Shoppers who fail to follow a new rule at the budget supermarket will be refused service, Aldi has said. Sign up to our email newsletter for daily updates on what's happening in and around Birmingham We have more newsletters Sign up to our email newsletter for daily updates on what's happening in and around Birmingham We have more newsletters Aldi will eject shoppers who refuse to bow to a new rule. Shoppers who fail to follow a new rule at the budget supermarket will be refused service, Aldi has said. Aldi customers are having bags searched amid a rise in shoplifting. A staff member has spoken out, telling magazine The Grocer: "We are asking that they allow us to look in the bags to see if they are empty. We have been asking to look in the bags to make sure none of our items are in there." Those who do not comply with the bag checks will be refused the sale, the employee said. In a post on a Aldi
Facebook Group, one worker said: "New policy at Aldi, all empty shopping bags must be on the belt plus all shopping." They also noted that the policy "came in force” last week. READ MORE Gogglebox star Izzi Warner 'devastated and heartbroken' and says 'for everyone wondering' Aldi - which has a growning market share - says the rule isn't UK-wide. Instead, the budget supermarket - which is rivalled by the likes of Lidl , Iceland and more - says it's down to each individual branch. Aldi is also rivalled by the likes of Sainsbury's and Morrisons and Asda , as well as Tesco . An Aldi spokesperson said the bag check policy has been introduced into "some stores" as a short-term measure. Shoplifting rose by 22 per cent in the year to September 2022 in
England and Wales, according to the ONS. Meanwhile, the
British Retail Consortium estimated that there were 8million ‘theft incidents’ in British shops last year. The rule has not gone down well among shoppers. Chloe tweeted: "Do not shop in Aldi! The staff make you feel like shop lifters and say there's a new policy where they have to check bags when you've shopped in another shop! @AldiUK this is disgusting and not right." "In Aldi today and a woman refused to allow them to check her bag," Brett said, adding: "Started ranting about them not having the authority to look in her bag. Was told it's a condition of entry and was refused service. She left without the lollies she wanted."