A barber shop has been forced to apologise after they put up a sign that made it cost more for kids with special needs to get their hair cut. The boss of Ranya Salon in south London sparked fury because the price list showed different prices for children based on if they had special needs or not.
The sign said a haircut for a boy aged 10 to 15 costs £13, but if the boy has special needs, it’s £17. Pictures of the pricing went viral on social media sparking outrage, MyLondon reports.
One person said on Facebook that the price difference was ‘absolutely disgusting’, while another said they couldn’t believe the ‘ignorance’. The owner of the barber shop then posted an apology.
He said: “My apologies to everyone, this is a total misunderstanding on my behalf, please allow me to explain what I mean by this. I treat all adults/children the same, I don’t discriminate any children/adults that have learning difficulties and disabilities.
“The prices sign shown in the picture has been in the shop for a long time and I can assure you we haven’t charged any special needs children that price. However, sometimes we do charge an additional £2 just to help towards costs, due to the length of time that it can take for me to cut hair as this can vary from child to adult but is nothing to do with any disability and is communicated at the time.”
He added that the extra cost will now be taken away. But the apology has not satisfied everyone.
One person replied: “Absolutely no excuse whatsoever. How dare you charge extra for kids with special needs, disgusting, offensive and highly discriminating.”
“It’s clear whoever owns this business and the people that work here have absolutely no business being around children,” said another.
