to think the Saunburys checkout lady shouldn't have told me I look like I could have had my children at 13?

[CarriedAwayAnnie]

I am 32 in 2 months. I would like to tell myself I look like a young 20 something but the truth is sleepless nights and the general stress of children has taken it's toll.

I was buying alcohol through self service and she refused to allow the transaction as she said I looked under 25. I would have been flattered if it weren't so ridiculous. I haven't been ID in years.

I explained that I had my 6yr old with me so it was unlikely I was under 18 and she said I looked the sort who would have their children at 13.

I was incensed so asked for a manager. Manager agreed I didn't look under 25 but said he couldn't overrule a colleague. I asked him for a form to complain about the comment his collegeue had made but he said there are no forms to complain.

So I asked for the store manager who told me I could complain through the careline. I asked the manager why he hadn't told me this and he was very insolent, he just stood there looking sulky and shrugging my shoulders.

The store manager then said I couldn't buy my shopping. So I felt as if I was being asked to leave the store without purchasing anything. To be clear, I hadn't been rude or aggressive. It was as if they knew the policy was daft and wanted me out.

But instead of leaving I went back round, picked up the same alcohol and purchased it through a different till with no problems. Surely this shows a fundamental flaw in their Think 25 policy.

AIBU to think that when I am stood there with my wrinkles and my 3yo and a 6yo and a manager and the store manager agree I look over 25, I should be allowed to purchase alcohol? How can a collegeue overrule a store manager?

merry

I think Im in the same position - my passport has expired and I refuse to get a photo driving license because I like my green tatty one.

Carrying ID is not a legal requirement in the UK, so I doubt anyone actually makes a point of carrying it. I may or may not have my DL on me, depending on whether I have my handbag with me. I rarely have a handbag on a night out

Apparently not - I'm 31, and keep getting asked for id. No way do I look 17 or under.

It's crap that the policy is now 'think 21' or 'think 25'. I have worked for many years in retail. I would ONLY ask for id if I suspected that the person attempting to buy alcohol WAS UNDER THE LEGAL AGE FOR PURCHASING ALCOHOL.

Anything else is bloody STUPID.

Yes, the cashier can get fined - but FFS, find your common sense and use it!!

The cashier can ONLY get fined and or lose their job IF THE PERSON THEY HAVE SOLD ALCOHOL TO IS UNDER 18!!!

If the person they sold alcohol to WAS 24, but LOOKED under 18 - THE CASHIER CANNOT GET FINED OR SACKED.

There is just such a dearth of common sense these days!!

Merry £15 just sayin'

If the person they sold alcohol to WAS 24, but LOOKED under 18 - THE CASHIER CANNOT GET FINED OR SACKED.

That.is.not.the.point. If the cashier thought the person was under 25. then they are well within their rights to ask for ID to prove they are over 18. It really isn't hard to understand it it?

I think my favourite time if being id'd was when I was trying to buy booze. My then 13yo DD picks up a chocolate bar, yells 'Mum, can you buy me this' right next to the cashier. My then 8yo DS1 then yells "Mu-um, that's not fair, you get her a chocolate bar and not me". So I growl "FGS, just ALL get a chocolate bar".

Cashier then looks at my bottle of wine, at a frazzled then 29yo mum of 3, pg with her 4th (!), sees that I have a 13yo 'mum'ing me for chocolate - that I couldn't possibly have BEEN any younger when I had, I had her at 16! - sees my other 2 DC's, clicks the huge bump...and then asks me for id.

SERIOUSLY?!

Because a pregnant 17yo has nothing better to do with their day than do a full week's worth of shopping for 5 people, whilst dragging a random 13yo with her, a random 8yo with her, AND a random 7yo, ALL calling her mum and harassing her far more than they would a random 17yo?!

Or maybe, just maybe, you are id'ing the very frazzled mum of 3, soon to be 4 DC's, who just wants to buy a bottle of wine for her friend's 30th birthday?!

It's common sense that is lacking.

Not very helpful to you but if she thought you looked 'the sort' to have had a child at 13 maybe she also thought you were buying the alcohol for your 6 year old!

Seriously I'd complain too if someone made a rude comment to me like that.
And just because there are no forms for complaining, they should accept you want to make a complaint and not make if so obstructive.

They might be 'within their rights', but surely if they can quite plainly SEE that the person attempting to purchase alcohol is obviously OVER 18, even if they LOOK under 25, they can use some discretion and common sense? (like cashiers like me used to before this twatty rule was brought in).

And thank you for the link - will check that out, £15 is eminently more affordable than a passport I will never use.

Just wonder if you can get that when you are 31!

When I was a bit younger than I am now I pulled up in a petrol station, filled my car with petrol, yes I was alone so could only have been my own car, went to pay and also asked for a lucky dip on the lottery only to be asked for ID for the lottery! I had to laugh and point out I was buying petrol too.

Maybe the till lady was short of sight and had left her glasses at home?

All this talk about common sense is really grating. Remember nowadays supervisors don't trust the lowly checkout staff to actually make decisions and whatever common sense they do have, they aren't allowed to actually use. I can tell if someone is clearly not under 18 but if they don't look older than 25, despite having the common sense to know they are of legal age and to just sell them the alcohol, I still have to ID them to save getting an earbashing about IDing everyone who looks under 25.

OP, I too think this rule is stupid.

I was in Game today with my 17 yo DD and some poor bloke was trying to by an 18 game. He looked around 25 to me - I'd be very surprised if less than about 23. He was asked for ID and couldn't produce any, so they couldn't sell it. Fair play to the cashier - he was doing his job properly as he had been trained.

But, though he might not have been 25, he was clearly over 18! With a 17 yo DD so I am used to seeing 17 yo boys. And they don't look anything like this man did. There is no way on this earth in a million years he was only DD1's age! I'm sure the cashier could see this too. Yet he couldn't sell the game.

I think all common sense has gone out of the window.

Its only been the last 10 years that the "think 25" policy has become widespread in licensed premises because the government recognised the problem of underage drinkers and introduced hefty fines and possible imprisonment to license holders who fail to comply with the law.

If a licensee was caught, unintentionally or not, serving someone underage by the local authority their license would be up for review. So the local authority would then ask for evidence of due diligence for their responsibility as a license holder. So what would the company response be?

'uh, yeah, we have this policy set to prove we're following the law like you asked Mr, but uh, yeah, like we just decided to let the staff make up their own minds and not let them follow the rules you suggested to us after all. It was just a one off, promise!'

Like fuck would they get their license granted again and they wouldn't be able to continue trading. The local authority would happily grant someone else a license who is able to show their responsibility to the law.

Its not about shopworkers loosing common sense, its their bosses fucking scared about the hefty fines and closure of their business so they have to train their staff to be on the ball.

Annie, something similar has happened to me at Sainsbury's (i am 28), only I had ID but was still not allowed to purchase the three bottles of beer because it wasn't an English one.
Incident was very badly handled in store, I complained. I received a written apology and a 50£ giftcard.

Paper licences are soon no be no longer acceptable btw.

it was an international (plastic card) drivers licence in my case Fitz

What do you mean no longer acceptable? I've never been able to use mine as proof of age anyway

It's good to see some common sense on this thread tbh. I thought I had entered a parrell universe for a bit - where 17yo's look like 30yo's and intuition was unheard of it.

Thankfully some lovely PM's have helped keep my faith in the human race