Furious readers help get justice for the man Waitrose labelled ‘shoplifter’

Chrisopher Seddon, the 60-year-old author featured in Guardian Money last week after being falsely accused of shoplifting, has been paid a substantial sum following an outcry by readers furious at his treatment at the hands of supermarket group Waitrose.

Last week we related how Seddon was accused of stealing £102-worth of meat by a security guard at Waitrose’s Chesham branch. He was grabbed by the police, handcuffed and accused of taking the meat 17 days earlier. The guard had downloaded a shot of the alleged thief from the store’s CCTV feed.

At the time of the arrest the security guard thrust the photo of the thief in Seddon’s face, and screamed: “Do you deny this is you?”

Seddon, who was at home in north London at the time of the alleged theft, spent £9,600 on legal fees and expert reports which showed he could not have been the thief. The case was dropped the day before it was due to be heard on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Despite what he called his “scandalous” treatment, Waitrose denied liability and refused to compensate him for his losses. Instead, it offered him a £500 “goodwill payment” because he was a “valued customer”.

More than 1,100 Guardian readers commented online, and many wrote directly to Waitrose chief executive Rob Collins, to say how appallingly they thought the incident had been dealt with.

John Fitton was one reader who contacted Collins directly. He wrote: “I simply wish to state that I felt that the way in which your security guard dealt with the situation is repugnant and the manner in which Waitrose subsequently dealt with Mr Seddon reflects a miserable attitude to one of your customers.

“Waitrose customer service is one of the reasons I shop in your stores.

“However, I will no longer use them until I see a story announcing an apology to Mr Seddon for his unfair treatment and a decent offer of compensation.”

This week the company agreed to a payment, thought to be his entire losses. A confidentiality agreement means the details are secret.

A Waitrose spokesman said: “This is a complex situation involving our third-party security provider, Thames Valley Police and Waitrose. Waitrose has discussed Mr Seddon’s concerns with him further. While we believe that Waitrose has no legal obligation in this matter, we are nevertheless very sorry to hear of the distress he has experienced. Therefore, as a gesture of goodwill and with no admission of any liability, we have reached a financial agreement which Mr Seddon has indicated he is happy with.”

Meanwhile Seddon is happy the matter is over.

“Without the Guardian this outcome would not have been possible. I hope that the publicity will serve as a wake-up call to retail businesses and security firms that they cannot allow this sort of thing to happen and then attempt to shirk their responsibilities,” he said.