Woman wins Tesco tyre pump case

A disabled woman has won £1,000 from Tesco after a court said it had discriminated against her by not allowing staff to pump up her tyres. Grandmother Jenni Crowly, from Connah's Quay, Flintshire, said the win was not only a victory for her, but also for disabled people.

Tesco staff said they could not help Mrs Crowly for insurance reasons. But District Judge Viv Reeves, at Mold County Court, disagreed and ordered the award to be paid in 21 days.

Mrs Crowly said: "There are a lot of people worse off than me and they rely on their cars so much, and don't have anyone to check their tyres. First they [Tesco] said it was insurance, then they said it was health and safety, and then a memo was sent around all store garages telling staff not to put air in people's tyres."

Mrs Crowly, 52, started the court action after she went to the superstore petrol station in Mold, and staff refused to check her tyres after claiming they would not be covered by insurance. Mrs Crowly told the court she could not bend down and maintain the pressure on the nozzle without suffering great pain. Mrs Crowly has fibromyalgia, which affects her muscles, causes pain and fatigue, and she has arthritis requiring regular cortisone injections. She had difficulty pumping up her tyres because she could not bend down and maintain the pressure on the nozzle without suffering great pain, she told the court.

She used to visit Tesco in Broughton, where staff would help her with her tyres, she said. Mrs Crowly sued Tesco under The Disability Discrimination Act, claiming the company's procedures make it impossible for her to use the free air service on the garage forecourt. Mrs Crowly said that for a couple of years her tyre pressures had been checked by staff at the Tesco filling station at Broughton but staff at the Mold store had refused. On 10 March 2007, she was refused assistance by staff member Lynn Dutton who said that it was a matter of insurance.

Mrs Dutton told the court she was aware of a policy not to pump anyone's tyres but she had since been informed that it was for health and safety reasons. Rob Parkin, the store manager at the time said a mediation meeting had been held and it had been agreed that staff could hold the hose to prevent any pressure on the customer from the hose re-coiling.

Tesco's had an arrangement with a local tyre shop to check the tyres of anyone who had difficulty and Mrs Crowly had been offered that. Richard Jackson, Tesco's petrol stations operations manager for the UK, told the court there were clear health and safety reasons why staff should not pump up motorists' tyres and that had been company policy since 2001. Updated policies to that effect were now being sent to petrol stations, he said. But Mrs Crowly's solicitor Bernie Culshaw said he could not see any distinction between agreeing to hold the hose than holding the nozzle. It was the customer who set the machine.

But in a judgement delivered on Wednesday, Judge Reeves said Tesco had discriminated against Mrs Crowly.

She said: "I'm really delighted with the outcome. It should never have had to come to court. "

Toby Starr, for Tesco, had argued that if the company inflated tyres then it would have to employ extra trained staff, and that would substantially alter its business. He argued that as the store did not offer this service to everyone, it could hardly be accused of being discriminatory. A Tesco spokesman said: "We're disappointed with the decision and will consider our options."