A disgruntled shopper has complained that a supermarket's handheld plastic shopping baskets keep running out, forcing him to pack, unpack and repack his own bag from home.

Stephen Wilkes said that the lack of the baskets in his local Asda in Carterton has left people wandering the aisles with armfuls of groceries while he has been helping elderly ladies pick up their dropped items.

He said: “There are no baskets for anybody when they go into the store. People are going about carrying items in their arms.

“I am 61 and I’ve already had to pick up shopping for two elderly ladies. I’m bending down, picking up shopping.

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“I’m now taking my own shopping bag, filling it up, emptying it out for the checkout and then putting it all back in again to leave.

"You don't always want a trolley and anyway they're few and far between too. 

“All the other shops in Carterton like Morrison’s, the Factory Shop and Aldi have got plenty of baskets."

Mr Wilkes said he has raised the issue with the manager three times but been told the budget would not stretch to more baskets as there was “so much shoplifting”.

He said: “I keep getting feeble excuses. He said there was so much stealing there was no money for more baskets. He said it they knew who it was and it was recurring. But now they have just got rid of their security guard. I don’t understand it.

“Eventually he said he's ordered another 25 but you'd need 250.

"People are wandering around looking bewildered and this is every day, not just Christmas week.

“If they are supplying a service it needs to be dealt with properly and this has been going on for a very very very long time."

He added: “I rang Asda head office and got a bit agitated on the phone and the man at the other end said, I don’t like your attitude and hung up on me."

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Asda said although it was their busiest period at Christmas and occasionally some of their trollies and baskets do go ‘missing’ due to shoppers taking them home it did know about the problem and would be sending out replacements.

A spokesperson said: "We are aware that there are fewer trolleys and baskets available than normal at our Carterton store. There are more on the way, and we apologise to customers for any inconvenience this may cause.

“In the meantime, residents who see an abandoned trolley can directly report it using the Collex app, so we can arrange for them to be collected and put them to better use."

 

 

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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris

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