High street chain apologises over facial recognition ban
By Katie Saatchi and David Quinn, BBC Rip Off Britain
Retailer Home Bargains has apologised to a woman from Manchester who was banned from entering its branches after being falsely identified as a toilet roll thief by facial recognition software.
Regular customer Danielle Horan told the BBC’s Rip Off Britain programme she was shocked when she was ordered to leave the chain’s branch in Salford in May 2025 by staff who told her she had been identified by facial recognition technology as a person of interest.
Danielle said she assumed the whole thing had been a mistake. But when she went to shop in her local branch in Fallowfield with her mum more than a week later, she was refused entry to the store by staff, making her feel “humiliated”.
After complaining to the store, Danielle contacted FaceWatch, which operates the facial recognition software system used by Home Bargains, and was asked to provide a photo of herself. FaceWatch then provided a report stating that she had left two multi-packs of toilet paper worth £10 in her trolley while paying for other items.
As a result, her face was logged by FaceWatch as a shoplifter, leading to Danielle being barred from the chain’s branches – despite the fact the items had all been paid for.
“It was relief but then it was anger, it was just thinking of other people who it might happen to who wouldn't have continued to email. That's what really angered me,” said Danielle.
“The only reason I've been able to clear my name is through pursuing it relentlessly, email after email, all day, for days. I think if I'd have just left it, I would have just been banned. I'd still been sat here now thinking, I can't go in there. I'm waiting to be chucked out the next store.”
Watch Rip Off Britain’s report on BBC iPlayer
Facial recognition on the rise
Facewatch is one of a number of providers of facial recognition technology to retailers, having been in operation on the high street since 2017. Retailers using the system include Sports Direct, Farmfoods and B&M – while Sainsbury’s started a trial in two stores in September 2025.
Critics argue that facial recognition technology treats all shoppers as suspects and infringes privacy. But FaceWatch told Rip Off Britain that as well as preventing shoplifting, the system has led to a reduction of between 30% and 50% in violent and aggressive incidents towards staff in stores where it has been used.
Home Bargains puts that figure at 36% in its stores. The system is not used at all of its branches.
Rip Off Britain’s investigation
FaceWatch says it is committed to personal privacy and that retailers must display “compliant signage” informing customers that the system is in use. The company told Rip Off Britain that shop staff are told to put up two signs at each store entrance.
But after visiting five Home Bargains stores in Greater Manchester in July 2025, Rip Off Britain found problems relating to signage.
In one case, only one sign was displayed, rather than the two recommended by FaceWatch. It was fixed to an automatic door, which moved out of view as customers approached, making it impossible to read clearly.
At another store, one of the two signs was found to be hidden behind a tall display of plants at the entrance.
Home Bargains responded to those findings, saying it had no intention to conceal signs and that it would consider making changes to the signage highlighted by the programme.
The Rip Off Britain team also asked shoppers leaving Home Bargains stores if they were aware that FaceWatch was in use – but out of 50 visitors, only five said they were, and just seven felt the signage was clear.
However, 40 of the 50 shoppers spoken to by Rip Off Britain said they were happy to give their consent for FaceWatch to scan their faces.
Technology expert David McClelland told the programme that where customers’ faces are scanned but no match is found to its ‘subjects of interest’ database, images are immediately deleted. Under data protection laws, customers must be given the right to withdraw consent for the use of any data held by the system, he said.
In response to Rip Off Britain’s report, independent regulator the Information Commissioners’ Office said that while it accepts the crime prevention benefits of facial recognition technology, these “must not outweigh people’s fundamental right to privacy”.
It said anyone concerned about how a retailer is using their information should complain to the business in the first instance.
