![\"Rita](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_303226610-a975.jpg\")
\n\t\tRita Seymour, 79, has been banned from Sainsbury\u2019s stores for allegedly being rude to staff (Picture: Tony Kersha \/SWNS)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tRita Seymour, 79, has been banned from Sainsbury\u2019s stores for allegedly being rude to staff (Picture: Tony Kersha \/SWNS)<\/p>\n
A great-grandmother has been barred from every Sainsbury\u2019s<\/a> and Argos store in the UK after behaving \u2018inappropriately\u2019 towards staff.<\/p>\n Rita Seymour said she was accused by shopkeepers of \u2018pinching\u2019 items before being permanently banned from shopping at every one of the group\u2019s 1,500 stores nationwide.<\/p>\n The 79-year-old from Hook, Hampshire<\/a>, allegedly abused staff on multiple occasions, including during an altercation while she was buying a EuroMillions<\/a> ticket.<\/p>\n Mrs Seymour had asked several times to buy lottery tickets after completing her food shopping when a staff member told her colleague on her headset she had been rude to her.<\/p>\n The grandmother-of-four and great-grandmother-of-two admitted to having knocked a body-worn camera out of the shopkeeper\u2019s hand as she tried to activate it.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n The following day she was given a letter saying her invitation to shop at Sainsbury\u2019s and Argos stores as well as use their car parks and petrol<\/a> stations had been \u2018permanently withdrawn\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t The decision means Mrs Seymour can no longer use her local superstore in Hook, where she spends between \u00a380 and \u00a3100 on groceries.<\/p>\n She now faces a 30-minute walk to Tesco<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n However the pensioner, who previously worked in customer service, denied she was a \u2018troublemaker\u2019 and said the ban had left her \u2018dumbfounded\u2019.<\/p>\n Mrs Seymour also denied being involved in any other altercations with staff in the store.<\/p>\n She said: \u2018It\u2019s really upset me, I\u2019ve done nothing wrong.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s a horrible thing to feel inside, I can\u2019t go in there anymore. It\u2019s like being a criminal.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I have been so dumbfounded. I was shaking when I left there; I could have cried\u2019, she added.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018They have knocked my confidence, I felt like hiding away, I didn\u2019t know who to turn to make it right.\u2019<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Sainsbury\u2019s said: \u2018We want everyone to feel welcome when they shop with us and our colleagues work<\/a> hard to create a positive in store experience.<\/p>\n \u2018We take any form of abusive and inappropriate behaviour seriously, and following a number of incidents over time, a decision was taken to withdraw this individual\u2019s right to shop at our Hook store.<\/p>\n \u2018This action was not taken lightly, but the safety and wellbeing of colleagues and customers always come first.\u2019<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"General](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_303226729-1082.jpg\")
\n\t\tMrs Seymour was told she had been permanently barred from Sainsbury\u2019s following an incident at her local superstore in Hook, Hampshire (Picture: Tony Kershaw \/ SWNS)<\/p>\n![\"Pictured:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_302518659-eedf.jpg\")
\n\t\tMrs Seymour said the ban had left her \u2018dumbfounded\u2019 and denied she was a \u2018troublemaker\u2019 (Picture: Basingstoke Gazette\/Solent News)<\/p>\n
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