A PORT Glasgow shopkeeper has denied accusations he exploited customers during the recent bad weather.

Angry shoppers took to social media saying Nauman Chaudhry, who owns Pick and Save in Dubbs Road, sold milk and bread at vastly inflated prices after stockpiling the items by bulk-buying from a Tesco in Greenock.

Mr Chaudhry admits charging a mark-up but insists the figures circulated online are exaggerated and says he is upset hundreds of people have taken to social media to criticise him.

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He told our sister title the Greenock Telegraph: “The stories that I was charging £4, £6 or £8 for milk are false and wrong.

“I bought the milk for 79 pence a pint and I sold it for 99p — I put an extra 20 pence on because of the trouble I had to get to Greenock that day.

“When one of my customers showed me what was put online, I was upset.

“I have heard of people getting abuse on social media but it’s the first time it has happened to me.

Glasgow Times:
The original Facebook post was shared over 1,200 times

“I was shocked as about 80 to 90 per cent of my customers were so pleased to get milk that they left me extra money.”

One shopper posted a photo on Facebook which shows Mr Chaudhry with a large trolley piled high with milk cartons and bread in Tesco in Dalrymple Street.

With shelves being stripped of the items as soon as deliveries were made, the images sparked an outcry online — and complaints to Tesco for not intervening.

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Mr Chaudhry is adamant he did nothing wrong and claims he was only trying to help his customers.

He added: “There were no buses, no trains or taxis and I had so many people requesting milk and bread.

“I could not get to the cash and carry.

“I could’ve just stayed home that day but I didn’t.

“I spent about an hour and a half shovelling snow so I could get my car out and went to the Greenock Tesco store.

“I bought lots of milk — look, if they said it wasn’t allowed then I wouldn’t have done it.

“Then on the way back up to the shop, the bumper grille on my car broke so people would’ve seen me struggling with the milk.

“The customers were so grateful for it.

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“When I saw the nasty comments online, I looked at people who were posting it and they were not even from Inverclyde.”

But a Port mum-of-two, who asked not to be named, says she left the shop in disgust after trying to buy milk and bread.

She said: “I went in to the shop in Dubbs Road and I was standing in the queue and I couldn’t believe that he was selling milk for £4 and loaves of bread for £3. 

“I just walked out the shop. 

“I would do without first. 

“I have two young children and luckily my neighbour helped me out.”

Tesco described the episode at the Greenock store as an ‘unfortunate incident’ and added that it was an isolated one.

A spokesman for Tesco said: “During the recent bad weather the vast majority of our customers behaved commendably.

“We are pleased our stocks are now returning to normal.”