Disabled campaigner takes on M&S over ‘discrimination' at York store

Yahoo

9 hours ago

A disabled campaigner from York has taken on Marks and Spencer after alleging she was discriminated against at a city store – and won.
Flick Williams, a visually impaired wheelchair user, described the case as a 'David and Goliath fight' which showed 'disabled people don't have to just sit back and accept discrimination'.
An M&S spokesperson told The Press it is 'committed to making our stores accessible to all our customers' and is 'grateful for Ms Williams' engagement on how we can continue to improve accessibility in store'.
Ms Williams' legal action against the supermarket giant followed a visit to the M&S food hall at the Vangarde Centre last June.
She said she had arrived at the store to shop for herself and her 91-year-old mother but found a refurbishment had resulted in the chiller cabinets becoming enclosed and behind closed doors.
The chiller cabinets at the M&S food hall at the Vangarde Centre in York in June 2024 (Image: Flick Williams) The change, she said, meant it was 'impossible' for her to pull the door open and reach into the cabinets while in her wheelchair.
'I could not even find the items I wanted because the doors were misted up,' she said.
'And then trying to open the doors proved impossible as I couldn't manoeuvre my wheelchair, pull the door and reach in all at the same time. I ran out of arms!'
Ms Williams said she tried to locate a member of staff to assist, then found that the store's customer service desk had been removed during the refurbishment.
'I was frustrated that there was nobody available to help me, so I left the store without being able to make a purchase,' she said.
Ms Williams said M&S told her the new cabinets had been introduced to make them more energy efficient.
She said the company had also suggested she phone the M&S store in advance of her next shopping trip to ensure there would be a member of staff to help her.
But the disability rights campaigner said she 'couldn't accept that'.
'Non-disabled people aren't expected to telephone in advance of going shopping which makes it discriminatory.
'The failure on the part of this food retailing giant was not to properly consider the needs of all their customers in their plans.'
Flick Williams outside the M&S food hall at the Vangarde Centre in York (Image: Flick Williams) Ms Williams took legal action against M&S under the Equality Act 2010, which she said has now been settled out of court.
She said the Vangarde Centre store has now made 'significant improvements' by lowering the handles on chiller doors and treating the doors to prevent them misting up.
M&S also gave assurances that staff would be available to assist customers, she said.
Ms Williams shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter) at the time and it received 11,000 likes and more than 300 replies.
'I was overwhelmed by the response,' she said, adding that the replies showed 'this was an issue affecting many people's ability to shop independently as they always had done. And that strengthened my resolve to seek legal redress.'
'We can and will challenge unfair practices,' says campaigner
She continued: 'It was a David and Goliath fight that shows disabled people don't have to just sit back and accept discrimination, we can and will challenge unfair practices.
'I'm delighted that the changes to the store resulting from my case have removed some of the barriers that made it unreasonably difficult for many to shop there.'
The M&S spokesperson said: 'We are committed to making our stores accessible to all our customers, and work with AccessAble to help us do that with access guides covering inside and outside our stores.
'We always strive to ensure colleagues are on hand to help every customer and we always take customer feedback on board.
'We're grateful for Ms Williams' engagement on how we can continue to improve accessibility in store.'