Do you have ID?

[GNiel]

Just had a text from a friend who was refused alcohol (wine and beer) in a supermarket because she was shopping with her daughter, who is 14, as they thought the alcohol was/might have been for the daughter.

Now, as far as I understand, the law states a child over the age of 5 can be served alcohol under adult supervision in the private home. i.e. what business is it of Tesco what the parent does with the booze when they have bought it.

Similarly, I have heard complaints from people who have been refused supermarket service because their friends don't have ID, again I would suggest that it isn't the business of the supermarket as to what happens to the alcohol, as long as the PURCHASER is 18+.

Also, under the strictest letter of the law, it is technically illegal to require somebody to provide ID for a product or service, which would be a breach of privacy laws, however stores are permitted to ask for 'proof of age'.

So is any of this just common sense, the nanny state or just a supermarket clerk tripping out on a power kick?

Opinions?

[Gavin Scott]

I remember reading about this. Tesco said that there had been a crack down on under-age people buying alcohol, and that it had been so successful there was increased pressure on friends and even parents to purchase alcohol for their kids. I kid you not.

If they suspected the booze was for 'tbaby they should refuse, and err widely on the side of the policy.

In plain old terms, the store manager thinks your friend is a jakey with a booze-hound for a daughter.

No offense.

[Dr Lobster*]

even though i'm banging on 30, i got asked for id to buy sausage and mash in my local lloyds no1 bar recently.

i hadn't even ordered alcohol during that transaction, additionally it was during the day and i was there with a 6 month old baby.

i believe the sausage and mash was served with "red wine gravy".

also, they are re-doing all the crb checks at work due to some unpleasantness and the id they ask you for i didn't even have:

two types of either: passport (got one, but expired), birth certificate (can't find it), driving license (ok, got one of those) and a bill of some kind.

you can quite easily go through life without a driving license, so how do you get your crb check if you don't have any of the above documents?

[Cache]

I got sick of being asked for ID to prove that I was under 16 last year. What, you expect me to carry my passport everywhere just to get cheaper bus travel?

[Andrew Wood]

Similarly, I have heard complaints from people who have been refused supermarket service because their friends don't have ID, again I would suggest that it isn't the business of the supermarket as to what happens to the alcohol, as long as the PURCHASER is 18+.

It is very much the business of the supermarket - as there are penalties under section 149 of the Licensing Act 2003. Alcohol may not be purchased by or for someone under the age of 18 (with limited exceptions).

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/lice ... onsumption

[Nick Harvey]

Anyone fallen foul of this Wetherspoons policy of only allowing an adult to buy one drink per visit if they have a child with them?

It's not in case you give a second drink to the child, it's in case you end up in an unfit state to look after the child after your second half of shandy.

[WillPS]

I have to do it all the time, and I hate it. It's completely outrageous that an Off-License is bothering its customers over WHO is going to consume the alcohol! Ultimately, you can't really stop it happening, just make sure anybody without sufficient ID doesn't come into the view of the staff who will ring up the purchase.

[davidmcg]

Recently got stopped getting alcohol in Tesco in Ireland because my two friends didnt have id's with them even though I was buying the drink and they are 21-22 and they look even older than that. Used passport/Garda Age Card (which has so many security marks on it its a joke, 22 in fact).

SO, went two seconds down the shopping centre to the Off Licence, no problem there. Tesco's rules are a bit of a joke in fairness.

Was selling a set of spanners in work today, couldn't sell them to a man because you had to have proof of age and he looked about 19. Bit stupid, as you can buy any amount of blunt and heavy objects in Argos.

[Pete]

We once had a problem in WHS where the prompts for solvents and cards got mixed up on the till so people were being IDd for buying birthday cards and being asked if they wanted stamps for their tipp ex.

I'd have hoped staff in other stores would have worked out the problem and not tried to do as the till instructed but there's always someone...

[adamcobb55]

As one of the aforementioned supermarket clerks I can assure you it's not a power trip. The essential motivation is fear. The alcohol sales training essentially exists to tell us that if we make a mistake and the police find out our life will be completely ruined. Examples used include loss of job, huge fines, public embarrassment and inability to travel to the United States and as part of the training we are also told we cannot sell if we believe the alcohol will be supplied to a person under the age of 18 (I'm not sure if this is a legal requirement or just another example of the supermarket being 'community focused').
For this reason the vast majority of checkout staff will err hugely on the side of caution and yes some will go beyond common sense but you have to remember the price for us if we were to get it wrong is huge.

[steddenm]

The one which makes me laugh is in ASDA. If they scan a newspaper, such as The Sun or Star, then the screen comes up - Is customer over 18? with a date of birth to look out for!

How rude!