief has had an impact on me.

"I go there because it's cheap, but after that I won't be going back again."

The customer services department, which investigated the matter, subsequently tried to contact her and has now offered her a £100 voucher.

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The store said it was very sorry and even offered a face-to-face apology.

Sanchez received an email last Thursday stating: "The area manager has investigated this incident and we understand that an error was made by the store.

“I am very sorry for this and for any inconvenience this has caused.

"I can also confirm no ban is in place and we really hope you will continue shopping with us.

"Please be assured we take all incidents of this nature extremely seriously and we will take action to ensure this never happens again.

“The area manager will deal with this incident accordingly.”

An Aldi spokesman added: “We have apologised to Ms Sanchez for this misunderstanding and hope to see her at one of our stores in future.”