To have stormed out of Netto in a huff because they wouldn't sell me wine

[LizzieMint73]

Ooh I am so cross. Today I made a special trip to Netto to buy Oyster Bay wine which is on special offer (is normally £9 but they are selling it at a fiver a bottle).

The checkout girl asked for ID on the instruction of the manager who was working on the next till. When I'd picked myself up off the floor (I'm 37 and probably older than both of them) I realised in horror, that no I could not prove my age. I had credit cards and a works ID with photo, but nothing with my date of birth on - they just repeated loads of nonsense parrot fashion over and over that if they let me buy the wine they would lose their jobs and get fined. Worse thing was that they probably accepted that I was over 18 but they would not allow me to buy the wine because I could not prove I was over 25. They would not accept my arguement that no law was being broken because they were happy I was legally able to buy alcohol.

At this point I just said that I didn't have time for this and stormed out leaving the wine and a few other bits on the belt.

I don't like carrying my driving licence because if my bag got nicked they would have my address and my house keys so would have to get the locks changed etc. Similiary, I dont want to have to carry my passport in case it gets lost/stolen.

I accept that I might look more like in my early 30s than late 30s but I think that is more due to many other people looking really old for their age, rather than me looking younger. There is no way that I look under 25 and I think it is a bit much that I have to prove my age. This is the second time this has happended recently and no, it is not a compliment, it is a bloody pain in the arse.

"I think where shops are refusing to sell when it is clear that the person is over 18 but have younger people with them, they are just being awkward and abusing their position. they don't have to sell it to anyone but there is such a thing as customer service."

It's never been raised when I've been buying booze with children (I bought a bottle of Vermouth a few weeks ago with my daughter in tow) but if it were, I would have no hesitation in abandoning the week's shop on the belt and walking out. The shop doesn't have to do this, it isn't the law (or any remotely plausible reading of the law), it's a policy they've chosen to adopt because they're fuckwits.

I was IDed for cigarette lighters, and separately for children's craft scissors (colourful plastic ones that cut patterned edges) both in Wilkos. I'm 29.

But, in B&Q, buying a wallpaper scraper (one of the ones with a 6" blade on it, so it's an 18 restriction) on the self -checkout, the woman came by, saw I was pregnant and said "well, if you are old enough to be pregnant you are old enough to strip wallpaper", and left it! I didn't point out the flaw in that plan.

To think that in the 1970's kids would regularly be sent to the shops to get their parents wine and fags!
I was 6yrs old when I first went and bought these items by myself...6yrs old!

Thank goodness for the laws and in a lot of countries you HAVE to carry ID on you at ALL times, especially the USA as I had a rolloking off an officer as we had gone for a drive leaving our passports and driving docs in the hotel.

I got asked for ID in Asda last Christmas when I wanted to buy a bottle of Grenadine. It is coloured syrup FFS, without a drop of alcohol in it. I'm ashamed to say I did shout a little bit, and hold the massive till queue up.

I'm late 40s and look haggard on a good day

Lazylula - we don't have to respect that at all...we can choose not to shop there, and so their profits fall.

It is NOT illegal to sell alcohol to someone who is over 18. That is the legal age. Either the law needs to be changed to 25 so we all know where we stand, or go back to carding those who look 18.

How do shops cope with foreigners who don't have UK ID?

"Either the law needs to be changed to 25"

In which case shops would card people aged 30. Retail management: they may sell sharp knives, but they don't employ them.

But it is the management making these rules NOT the staff, they are just the ones that have to implement them! Staff canb also face diciplnary action IF management feel that tyhey have not id'd some one they should, even if the staff member felt the person looked over 25. Of course you can choose to shop elsewhere, but what I am saying is we should respect the fact that shop workers are only doing their job. My 64 year old mother has been sworn at, threatened ect all for doing her job and following company policy, safeguarding her job by folowing the rules even though she sometimes see it to be a little silly. Company rules rarely allow for staff to use 'initiative', it is a case of foloow the rules or face the consequences.

When I shopped for alcohol in the summer in Morrisons, M&S, Waitrose and Sainsbury's, no-one challenged me, or needed ID. Therefore, some cashiers are obviously using their good sense and not IDing people who are evidently over 25, even with a 14 year old with us.

I object to the blanket implementation of a policy that means those who are grey and balding and well over 50 as some examples on here have demonstrated, are asked for ID, when it is obvious that it is unnecessary.

As the law stands, the legal age to buy alcohol is 18. The 'think 25' thing is not legislation or law; the shops are choosing to foist it on customers, it's a voluntary code. The customers can equally choose not to spend their money there, as that is voluntary as well.

Marvellous quote from Asda legal team on their website around this:
"You can be 21 and look under 18 but you can?t be 25 and look under 18."

And sure the question is if you can be under 18 and look over 25...

I'm wondering if I "Think 25" long and hard enough I might start to look younger

Thanks lazylula that seems to happen to a lot of us.
I am a shopworker and I have to follow company policy, I do actually need the job and income, I don't work in a supermarket for the fun of it! I think it's a load of bollocks personally but as I said before, I'm not paid to use my brain (it's pretty much discouraged) and much as I know the person in front of me is most likely old enough, that is not good enough for the company I work for.
Most places have till prompts for age restrictions, if someone in head office has put grenadine down as age restricted on the till the cashier won't necessarily know it's non alcoholic. Same for medicines, a lot are prompted that don't contain paracetamol or ibuprofen but we're not all chemists!
I agree with taking your custom elsewhere but where is there thesedays that doesn't have at least a think 21 policy? I think all the major supermarkets run think 25..

bramshott - we're not all idiots with no sense , we're doing our jobs. We have no choice if we wish to keep our jobs.

I live in Belgium and it doesn't have a think 21 or think 25 policy at all. I can go in, buy enormous amounts of beer and wine with my 14yo ds and no-one bats an eyelid.

Indeed. The hypermarkets of France don't mind either.