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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU - to think that if im paying at the tills, then asda shouldnt refuse to sell me a DVD?

135 replies

pinkheart · 06/02/2011 21:54

Hi, I had an experience yesterday in ASDA at the self serve checkout and wondered if it is just my local ASDA that has introduced a ridiculous policy or all of them? this is a bit long winded but;

I used the self serve checkout with my children (my eldest son loved to do this bit)and as all the items were swiped through, the last item was my DVD which had been at the bottom of the basket. I forgot I would have needed to get age authorisation or I would have used a different till. However, we waited for the self serve assistant to come over and authorise the sale of my DVD, however she told me that I couldn?t have the DVD as she had seen my son swipe the DVD. I thought she was joking as she took the DVD away and so I stood at the checkout waiting for her to bring it back (I assumed she was removing a security seal or something similar). The assistant saw me still standing at the till so came back to ask why I was not moving. To which I replied I was waiting for my DVD. Again she replied that as my Son had swiped the item I wasn?t allowed to have it.
I was purchasing all of the shopping on my debit card so I cannot understand why I was not allowed to have the DVD. I had to walk back through the store with both children and my bags of paid shopping to reselect the same DVD and take it to another checkout to pay for it.

when i got home i was still fuming over the way the checkout lady had spoken to me and lack of explanation, so i rang the store to complain (I have never ever rung and complained to anyone before!)
The Customer services manager told me that it was store policy to not allow items swiped by children to be sold. I replied that I have never encountered this situation before and there are no signs or notices anywhere to inform customers that their children cannot use the self serve checkouts. He told me that they had recently been caught selling an age authorised product to an underage person. However, clearly I am over 18, with my own debit card, photo id, and 2 children in tow and obviously old enough to purchase a 15 rated DVD (I am in my 30's).
The manager then suggested that I should shop without taking my children with me!! If I could complete my shopping without having to take the children around the aisles with me I would, but I work full time and only have weekends to undertake such tasks.

AIBU to think this is ridiculous or have other people encountered this?
I have emailed ASDA to complain but so far nothing back..

OP posts:
not1not2 · 07/02/2011 00:48

a) they need a sign
b) why not just void the dvd and then watch the adult swipe it?

not1not2 · 07/02/2011 00:49

seems to me like it's a classic case of a good policy being altered to mad by those with a little power

sevenkeystomysoul · 07/02/2011 01:18

That's the thing though makemineapinot, with age-related sales, the shop assistant isn't permitted to use their discretion/common sense. Ridiculous as it seems, your tesco cashier could have lost her job, and faced criminal charges, for selling six bottles of wine to your eight-year-old Shock. The signs that (should be) visible at all check outs now state that customers will be refused age-restricted sales (alcohol and tobacco) if they appear to be under 25 years-old, this applies to self-service check outs too. The age limit is still 18, but it was felt that the distinction between 'looking' 18 and actually 'being' 18 left too much room for error, so now customers who don't 'appear' to be 25, will be ID'd for an 18 sale. This has opened up a whole new world of pain for cashiers.

I take your point about posh wine though. I mean, you don't hear about teenage binge drinkers rampaging through the streets after downing a few bottles of 2009 vintage sauvignon, do you? My 3.5-y-o DD was 'helping' me in Waitrose the other day and ran straight over to the wine section shouting 'I found your rosy wine Mummy' Blush

LibraPoppyGirl · 07/02/2011 01:25

YANBU AT ALL!!!

Okay I understand there are laws and have to take steps to ensure they are complied with but come on....whatever happened to a little common sense FFS!! Hmm

WhatWillSantaBring · 07/02/2011 01:32

It sounds to me like these supermarkets need better lawyers. There is no way that a half decent legal team could allow their client to receive a criminal record on the basis that the "swiping" part of the process constitutes the purchase. The purchase isn't made till the shopper has had his payment accepted, so it's absurd to argue that anyone other than the payer is the purchaser. I know the law covers purchasing alcohol for a minor but again, no sane judge is going to convict simply on the basis that a child was present.

