To boycott my local marks and sparks.

[GeraldineAubergine]

I work in a hospital next door to M&S. After work I goin once or twice a week and buy stuff. Have done for five years or so. Yesterday I got a few groceries some bibs and some socks. I tried to buy 4 lagers for dp. I am 27. I was asked for ID as 'i don't look 25', fair enough. However I don't have a passport or driving licence, in the past I have shown my birth certificate and work ID showing I'm a nurse at the hospital next door which has my picture on.
Yesterday the polite assistant who asked me for ID said she wasn't sure about accepting my birth certificate but would ask the manager. He came over laughed at me, said it was a £70 fine from his own pocket for serving under age drinkers and snatched lager from till as if I were a naughty school girl. Huge queue of people watching, I was really embarrassed. Aibu in that he could probably have handled this better and used discretion in looking at the ID I had?

[jybay]

YANBU. Write them a stinking letter - I did when one of their Returns counter staff was incredibly rude to me. I copied it to Head Office.

Got very good replies from both local store and head office - both with vouchers .

[littlemissratty]

I can see where he was coming from as I work in a resturant and a birth cert would never be accepted as proof of ID but I do think he could have handled it better.

[littlemissratty]

Him laughing at you was unacceptable!

[jybay]

Also, he seems a little confused about the law. It is of course perfectly legal to sell alcohol to someone under 25. Most stores have a "we will check your ID if you look under 25" rule because of some teenagers looking old for their age. That's fine but it is just to cover their butts; it's not the law. They should therefore be reasonable in how they apply the rule. A manager should know that.

Unless he seriously thought you were under 18 (or that you were inebriated ), he shouldn't have prevented you buying the booze.

Sounds like a staff-training issue.

[GeraldineAubergine]

If he hadn't laughed at me and acted as though I were a liar I wouldn't be upset at all. Would anyone go to the trouble of impersonating a 27 year old nurse just to buy lager? :) I think I will write a letter jybay ty for advice.

[jybay]

Not just impersonating but faking a birth certificate and ID. Now, if that had been to buy an M&S chocolate pud, it would all make sense but 4 lagers? Come on.

Their Chief Exec is Marc Bolland at
Marks & Spencer
Waterside House
35 North Wharf Road
London W2 1NW

Obviously he never gets to see the letter - a flunky deals with it but copying to Head Office makes it hard for the local store to ignore.

[GeraldineAubergine]

Thanks, I'm definitely going to write, I might wear a uniform next time and wheel a drip next to me too :)

[1percentawake]

YANBU - that was rude and embarrassing!

I'm already boycotting M&S for other reasons (they are not making themselves very popular at the moment are they!).

[HappySlapper]

Erm... have I missed something here? Since when is a birth certificate not acceptable as ID?

[littlemissratty]

Because there is no picture so it could be anyones.

[GeraldineAubergine]

It also seems ironic that I would Be served age 15 no problem but now I'm responsible and a non drinker I can't buy lager :)

[HappySlapper]

Blimey. I didn't know that. Not that it matters, mine is so old it's crumbled to dust

[Sarsaparilllla]

OMG, how bloody rude!!

Write a letter, definitely, and jybay is totally right, the 25 thing is so they can ask people who might look a little older than 18 but they aren't sure to prove they are 18

You don't have to be 25 to buy alcohol, the manager's a moron, and a rude moron at that!!

[Ooopsadaisy]

Rules may be rules but there is no excuse for rudeness. The least he should have done is taken you aside and dealt with it quietly - not in front of others. You should definitely make an official complaint about how this was handled.
Congratulations on looking lovely and young though!

[littlemissratty]

Happyslapper I think a picture id is always needed along side a birth cert eg opening a new bank account a birth cert wouldnt be enough on its onw IYSWIM

[greentig3r]

This whole Challenge25 thing drives me mad too. . The point of the law is to protect under 18s from the effects of alcohol. Challenge 25 is supposed to do this, plus protect shop workers from possible prosecution for selling alcohol to minors.

We considered boycotting our local supermarket after they made me (pregnant and tired) go to the car for my ID when DP had already shown his, (proving he was 28). And I'm older than him. Did they seriously think this was a 28 year old man buying chilean merlot to get his pregnant 17 year old girlfriend pissed?

What if I go shopping with DD in trolley? Will they think I'm buying the Tia Maria to slip in her milk before bed time?

I tell you, it's political correctness gone mad.

[GeraldineAubergine]

Ty for all the posts, glad I'm not the only person who thinks this 25 rule is mad.

[PerpetuallyAnnoyedByHeadlice]

TIP - write to CEO, marked "for the personal attention of" spray with perfume and put SWALK on the back

voila -gets straight past his PA onto his desk!


Then again if she's having a thing with him she might walk straight in and lamp him one, so better not just in case

[GeraldineAubergine]

That might be going a bit far? :)

[GrimmaTheNome]

Happyslapper I think a picture id is always needed along side a birth cert eg opening a new bank account a birth cert wouldnt be enough on its onw IYSWIM

no, I've done it with my driving license and bills, tax notices etc, none of which have photo on.

[NewTeacher]

since when does a birth certificate have your picture on it?

I'm sure its photo id they require. If you are paying by cash you could use anyone elses birth certificate couldnt you???

he was rude, write a letter and ask them politely what photo id they would accept other than a passport or drivers licence as you have neither and see what they suggest.

[GrimmaTheNome]

BTW, I think its fair enough to ID people who look under 25 but they ought to be able to exercise a bit of common sense on ID - a work photo ID of a nurse really ought to suffice.

[GeraldineAubergine]

I didn't think the birth certificate would suffice but I thought in conjunction with my staff ID it would be ok as that has my photo on. Also im pretty sure I look older than 17.

[AbsofCroissant]

The account opening requirements are for different reasons to iding someone to buy alcohol.

I do kind of like the "think 25" policy when I get asked (not happening so often at the moment), but that's just barking. You birth certificate clearly shows your date of birth, and the work pass would verify that you are the person you're saying you are. Some people have no connecting going on in their brains it seems.