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Great-gran, 79, banned from every branch of Sainsbury's and Argos across UK

Metro Published Jun 29, 2026 Reviewed Jun 30, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors

Rita Seymour was banned from all of Sainsbury’s and Argos’s 1,500 stores across the UK.

1500 stores · Sainsbury’s and Argos locations Rita Seymour, great‑grandmother

Rita Seymour stated she was permanently banned from 1,500 Sainsbury's and Argos stores nationwide.

1500 stores · Sainsbury's and Argos Rita Seymour

Rita Seymour stated she was permanently banned from shopping at every one of the group’s 1,500 stores nationwide.

1500 stores · Sainsbury's and Argos Rita Seymour, great-grandmother

Sainsbury’s and Argos group has 1,500 stores nationwide.

1500 · stores

Mrs Seymour spends between £80 and £100 on groceries at her local superstore.

at least 80 £ · groceriesat most 100 £ · groceries

Mrs Seymour now has to walk 30 minutes to Tesco.

30 minutes · walk

Mrs Seymour spends between £80 and £100 on groceries each visit to her local Sainsbury’s store.

at least 80 GBP · grocery spendat most 100 GBP · grocery spend

After the ban, Mrs Seymour must walk about 30 minutes to the nearest Tesco.

30 minutes · walk duration

A great-grandmother has been barred from every Sainsbury’s and Argos store in the UK after behaving ‘inappropriately’ towards staff.

Rita Seymour said she was accused by shopkeepers of ‘pinching’ items before being permanently banned from shopping at every one of the group’s 1,500 stores nationwide.

The 79-year-old from Hook, Hampshire, allegedly abused staff on multiple occasions, including during an altercation while she was buying a EuroMillions ticket.

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.

The grandmother-of-four and great-grandmother-of-two admitted to having knocked a body-worn camera out of the shopkeeper’s hand as she tried to activate it.

The following day she was given a letter saying her invitation to shop at Sainsbury’s and Argos stores as well as use their car parks and petrol stations had been ‘permanently withdrawn’.

The decision means Mrs Seymour can no longer use her local superstore in Hook, where she spends between £80 and £100 on groceries.

She now faces a 30-minute walk to Tesco instead.

However the pensioner, who previously worked in customer service, denied she was a ‘troublemaker’ and said the ban had left her ‘dumbfounded’.

Mrs Seymour also denied being involved in any other altercations with staff in the store.

She said: ‘It’s really upset me, I’ve done nothing wrong.

‘I have been so dumbfounded. I was shaking when I left there; I could have cried’, she added.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: ‘We want everyone to feel welcome when they shop with us and our colleagues work hard to create a positive in store experience.

‘We 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’s right to shop at our Hook store.

‘This action was not taken lightly, but the safety and wellbeing of colleagues and customers always come first.’

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