Lidl shoppers furious over new checkout rule which 'doesn’t make sense'

James Rodger
·2-min read
Lidl, which is rivalled by the likes of Aldi, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and more, is making huge changes to its self-checkouts including adding security measures and increasing the number of card only counters.
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Lidl shoppers have been left furious over a big change to checkouts. Lidl, which is rivalled by the likes of Aldi, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and more, is making huge changes to its self-checkouts including adding security measures and increasing the number of card only counters.

New security measures have been introduced at some UK stores, including a one-way barrier at the exit. Customers must scan a barcode on their receipt at the self-checkout before they can leave the store and signs above the checkouts warn customers to keep their receipt to operate the exit gates.

A large sign at the entrance to the self-checkouts warns: “Self-checkouts are card only. You can still use cash at the till.” But in reply, shoppers and customers have hit out at the shake-up to the German retailer and budget supermarket giant's move.

READ MORE:BBC Weather issues verdict over 'wall of snow' hammering UK before end of November

READ MORE:Drivers escaping speeding fines arriving in post thanks to little-known rule

READ MORE UK faces -7C snow with 'all' of country at risk and 'nowhere spared'

One said: “My local Lidl have just installed electric gates to leave! You gotta scan your receipt to open gate & exit. Nicking must be off the scale.” Another added: “How you want me to scan my receipt to exit when one my hand is busy with a walking stick and another is holding a bag?

“And the option ‘digital receipts only’ doesn’t make sense anymore as it gets added after a while (and has never actually worked).” In response to the fury and the complaints, a social media spokesperson for Lidl replied: “High there, our team are more than happy to assist if you’re struggling with scanning your receipt in store.”

A Lidl spokesperson said: "We are making some enhancements to a selection of our stores, which includes optimising our self-checkout area to improve the overall customer experience in stores where there is a preference for self-checkouts."

Another customer fumed: “Used the self service, paid, barrier stays locked as I leave, alarm goes off. Mestiza shop assistant asks me if I have a receipt, which I did. Turns out you now need to scan one to leave the shop… God I love living in such a low trust society now.”

Latest stories

  • Petrol car rationing sends sales to record low

    Petrol car sales in Britain have plunged to an all-time low as manufacturers ration supplies to hit tough electric vehicle (EV) targets.

  • Half of firms to slash jobs and raise prices after Budget

    More than half of British businesses expect to put up prices and cut jobs to cope with the costs of Rachel Reeves’s National Insurance raid.

  • Electric car brands offer £11,000 discounts in sales scramble

    Car makers are discounting electric vehicle (EV) prices by an average of £11,000 per car to boost sales, amid warnings that demand from private buyers remains weaker than expected.

  • Legal & General shares rise 4% on capital return plan

    Legal & General shares rose 4% on Wednesday after the British life insurer said it was planning to return capital to shareholders and was on track to meet its financial targets. Legal & General anticipates returning a proportion of capital from its institutional retirement business to shareholders, it said in a trading statement ahead of an investor presentation for the unit. This capital return would form part of the board's wider consideration of its capacity for buybacks, which would be set out at its full-year results in March 2025, the insurer said.

  • Analysis-Indian steel mills feel crunch from cheap Chinese imports

    India's construction boom with its gleaming highrises and multilane highways was supposed to drive up domestic steel sales, but Jogindra Group's mills in northern Punjab state are filled with unsold inventory. A flood of cheap Chinese steel has pushed India's smaller mills to scale down operations and consider job cuts, as the South Asian nation joins a growing list of countries contemplating action to stem imports. India, the world's second-largest steel maker, turned into a net importer in the last fiscal year, sounding alarms in New Delhi about what a weakened sector portends for the security of future infrastructure projects and steel-reliant industries.

  • Vietnam court upholds death sentence for tycoon Truong My Lan

    STORY: A court in Vietnam upheld a death sentence for real estate tycoon Truong My Lan on Tuesday (December 3).Lan was sentenced to death in April for her role in what was Vietnam's biggest financial fraud case on record.She had appealed against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery in the high-profile $12.5 billion case.But the High People's Court determined there was no basis to reduce Lan's death sentence, according to a Vietnamese online newspaper.The media report also said it is possible the sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment if Lan can return three-quarters of the money embezzled while on death row.The case is part of a years-long crackdown on corruption in a campaign locally known as “Blazing Furnace.”Lan, who was the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, still has the right to request a review under Vietnam's cassation or retrial procedures.Her arrest in 2022 sparked a run on Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank which was at the center of the fraud and largely owned by Lan through her proxies.Apart from the death sentence, Lan was handed a life sentence at a separate trial in October.She was found guilty of obtaining property by fraud, money laundering and illegal cross-border money transfers.

