Home Bargains
Home Bargains has been named in 2 documented digital harm incidents. The most common harm domain is Algorithmic Discrimination, followed by Privacy & Surveillance.
Documented Incidents
2Woman ejected from Home Bargains stores after facial recognition misidentification, leading to false shoplifting accusation
A woman was mistakenly accused of shoplifting after a facial recognition system wrongly flagged her as a thief, leading to her being ejected from two Home Bargains stores in Greater Manchester in May and June. Danielle Horan was escorted out of the stores without an initial explanation and later discovered her image had been added to a facial recognition watchlist falsely alleging she stole about £10 worth of items. The retail security firm Facewatch acknowledged the distress caused and stated a review found the items had been paid for. Horan described the experience as stressful and anxiety-inducing, with her bank account confirming she had paid for the items. Facewatch suspended the involved Home Bargains branches from using its system following the incident. Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch reported over 35 similar cases of individuals wrongly flagged by facial recognition systems.
London woman added to facial recognition watchlist after 39p dispute at Home Bargains store leading to ICO complaint
A London woman was placed on a facial recognition watchlist at a Home Bargains store after a dispute over 39p worth of paracetamol. The incident occurred at a store in Grove Farm retail park in Chadwell Heath. She discovered she was on the list when staff asked her to leave and pointed her to a Facewatch sign on 30 May. Facewatch is a facial recognition system used by retailers to identify and deter shoplifters by comparing faces against a database of known offenders. The woman, who claims she did not steal the paracetamol, has filed a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, arguing that the use of her biometric data was not in the substantial public interest. The incident has left her anxious about shopping alone and has raised concerns about the lack of due process in how individuals are added to biometric watchlists.