HAS anyone else had any problems with their purchases from the Matalan store in Southampton?

On three separate occasions very recently I have set off the alarms in other shops in Southampton after visiting Matalan and have had to return to the store to have the security devices removed. It appears that they do not use the usual magnetic ones but just a ticket in pockets etc, which should be removed by the staff but they are obviously are not trained correctly.

One shop where the alarms were set off was Superdrug and while I was waiting for clearance from the staff to leave the store, I was told by several customers that it was my Matalan carrier bag, which makes me think this is a well-known problem.

Apart from the humiliation and embarrassment that I might be considered a shoplifter, I also wasted a lot of time returning to the store to put things right. I will not be shopping there again.

MRS JENNIFER M. JAMES, Hythe.

A Matalan spokesman replies: We are looking into this matter as we were unaware that there were any problems at our Southampton store and we will endeavour to resolve any problems there may be as quickly as possible.