  • DS Smith flags persisting weak demand after H1 profit fall

    However the company, which has agreed to a $7.20 billion all-share takeover by U.S. rival International Paper, forecast continued modest growth in packaging volumes and said it would raise prices to offset higher input costs. Paper and packaging firms are consolidating as the sector slowly recovers from a drop in demand as customers reduced stocks following a boom in packaging sales during the pandemic. London-listed DS Smith, which provides packaging, paper and recycling services to companies including Amazon and Unilever, noted weak packaging prices and higher input costs, notably for fibre and paper, during the first half of its financial year to the end of October.

  • The lawyers who took on Tesla and Elon Musk wanted $5.6 billion for winning the case. In a lawsuit about excessive pay, ‘That was a bold ask,’ said the judge.

    The fee would have been 17 times the size of the largest fee in Delaware history.

  • Exclusive-Rising costs squeeze intermediaries out of thriving Russian oil trade with India

    Three trading houses have become dominant sellers of Russian oil to India as many smaller players dropped out of the business due to high funding costs in Russia and lack of access to Western funds, according to data and six trading sources. The change reverses a trend of dozens of little-known trading firms flooding the market for oil trade between Russia and key buyers China, India and Turkey, lured by prospects of higher fees to help Russian producers skirt Western sanctions. India has become the biggest buyer of Russia's seaborne crude after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with purchases near record highs at 1.8 million to 2.0 million barrels per day, or more than a third of its crude imports.

  • Dan Murphy’s stock shortages hit NSW and Victoria as Woolworths industrial action continues

    More than 1,500 warehouse staff have walked off the job seeking better pay and conditions, including at least $38 an hour

  • Shell and Equinor tie-up to create new UK oil and gas producer

    Shell said no jobs will be lost but that the deal was in recognition that the North Sea is ‘no longer the prolific basin that it once was’.

  • German government approves strategy aimed at bolstering defence industry

    The German government approved on Wednesday a defence industry strategy that aims to make it easier for companies to ramp up capacity and to accelerate weapons production, with an eye to the current security situation and the war raging in Ukraine. "The current threat situation requires that we promote key technologies in Germany," said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in a joint statement with Economy Minister Robert Habeck. Both ministers are set to meet with top representatives from the German defence industry on Thursday in Berlin to discuss the strategy, though no decisions are expected from those talks, according to several sources familiar with the plans.

  • Small North Carolina town sues energy ‘Goliath’ in historic climate action

    Carrboro officials say Duke Energy broke state laws waging decades-long ‘deception campaign’ about fossil fuels

  • Deutsche Bank CEO says German economy needs 'urgent' action

    LONDON (Reuters) -Germany's struggling economy needs urgent action to boost its competitiveness, Deutsche Bank's CEO said on Wednesday as he called for structural reforms, less regulation and lower taxes on companies. "Germany needs to adjust its business model," Christian Sewing told the FT Global Banking Summit in London. "It is urgent we take action," he said, flagging the likelihood of further job losses in Germany's auto industry and adding that February's snap election could provide the opportunity for a reset.

  • UK's electric vehicle market is doing better than you might think

    To listen to UK car manufacturers in recent weeks has been to hear a counsel of despair over the electric vehicle market. Struggling to hit targets imposed amid mixed messages from the last government, they have lobbied the new one to relax the rules. With the target rising to 28% next year, and fines of £15,000 for every vehicle by which they fall short, they say consumers need help, in the form of grants or tax breaks, to swallow their reservations about plugging in.

  • Hong Kong needs to nurture insurance talent to rival Singapore and Dubai, CEOs say

    Hong Kong must grow and nurture its pool of talent in the insurance industry to compete with other financial centres like Singapore and Dubai as businesses become increasingly digitalised, executives said. Edward Moncreiffe, the CEO of global insurance at HSBC, said the city should focus on improving its physical and digital infrastructure, regulation and language skills if it wants to remain a global financial centre. This will ensure people with good services can come in and do business in Hon

  • Is BP’s 6.7% dividend yield good value after the recent share price fall?

    Despite the fluctuating oil price and BP's volatile shares, City analysts predict strong ongoing annual dividend payments ahead. The post Is BP’s 6.7% dividend yield good value after the recent share price fall? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

  • Tesco offers full refund to customers as chicken product poses 'risk to health'

    Tesco is recalling one of its chicken products due to a “risk to health”, offering customers a full refund

  • Tesla's Cybertruck workers are on a 3-day furlough: What to know

    Tesla (TSLA) workers have begun a three-day furlough, signaling a demand slowdown for its Cybertruck. Yahoo Finance Autos Reporter Pras Subramanian joins Market Domination Hosts Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton to outline the news and what it signals about Tesla's Cybertruck supply. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • Vodafone’s £15 Billion Deal Opens Door to European Consolidation

    (Bloomberg) -- Vodafone Group Plc won approval for a deal to create the UK’s biggest mobile phone company in a major milestone for European telecommunications operators, opening the door for a potential wave of consolidation that would allow the industry to rebuild.Most Read from BloombergAs Wars Rage, Cities Face a Dark New Era of Urban DestructionKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitRiyadh Metro Partially Opens in Bid to Ease City’s Traffic JamsVodafone bosses had c