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GRRRR :x
Was really upset and outraged yesterday after I was told after stepping into the entry of a store that I was not allowed in with a pram.
I dont want to go into all the details as ill just get angry all over again.
Basically tho just wondering if there is anything i can do legally to kick up a fuss that this is discrimination and that they cant just refuse entry to people with prams (they say because it was too busy and the prams get in the way) what if i had been in a wheelchair, would they have said the same?!
I was really offended and told them how rude i thought it was (the store chick was so rude in just the manner she spoke to me aswell with a coffee in her hand no less!!)
I had just wanted to nip in quick to get something for MILfor mothers day and the pram was right out of the way grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr anyway,
just wanting some advice maybe from legal eagle lizzie or anyone else who might know if there is somewhere official i can ask if they are breaking any human rights laws by doing this....??
Thanks
xxx
I dont want to go into all the details as ill just get angry all over again.
Basically tho just wondering if there is anything i can do legally to kick up a fuss that this is discrimination and that they cant just refuse entry to people with prams (they say because it was too busy and the prams get in the way) what if i had been in a wheelchair, would they have said the same?!
I was really offended and told them how rude i thought it was (the store chick was so rude in just the manner she spoke to me aswell with a coffee in her hand no less!!)
I had just wanted to nip in quick to get something for MILfor mothers day and the pram was right out of the way grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr anyway,
just wanting some advice maybe from legal eagle lizzie or anyone else who might know if there is somewhere official i can ask if they are breaking any human rights laws by doing this....??
Thanks
xxx
0
Replies
so rude
I think you would be better off writing to the store from the point of view of a regular customer, an unreasonable attitude taken by the woman in the shop in the circumstances and no notification advising pushchairs not allowed on the premises when busy.
There have been quite a few situations where mothers have made it into the media over pushchair bans in cafes and shops...google discrimination pushchairs and you can read about some of them.
I suspect that on the basis of health & safety v Human Rights, you don't have a strong legal position. This is not at all my area of expertise but as I understand it in the UK, human rights 'laws' are not automatically binding. They are a lower 'class' of law, if you like. They can also be subject to other binding law such as that ion health and safety. This would be why I would suspect that this practice is allowed to continue because someone somewhere must have brought a case and lost.
Although if you feel really strongly about it, you could seek out independent legal advice.
It seems that you feel the purported health and safety rationale was unreasonable. This may be the case or maybe because the woman was such an ass, she was unable to reasonably explain to you what was behind it. It sounds like there is more to it than what you have posted though so it is hard to say more, really.
HOWEVER..in order to vent your anger, I would write to the store management. I would take a really reasonable tone and angle it from the POV that you don't feel this matter was handled in at all a professional manner. I would say that you understand that there are circumstances where pushchairs might not be allowed in the store due to h&s reasons but:
-you felt that you were treated very rudely by one of their employees and that you were made to feel a nuisance when you queried the position
-you feel that as an organisation they could have done more to make mothers aware that at certain times, pushchairs will not be allowed in the store. By doing this, you would be forewarned and could CHOOSE not to shop there rather than being put in an embarrassing and uncomfortable position, feeling like some sort of criminal once you had already physically entered the store. Some sort of general notice in the window or someone standing at the door could have prevented this situation. They don't want to put a notice in the window and leave it there because they will lose general custom from mums who don't agree with this policy but ibn my opinion, it is a policy or it isn't. They have a duty to make customers aware of these policies that may affect them, I think.
Is it a chain? If it is, then write to their head office complaints. If it is a small one off shop, write to theowner or senior manager. I hope this woman wasn't the owner...
If you think it is a one man band and writing to her won't help, I would just get the name of the shop around everyone you know. Equally, if you do write and don't get a satisfactory response, then do the same.
You can of course approach a local newspaper as they may be interested in the story. These stories are quite high interest and v topical, I think, as there is an argument that children who are unable to walk should be treated similarly to disabled people and so the discrimination laws relating to disablility should apply to non-walking children. The shop-owners etc say that they're not PREVENTING you from entering store with your son, they're asking you merely to leave your pushchair outside but I bet this place wasn't offering security for it while you shopped?Also, it is not really practical to carry a boddler around and shop at the same time. Some places ask that pushchairs are left outside but they have like a sheltered area and in some ways, I think this is fair if the shop is very small. HOWEVER, it makes it near impossible for mum to shop comfortably if she has to carry a boddler at the same time...cafes can get away with this better as they offer a highchair instead. Shops can't really offer this.
Sorry, not very helpful but I SO feel your pain on a personal level. I'd be well fuming if that was me. A cafe in Auckland made news about a year or so ago over something similar. Mum told me all about it. It was very newsworthy.
[Modified by: Lizzie77 on March 16, 2010 01:02 PM]
And why do some stores, baby clothing stores at that, insist on making their aisles so tight that you can barely get a flipping pushchair in them, grr?!
Pants laws over here by the sound of things too Lizzie!
Write, write, write Jess!!
Just such a shame as i will never shop there now and they do have some nice stuff in there... oh well.
In comparison went into the shop next door with my sil and neices and we all bought a few things and we got some free fabric carrier bags with their logo on, and they were lovely, such a difference!!
It would be nice if there was something written tho that i could take to them to say if i wasnt oh's wife i would be taking this a lot further and youd be getting a load of bad publicity, will have a look on google for those articles you mentioned!
xx