A London estate agent tried to sue Lidl over “a ruined Sunday morning” after the store allegedly caused his mince to spoil by opening an hour late on a hot day.
David Benson, 65, and his wife were left waiting outside the Edgware Lidl branch for an hour due to incorrect times stated on the shop’s website.
The couple, from Stanmore, had arrived there after a trip to the butchers in June last year to find a sign stuck to the door informing customers the shop would not open until 11am.
But while Mr Benson waited for the store to open, he placed the bag of meat in his car. He said the mince then became spoiled due to the warm weather and had to be binned.
He told the Standard: “A handwritten, crude note on the door said the shop would not open until 11am.
“A whole crowd of people built up outside waiting for the store to open.”
A frustrated Mr Benson decided to lodge a complaint with the supermarket’s customer services team.
“They offered me a £5 voucher, which was an insult to two people’s ruined Sunday morning,” he added.
“And for several weeks afterwards, they were still publishing the opening time on the site as 11.”
The dissatisfied customer then wrote further letters to Lidl’s CEO asking for £50 worth of vouchers and a refund for the £12.58 cost of the meat.
Mr Benson said: “I sent the same letter twice but received no response. The only way I could reach them was calling them into court. My letter was politely written.
“I felt the £5 voucher did not take into account our ruined frame of mind.”
The small claims case for the “loss of meat” was due to be heard at Watford County Court on February 18.
Mr Benson said he has since cancelled the claim after receiving a letter from the judge informing him he was unlikely to succeed.
A Lidl spokesperson said: "The Sunday opening times of our Edgware store changed from 10am to 11am on Sunday 7th June 2015.
"The complaint in question was investigated as soon as our customer service team were made aware, and the customer was offered a voucher as a gesture of goodwill.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the changeover."
