A man said he was "living off scraps" after a Sainsbury's delivery driver refused to give him his food order.
William Wilford was left stunned on his doorstep when he was told he needed to show ID before he could receive his food delivery. The 37-year-old, who suffers from cystic fibrosis and diabetes, said he only has a birth certificate.
He told the driver he was "relying" on the £68.65 shop, as it had cost him the last of his cash and had forced him to live on leftovers as he eagerly waited the order's delivery. Although the supermarket later provided a refund, William was warned it could take days to process, leaving him facing a "dangerous" position of being both out of food and out of pocket.
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William, who lives on his own and receives benefits due to his health issues, said he used the Sainsbury's app to purchase his 47-item food order, completing it without any issues and describing it as "relatively straightforward." Some of the other items he ordered included spaghetti, Quorn chicken fillets and chicken-free slices, along with numerous vegetables.
Describing his food situation before the order's arrival, William, from Middlesborough, explained: "On the morning of my expected food delivery, I had used the last of my milk and bread for breakfast - my delivery wasn’t due till 9pm to 10pm that evening.
"Lunch was a meal containing leftover veg that I tossed in a pan with some pasta. It wasn’t particularly good, but I knew I had my food delivery coming on the night, so I was willing to wait to have something decent to eat before going to bed.
"On the day of delivery, the guy placed [the trays] at my door and asked for a photo ID for proof of age. I was like, there's no age-restricted items in there, no alcohol, no cigarettes or anything. He said it was policy and that he needs proof of photo ID."
To add insult to injury, William discovered when phoning Sainsbury's that the next two days delivery slots were full. He told Teesside Live : "They said they couldn't make any compromise even though I explained to them, again, about my health. They said the best thing for them to do was to give a full refund, which I was fine with.
"I thought it meant I'd get the full refund straight away and I'd be able to go shop somewhere else. I then received an email the next morning saying it would take three to five days to process my refund, which meant I was out of food and pretty much just living on scraps for a couple of days."
William said the refund has now been credited to his bank account. He explained how he doesn't want to get anyone in trouble with the situation but instead just wants to be "treated fairly, like everyone else."
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said that they are investigating the case further. They said it is standard policy is to only deliver to those aged 18 and over, but that if customers look under 25, drivers can ask for ID. A statement read: "We are reaching out to Mr Wilford to apologise for his experience and to arrange a gesture of goodwill."
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