Discount store threatens to ban woman for taking photos of a tacky $5 Christmas sweater

The Christmas kitsch that started all the trouble.

Primark is an Irish clothing retailer, operating in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It sells clothes at the budget end of the market. Its main competition is that of other cut-price clothing retailers; such as supermarket lines.

Think Target or K-Mart quality.

Recently a Primark shopper in South East London was told she was banned from the store for taking a photo with her cell phone of the awful sweater shown above. 

According to News Shopper, 25 year-old "Jade-Marie Harman popped into the Bexleyheath Broadway store 'on the off chance' when she stumbled across the clothing store’s latest range of festive clothing."

Harman told the paper, "I thought they were so cheap at £3 so I took a picture to show my friend. The next thing I know, I hear a voice shout ‘you can't take photos in here, it's against the law.’

"She said she was a floor manager and said if I carry on taking photos I'll be banned from the store. I explained as to why I took the photo and that I was purchasing the items anyway."

Probably due to that warm customer service, Harman actually bought not one but two of the ghastly items

Harman recounted the rest of the story: "When I got out the lift a massive security guard came up to me and said ‘you need to come with me for a moment.’

"Everyone around me was looking at me because they think I have nicked something.

 "He said ‘you are banned from Primark.’

"I was crying my eyes out. There was snot coming out my nose in the middle of the street - I felt like the scum of the earth."

(By the way, nice touch about the snot, Jade-Marie!)

"So many people go out shopping and think ‘I will show my mum that’ or they Facebook the pictures. I just saw this Christmas jumper with Mr Christmas on the front of it. I just thought it was a bargain and it was really cute."

According to Hartman, after an hour of arguing, she finally got to speak with the store manager who apologized to her and lifted the store ban before it could even begin.

(How do they enforce those store bans anyway? Post banned-shopper mug shots at all entrances?)

Harman sans snot outside Primark in Bexleyheath.

News Shopper also reported that a Primark spokesman was unavailable to comment. That's understandable. I'm sure they'd all like to forget the ugly incident  – especially the image of a snot-nosed Hartman  in the middle of the street.

Not pretty.