I think the blame lies with the supermarkets over-zealous legal team giving crap Advice, not the manager or assistant though!

daniellac · 07/02/2011 01:34

Allsquare - That's not actually true about the mystery shoppers :)

confuddledDOTcom · 07/02/2011 01:45

I could so easily have been in this situation since my daughter was about 2! She loves going shopping and swiping, and as I'm on crutches she makes my life easier. Fortunately though we've never bought age restricted items so not been a problem.

There seems to be a contradiction going through. On one hand we have the lady who was ID'd even though her husband had put the age restricted item on the belt because she was paying being told it's the person who pays that counts, on the other we have the person who swipes counts as the person buying, whoever pays.

The other contradiction I can see is that it's legal to drink from 5 years old in the UK (some drinks aren't age restricted) yet we're not allowed to buy alcohol if we have children who are old enough to drink with us because we might give it to them? So what if we did? It's not against the law!

MadamDeathstare · 07/02/2011 04:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

rodformyownback · 07/02/2011 04:47

A similar thing happened to me in our local sainsbury's last year. dh and i put a small amount of shopping, inc a bottle of wine, through the self service checkouts. a staff member came up and asked us both for ID. I asked why and she said i looked under 25. i didn't have id but dh aged 31 produced his driving licence. the woman still refused to allow him to purchase the wine on the grounds that he may be buying the wine for me, and i may be under 25. she agreed that i did not look under 18 (i was 30). was bizarre and humiliating Angry.
i can't really afford to shop at sainsbury's anyway but liked the vibe. this plus the cafe being crap in our local one provided the impetus i needed to go elsewhere! i say vote with your feet.

i was also recently asked for id to prove i was over 25 in order to buy children's cutlery in dunelm mill Hmm.

the whole over 25 thing is ridiculous, there is nothing in the law about this. having said this it has bought me a few years' reprieve from the day when i realise that nobody will ever ask me for ID again Sad.

onceamai · 07/02/2011 07:19

Have read some of this and a few issues spring to mind:

  1. Absence of notices
  2. The purchase was to be made with your debit or credit card I assume and therefore legally the transaction was between you and the store not your son and the store.
  3. Regrettably this is Asda and lack of customer service is why I don't shop there any more - not even for the cheap stuff.

Frankly I would have refused to complete the transaction for all the other shopping making it crystal clear that they would be inconvenienced by having to replace everything on the shelves.

RunAwayWife · 07/02/2011 07:27

Stupid stupid shop assistant, some people have no brain and most of them work in supermarkets Hmm

I think you should shop elsewhere

mrsgetonwithit · 07/02/2011 07:35

If you were a trading standards officer and doing a test that shop assistant could of been fined up to £5000, lost her job and sent to prison.

I know this is over the top and silly but this is what we are told so what do I do refuse to serve or ''upset the poor little customer who I dont give a damn about''?

happymandy · 07/02/2011 07:37

Hi I have never heard of this its so ridiculous My 9 year son had put DVDS though of me not any more I can not see the problem I am so sorry you had to go though this at ASDA shame on you.

mrsgetonwithit · 07/02/2011 07:50

Runawaywife.................most people that work in supermarkets are in fact intellegent people of course some are not.

Many people in supermarkets have degrees etc but realised the rat race was not for them and a four hour shift behind a till can and does lead to a better quality of homelife...

Do not think for one second that every checkout girl is thick.

They are just following the rules and dont care if it upsets you.

We do think25 and if you dont look 25 and have no indentification I won't serve you [age restricted stuff]......simple and love it when you argue cause you wont win.

cory · 07/02/2011 08:40

I was refused to buy a CD in Tesco's using my own debit card because I was accompanied by my 13yo dd, and the shop assistant suspected I might be buying it for her. The CD was a 15. I am 47. And the songs on the CD had been on the radio every day for weeks: there is no way a child could avoid hearing them.

melikalikimaka · 07/02/2011 08:45

YANBU, that assistant was a complete jobsworth.Angry

fuzzypicklehead · 07/02/2011 08:52

I understand that there are laws in place, but following the law and maintaining customer service are not mutually exclusive.

