A frustrated pensioner says she was made to “feel like a criminal” after Sainsbury’s unexpectedly blocked her online shopping account, leaving her unable to receive deliveries for weeks.

The supermarket giant is Carole James’ preferred store due to its extensive gluten-free range, which the celiac sufferer, from Little Chequers, Wye, relies upon.

A recent knee replacement has also left the mum-of-three, 74, dependent on online shopping, but at the start of November her account was flagged by the payment department, and she was told she could no longer place orders.

Ms James, a former supermarket worker herself, says: “This has caused so much unnecessary stress.

“The whole situation really got me down and made me feel awful.

“I’ve shopped with them for years and out of the blue, I couldn’t log in. When I called customer service, I was told I was being investigated and could no longer have deliveries to my house.”

A member of staff confirmed to Ms James that her account was flagged due to a payment issue.

However, no changes had been made to her card details, and she has never missed a payment.

“It came up as a payment error, but when staff checked my account, they confirmed there had been no declined payments,” she went on.

“I know they messed up because this wasn’t my fault. I was made to feel like a criminal.”

Ms James’ condition means she must avoid gluten entirely, and Sainsbury’s has always been her go-to supermarket as they have the best options for her.

Due to the blunder she had to swap to a different store, which increased her weekly food bill from £70 to £80.

‘I know they messed up because this wasn’t my fault..’

On Monday this week, Sainsbury’s made contact with Ms James and apologised to her for the experience.

A spokesperson said: “We’re in touch with Ms James to say how sorry we are for her experience and offered her a gesture of goodwill, which we hope she will use towards her next shop with us.

“We take security very seriously and blocked the customer’s account as a precautionary measure while we investigated what appeared to be unusual activity.

“Following a full review, Ms James’ account was reactivated.”

Ms James confirmed Sainsbury’s has offered her £100 towards her next shop, however she is still disappointed with how she has been treated.

She said: “I am happy it has now been resolved but they have caused me a lot of unnecessary hassle.

“I had to ask my daughter to drive me to the store, but I didn’t want to rely on her all the time.

“This has caused so much stress.

“This is not how they should be treating their loyal customers.”