Tesco delivery driver leaves note to disabled mum saying "Dear Mr and Mrs I can't be a***d"

Beth Lloyd, 35, who can barely walk due to a debilitating illness, says she was shocked to receive the note at her home in Ashington, West Sussex

Cavendish Press

Mother of three: Beth Lloyd, 35, can barely walk due to a debilitating illness

A disabled mother who ordered a Tesco shop online says she was horrified to receive a note addressed: "Dear Mr and Mrs I Can't Be A***d Going To The Shop.'
Beth Lloyd, 35, who can barely walk due to a debilitating illness, arranged for her £130 shop to be delivered by the supermarket giant one evening.
But when the driver pulled up, she failed to hear him knock on the front door and then did not get to her phone in time as he tried to call.
Minutes later, Beth's son heard the driver push a 'Sorry we missed you' card through the letterbox, prompting her and her husband to unlock the door and apologise to the man.
In response, the driver apparently 'blanked' them before leaving the house.
The next morning, the couple decided to take a closer look at the card to find out what would have happened if they had missed their Tesco shop altogether.

Cavendish Press

'Offensive': The 35-year-old says she was horrified when a Tesco delivery driver left this note to her and her husband

They were stunned to find an offensive remark scrawled in red biro at the top, Beth says.
The handwritten message accused them of not being 'a***d' to go out to the shop.
Today, the mother of three, from Ashington, West Sussex, described her shock at receiving the note, which she said one of her children could have easily picked up.

"Tesco say 'every little helps' but that note was no help at all to me," she said.
"I'm a mix of disappointed and upset at what he said - I still almost think that maybe he did it for a mate as a joke and accidentally posted it through our door but the more I think about it, he didn't try to put any details on it.
"Ordering the shopping is something I can do to feel normal and having a delivery is brilliant because it makes me feel useful - but it seems I'm being judged for ordering the shopping on a computer instead of going to the shop itself.

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Accusation: The message accused Beth (pictured with one of her children) and her spouse of not being 'a***d' to go to the shop

"My husband was really angry, and he's very protective. He knows I'm very harsh upon myself, I always want to be a great mum and he knew straight away I was going to take it personally.
"If it was an old lady or a new mum perhaps with post-natal depression, they would be really hurt - I am really hurt. I don't know his situation but he doesn't know what is around the corner for his family.
"He might have someone that needs to use these services and it gives him a job too. We are the first to be thankful to any driver."

Beth, who has suffered with Crohn's disease for more than 20 years, has no large bowel.
Her pelvic area is also always under attack from infection, which is causing her 'reproductive organs to get involved'.
"I have arthritis as well which comes on from the infections," explained Beth, whose children are aged eight, four and one.

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Furious: "Tesco say 'every little helps' but that note was no help at all to me," said Beth

"My body is always fighting, but we try to keep life normal for the children.
"I have an IV drip in my chest all the time and medication at least three times a day. My husband is trained to change my needle and that means we don't have to have nurses in the house.
"Every three to six months I need to go into hospital to go under anaesthetic for the doctors to check the infections. I constantly have drips in me and stitches too.
"I go for regular MRI scans, CT scans and blood tests and every now and then it will get too much for my body and I will be admitted.

"I'm on a high amount of morphine all the time and I dehydrate very quickly. I go to Worthing Hospital in London for bowel disease so I'm constantly back and forth for appointments because there's so many aspects to my health condition, some which are new so I'm a bit of a mystery.
"But I'm also very stubborn and won't let it beat me. My nurse told me this morning that I need to be in hospital but I don't want to be so we are keeping me stable at home. As long as I'm getting food and fluids down, as soon as I can't keep things in, I have to get admitted."

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Delivery: This photo shows the front of the card that the driver left at the family's house in Ashington, West Sussex

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Sharing her experience: Beth later took to Facebook to warn other customers about her ordeal

Beth says she accidentally ordered the delivery to come between 7 and 8pm, when she and her husband usually get it between 8 and 9pm, so they weren't expecting it.
"We always have a sign on the door, because of my health and because the baby might be asleep, which says try not knocking unless it's urgent, it might take some time for me to answer," she said.
"Drivers have knocked before but gently and we have still heard them.
"My mobile phone began to ring but it stopped by the time I was able to get to it, there was nothing on the landline. Then my son heard the letterbox open and my husband saw the front of the card was from Tesco.
"My husband opened the door and explained the problem with the delivery time, the driver didn't acknowledge the apology or anything. I told him I was really sorry and that it was my fault but he was still blanking us.
"I told him that we didn't need a bad attitude, we made a mistake but they often make many mistakes. When I got back in I was frustrated and I hadn't even seen the letter.

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Unhappy customer: Beth, who has Crohn's disease, said one of her children could have easily picked up the note

"Then the next morning we wondered what happens if someone goes out and misses their shopping, my husband had a look on the card to find out and that's when we saw what it said. I would have let his bad attitude go, it's not a big deal, and he might have been having a rough day.

"When I saw that on the card though, I just thought that's not right at all, you don't know us and to make that assumption that we're just lazy."
Beth added that she was concerned that one of her children could have picked up the note.
"We try to teach our children to respect everyone and to treat everyone equally, no matter if they clean up after you or they're royalty - you treat everyone with respect," she said.
"We are trying to protect our children and teach them that I'm different, and this is judging and abusing, all the things we try to teach them not to be.

"That's why this really hurt me because my home is my place, where I shouldn't be judged and don't feel judged.

"The driver didn't know about my health, I know that, but none of us know about other people's lives. I thought 'maybe he's having a really rough shift', but he didn't do me that courtesy whatsoever."
Beth posted the picture on Tesco's Facebook page in a bid to prevent anyone else from being 'hurt' in the same way.
"I didn't expect it but the support I've been shown by friends, family and complete strangers has been amazing," the mother said.
"Even now there's messages of support popping up constantly. It's lovely from people who know my situation and people who don't. I didn't do it for this, I just wanted the driver to think twice.
''I have since been contacted by a very nice man from Horsham Tesco who said the majority of Tesco staff have been polite but I would be reluctant to have a delivery in case the same driver comes here again.''
Tesco said the firm was 'urgently' investigating the complaint.
A spokesperson told the Mirror Online: "All of our customer delivery assistants undergo a comprehensive training programme to ensure they provide great service on the doorstep so we were concerned to hear about this complaint.
"We are urgently investigating and will update Ms Lloyd with our findings.”
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