Crackers Request From M & S

An elderly couple was asked to hand over personal details for buying a box of M & S crackers because of "the gunpowder inside."

15:32 18 October 2015

An elderly couple were surprised after they were asked for personal details after buying a box of crackers at a branch of Marks & Spencer because of “the gunpowder inside.” Great-grandparents Bert and Ivy Francis were asked at the till to give both their names and address.

 

Ivy, 82, said: “I think they must have thought my hubby was Guy Fawkes or something. It was all very strange.”

 

Bert, 83, a retired pharmaceutical engineer, said: “On the outside of the box, it did not say anything about indoor fireworks or anything like that. It just said they contained novelties.

 

“But the young girl at the till had something come up on her screen at the till.

 

"She said: ‘I have got to take your name and address for security reasons.’

 

“She then called over a colleague, a more experienced older woman, who looked at the screen and said: ‘Oh yes. You had better ask for their name and address.’

 

“I thought: ‘That is unusual for crackers.’ The wife wanted to take it further and later told a local newspaper about it.”

 

Meanwhile, a Marks & Spencer spokesman confirmed that the incident was a result of a technical error.

 

“It was an error on the store till which prompted an unnecessary request for address information. It has since been fixed and we apologise to the customer.”

 

Ivy said: “We aren’t too bothered by it all, we just thought it was strange.

 

“They look like good crackers anyway. We will enjoy them on Christmas Day with a little smile.”