to think Tescos new rule about alcohol is pointless?

[HotCrossCervix]

They wouldn't sell me a bottle of Merlot because I had a teenager with me.

1. A 16 year old is highly unlikely to be swigging merlot. If the adult were purchasing booze for said teenager, vodka or barcardi breezers would be more likely.

1. What if I had a toddler or 8 year old with me? Would they have refused to sell me my wine?

1. The rule is completely pointless. All I did was tell the teenager to wait outside for me, then I went to a different till and bought my wine. I could have done exactly the same and then passed it straight over to the teenager to swig illegally.

So. Completely pointless and nobbish.

And is it a real rule? or just the till chap being an arse? and what are the details of the rule? Any child at all? Any child over 10? Anyone with a moody teenager in tow?

potato I agree with you if you think the person might not be over 18.

I'm talking about eg my 40 something sister not being allowed to buy vanilla extract to bake a cake. She is fairly young looking for her age but even in the most flattering light she does not by any stretch of the imagination look under 18, or even under 25. There is absolutely no way that the cashier is going to be fined or lose their job for selling it to her because its perfectly legal for a 40 something to buy alcohol. So why refuse? (Not you, personally, obviously!)

potato I agree with you if you think the person might not be over 18.

I'm talking about eg my 40 something sister not being allowed to buy vanilla extract to bake a cake. She is fairly young looking for her age but even in the most flattering light she does not by any stretch of the imagination look under 18, or even under 25. There is absolutely no way that the cashier is going to be fined or lose their job for selling it to her because its perfectly legal for a 40 something to buy alcohol. So why refuse? (Not you, personally, obviously!)

I never get ID'd at Tesco,but I went to Morrison's to pick up some ladies razors and shaving cream and my 16 year old daughter was with me. I got asked for ID ( I was 48 at the time!) However I was so incredulous she let me go through with the transaction on the self service tills!!!!

When my DH and I went to Leeds Festival a couple of years ago,we were all geared up to be ID'd but the security guard took one look and waved us through saying " I don't need to ID you,do I?" I didn't know whether to be offended or grateful!!!

What I don't understand is that vanilla extract does not come up on the till as an age-restricted item, so what was the person on the checkout thinking? I'm quite cross about that and it didn't even happen to me.

Treacle, not under 18, no but I think between 18 and 35 there's potential for thinking they re any age. I have no idea why I was ID-ed. I was with 26-33 yr olds at the time. Perhaps she thought THEY were young and I may be buying it for under 18's?

Slightly off-topic, but a few people who work in retail have said they refuse to sell cigarettes to adults if they think they will then give them to minors.

It is not against the law for an adult to buy tobacco on behalf of a minor, nor is it against the law to sell tobacco to an adult knowing they will give it to a minor, except in Scotland.
There was a campaign to make it illegal, but it didn't get through the House of Lords earlier this year.

Me and DH (in our early 50s) got ID'd when buying Grenadine syrup in Asda. Its sugar syrup and a bit of colouring FFS!

The law is that if the checkout assistant is believed to have sold alcohol to a minor or anyone who is with a younger person without id of their own then she or he would be prosecuted and could be fined up to £5000 in court and of course have a police record. The store would also be fined and the employee would lose their job.

Supermarket employees hate having to ask for id. It is horrible because there is often an abusive remark or discussion on the subject which is abusive to the employee.

The aim of all this is to stop young people being drunk and disorderly and worst case scenario being dead.

Did the checkout operator accept it when you pointed that out or did you have to call the manager, thenightsky?

I haven't got a driving licence and I don't want to have to carry my passport (which is out of date anyway, so the photo won't match) with me all the time. I find it very exasperating that 99% of the time, the manager backs up the cashier even in cases like yours when the item in question isn't age-restricted and the cashier was wrong to demand ID.

The law would have to prove that alcohol had been sold to a minor.

It would also have to prove that alcohol had been sold to an adult who was buying on behalf of a minor.

They will never stop children getting drunk because half of the time they have nicked the stuff from their parents in the first place. The only way to completely prevent alcohol related crimes is to ban alcohol and I can't see that happening any time soon.

