23 February 2023 , 10:13
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A Primark shopper says he was 'humiliated and embarrassed' after claiming he had to strip down to his boxers on the shop floor.
Craig Heilbronn went to the retailer in Hanley after noticing his jeans had ripped, exposing his pants.
He selected a new pair and tried them on in the dressing room.
Motor trader Craig claims he asked a shop assistant if he could keep the trousers on and take the tag to the till to pay.
But when he reached the cashier, Craig says he was told Primark's policy was for labels to be attached to clothes before they can be sold.
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It was at this point the 47-year-old claims he had to take the new trousers off.
While Primark has apologised to Craig for the 'misunderstanding', they deny the shop worker explicitly asked him to remove the trousers.
He needed new jeans (Stoke Sentinel / BPM Media)Craig told Stoke on Trent Live: “I went into the changing rooms, I put them on and spoke to the lady. I explained about my trousers and showed her.
"I said ‘can I keep them on and take them over to the till?’ She said ‘No problem, just take the tag over with you.’
“I had the tag in my hand. I passed it to the cashier, she said ‘What is this?’ I said ‘It’s the tag off these trousers, I ripped all my jeans, so, I had to put them on. The lady over there said it was OK’.
“She said ‘No it isn’t.’ She explained ‘It’s our policy, we need the label to be on the item before we sell it.’ I said to her ‘What do I do? Do I take them off?’ She said ‘Well I need them'.”
Craig says he took the new pair of trousers off, with the shop floor as an audience.
He added: “I took them off in front of everybody. There was loads of people.
Primark in Hanley (Pete Stonier / Stoke Sentinel)"There was a few people laughing. Some people were recording, I could see the recording light on. I was embarrassed and upset."
Craig says he left the shop without buying the trousers and went straight home to Ashbourne. He has since lodged a complaint with Primark.
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He added: “They made me feel that humiliated. They should have used their common sense and used a bit of discretion.
"It made a situation I was already embarrassed about even worse.”
A Primark spokesman said: "We're sorry for any misunderstanding that occurred in the store.
"We do require an item and its tag to be presented together at the till point, but would not expect someone to change in the queue.”