So assistants may have to refuse sale, which is a PITA for everyone involved. Shop staff need to recognize that it's really bloody annoying to be refused sale of something which you are perfectly within your rights to purchase. So in order to provide good customer service the store need to make every effort to alleviate the frustration.

Good customer service:

~Post a clear notice stating "You scan it, YOU are the purchaser"

~Offer a waiver which a customer can sign, releasing the shop and staff from liability for the sale. (surely big supermarkets have access to sufficient legal resources to come up with something)

~If you have to refuse sale, be nice about it and apologize. And mean it.

Bad customer service:

~"Don't shop with your kids"

~"love it when you argue cause you won't win"

If a manager told me not to shop with my kids, I'd be making bigger complaints because it can be construed as actively discriminating against parents.

misdee · 07/02/2011 08:54

great, so my dh has no brain. better tell him that Hmm

regards to age restricted products, the cashier/shop assitant will be the one with a hefty fine and no job at the end of it, not the person buying.

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 07/02/2011 08:56

RunAwayWife - have you not read any of the posts that tell you that a shop assistant who contravenes the rules can be disciplined? Or the ones that say that she could be sacked and fined £1000 if found selling age-restricted products to a child?

Why do you say she was silly for not wanting to risk that?

OP - I do think you should complain about the rudeness of the checkout assistant and the manager, and should also complain that this policy is not made clear at the self-service checkouts, but I wouldn't expect a shop assistant to put her job at risk for me.

fuzzypicklehead · 07/02/2011 08:57

Yes, the "no brain" comment was offensive. And ignorant.

sheepgomeep · 07/02/2011 09:17

runwawywithit I have a brain thank you I have a degree in English Literature. I am most certainly not thick.
I work at asda on the tills

I WOULD RATHER BE OVERZEALOUS ANDFOLLOW THE LAW THAN FACE A HEFTY FINE, POSSIBLE COURT APPEARANCE, FROGMARCHED OFF THE SHOPFLOOR, ARRESTED AND LOSE MY JOB THANK YOU.

I HAVE 4 KIDS TO SUPPORT TOO.

rant over. sorry Blush

BootyMum · 07/02/2011 09:18

The situation you were put in was absolutely bonkers!!! I can hardly believe it is a real life scenario, although I realise it is. Where is the common sense?
And it sounds as if both till operator and manager need some training in customer relations.

sheepgomeep · 07/02/2011 09:20

yes I think that the rudeness of the assistant in the op is a seperate issue and she is well within her rights to complain about that.

I did refuse to serve 2 underage people yesterday, I was very apologetic to both

gabity · 07/02/2011 09:24

I do agree its bonkers - but its the law that is bonkers.

If trading standards or a police man has seen, they could be pedantic and charge the assistant for selling to a minor.

The same way that in my shop yesterday one of my checkout operators ID'd a couple of girls for alcohol, they created a fuss. I knew how old they were (went to school with them, so late 20s) but I still couldn't let her serve them. If ID is requested it must be produced or no sale, again if TS or police has seen it would have been my head on the block.

The worst one is when the sunday papers give away 12 rated DVDs and someone sends their kids to get the papers and you can't sell them it....oh dear!

MalcolmFuckinTucker · 07/02/2011 09:24

Something very similar happened to me also at Asda - was at checkout with DH and DS1 (20!!) and the feckless youth refused to sell us a bottle of wine as we had a minor with us. No amount of protesting his age would help the situation and he had no id with him since he had no intention of buying alcohol. The wine was for us! Asked to speak to manager and after much arguing he agreed that the checkout operator could use his 'discretion' (yeah, right - he was clearly younger than my DS!) and sell the wine if he felt comfortable doing so. Have never experienced such a thing in any other supermarket with NO warning anywhere that this might happen. Asda sucks, big time.