Customer with a conscience goes global

Maxwell Kusi Obodum • Published 11 Dec 2009 13:00 1 Comment

READING'S oldest department store has made headlines worldwide after The Chronicle reported how a customer settled a 38-year-old bill.

Last week we exclusively revealed how Brian Carter, managing director at Jackson's in King's Road, had received a phone call from pensioner Sylvia Blampey admitting she was undercharged for three blankets in February 1971.

Since then local and national newspapers - including the Daily Mail, Telegraph and The Times - have followed up the story, plus magazine Australian Women's Weekly and ITV News. Mrs Blampey, 77, from Paignton in Devon, had bought the blankets shortly after Decimalisation Day when old fashioned pounds shillings and pence were converted into metric.

She realised the shop assistant had made a £6 mistake in her calculations but only owned up on Wednesday November 25 of this year. She added on inflation and paid £20, which Mr Carter donated to charity.

Store clerk Susan Keel said: "It has generated a terrific amount of interest - I've even had a call from a French newspaper."

She added: "Everybody's come in and said they've seen it on the television and in the newspapers, even customers who remember coming in here for their school uniforms." Mrs Blampey, who watched herself on the ITV News bulletin on a neighbour's television because she has lost the remote control to her own set, said she was "embarrassed" by the publicity, but added: "It's amazing and slightly ridiculous as it's such a trivial thing."

The former milk maid and cleaner, who used to live in Shinfield, was filmed knitting a blue jumper to send to children in Moldova. She added: "I have been thinking back to what I have done wrong and it's given me peace of mind. It would be nice if everyone had the chance to put things right. People would be much happier."

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  localgirl
  Unregistered User
  Dec 11, 18:46
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  totally irrelevant to the story, but what is the world coming to when you can't work a TV because you've lost the remote control???
  
  Recommend?   Yes 0     No 0

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