A horrified mum found dirty used tissues and nappy sacks stuffed inside the pockets of her new coat she ordered from JD Sports.
Anna Busby, 35, felt sick when she discovered the dried up tissues inside the pocket after ordering the £60 Ellesse puffer jacket from JD Sports online.
The shopper, from Gillingham in Kent, immediately raised the alarm with the retail giant when the coat arrived on January 18.
Originally priced at £85, the jacket was in the JD Sports clearance sale.
Anna now fears items are not being checked properly and put into quarantine when they are returned during the coronavirus pandemic.
She said: “I put it on and was looking in the mirror and found something in the pocket. I thought it was tissue paper like they do sometimes to pad it out.
“But it was dirty dried up tissues in one pocket and in the other pocket you’ve got a wad of nappy sacks.
“It just made me feel sick, especially because of the nappy sacks. You just didn’t know what you were going to find in there.
“Someone must have gone for a dog walk and sent it back.
“It’s disgusting without Covid but obviously even more so with it going on.
“It’s put me at risk and other people. It’s not acceptable and they should be doing more to stop it happening.”
Anna, who previously worked in marketing, immediately feared the incident would put her family’s health at risk.
She said: “On the Sunday afternoon, I got a clear Covid test result after my little boy came down with cold symptoms and on Monday morning I received the coat.
“Immediately, the worry was going through me, ‘have I now got coronavirus? Is my family now contaminated?’
“If it were anybody more vulnerable, it could have put their life at more risk.”
The full time mum asked to speak to managers to raise her concerns and said she would like JD Sports to explain how it will be prevented to protect future customers.
When raising her complaint last week, she waited several days to receive a call back and feels the sports retailer has not taken her worries seriously enough.
During this time, she also contacted Consumer Citizens Advice and was told her case would be referred to Trading Standards.
Anna said: “I feel they’re dodging it. Someone should be so much hotter on it.
“If it was my business, I would be sorting it straight away.
“I rang them as I’d had no missed calls and was available all the time. They said they’d tried calling me but there was nothing in my phone to suggest they had.”
Speaking to customer services, Anna said she was offered a £10 voucher, ten per cent discount and free returns which she rejected.
She said: “It’s not about the voucher, it’s not about the compensation. It is about JD Sports sitting up and taking it seriously.
“I hope this makes them step up their processes.
“I don’t want to buy anything from them as I don’t know where it’s been. I just wanted my refund processed.
“I understand mistakes happen but this current climate it can’t. But how often has this happened and JD just saying ‘we’ll give you ten per cent off?'”
Anna, who has underlying health conditions, said the ordeal has also triggered feelings of anxiety and said she does not want the coat in her house.
She added: “I suffer with asthma and so I’m being really careful with germs. It’s raised a lot of anxiety really.
“I put it in a bag and don’t want it in the house. It’s got someone’s germs on it.”
JD Sports was approached for comment.