Millyblods, supermarket employees do not have to ask for ID when selling non-age restricted items like vanilla extract or grenadine syrup or teaspoons, but some of them do. That is not acceptable is it?

Gruntfuttock I just told them I didn't want the grenadine syrup if it was going to cause a fuss.

millblods You have illustrated the point perfectly, as the law does not forbid anyone from selling alcohol to someone who is accompanied by someone else who has no ID. It is not illegal to sell alcohol to someone when they have a child with them. It is only illegal if you believe the person is buying it for the under 18. Which is totally different.

Its no wonder people get annoyed at being asked for ID. If I'm doing my weekly shop and have a bottle of wine in the trolley and the cashier refuses to sell it to me (I am very visibly over 25) because I have my child with me, it is a clear accusation that they believe I intend to give my toddler child alcohol to drink. How could I possibly not be annoyed by that?

Also, Tesco's own website states:

How old do I have to be to purchase alcohol in your store?
We only sell alcohol to customers that are 18 or over. We operate a strict age verification policy on alcohol, otherwise known as "Think 25". This means that if our cashier believes that you look under the age of 25, and can't provide an accepted form of identification, then we will refuse the sale.

It doesn't say anything at all about the people who are with you when you do your shopping. It doesn't say they refuse to serve parents.

And Drink Aware also don't mention anything about it being illegal to sell alcohol to someone who is accompanied by an under 18, again it is only if the alcohol is for the under 18.

When DCousin was a 15 year old police cadet she frequently tried to get shops to sell her alcohol and fags (or sometimes accompanied a "parent" who wouldn't be especially discreet about trying to buy them for her). The police would be waiting outside the shop to pounce on anyone who let her have them.

I think that's fair enough. I think it's perfectly right that shop should be punished for selling to underage customers.

I don't think that should extend to a blanket refusal to serve someone because they have a toddler in their supermarket trolley though, or a teenager helping them carry their bags to the car.

a clear accusation that they believe I intend to give my toddler child alcohol to drink. How could I possibly not be annoyed by that?

Exactly that treacle and it annoys me just as much when the implication is that I am 'supplying' my teen.

It's not that easy to tell if someone is over 25 or not though, especially if you are under 25 yourself.

But I get these issues constantly Bertie and I'm nearly 40. Judging by this thread i'm not alone.

It probably is hard to tell is someone is 24 or 26 for example, but by the time you're in your late 30s or 40s, surely no one could honestly think you look under 25? And there are people on this thread talking about elderly people being asked to prove they are over 18. I just can't believe that in those circumstances the cashier, no matter how underconfident and inexperienced, could possibly think 'no, you might not actually be over 25'.

I find it really hard! I don't work in Tesco, or even live in the UK any more, so I'm not disallowing you alcohol but I am awful at judging ages.

When I did work in shops sometimes it was easier to do a blanket ID on everyone except doddery old grannies etc.

Put a picture up and I'll tell you if I'd ID you

It's nothing to do with age or ID.

I'm 52 (and I look it). They refused to serve me because I had my 16 year old with me. I have no problem providing ID, but that wasn't what they wanted.

Ironically, just before Christmas they did a delivery which included a case of beer and half a dozen bottles of wine. My (then 15 year old) son was the only one in the house - but they just left it with him [baffled]

I really don't envy people who work on check-outs for this reason. It must be so hard sometimes to be sure what age someone actually looks. I am aware of the "Under 25" policy, as it isn't a new rule, and around here it certainly isn't just Tesco who operate it.

This rule is an ass because taken to its 'nth degree it could mean that no parents out with their children could ever buy alcohol or any other age-restricted products. For that reason alone it must be virtually impossible to enforce it sensibly.

I have never been refused service in any shop, whether buying alcohol or not. I have been flagged up at the self-service checkouts for buying teaspoons though, but it was waved through without further questions.

For the record, I am 47. I would almost be flattered if asked to prove that I was over 18. It never seems to happen though. I must look my age.

yes, that's another thing I don't understand either. The presence of a child when you are actually going through the checkout is fairly meaningless. Don't they say that something like four out of five women end up having children at some point in their life? So if you took a cross section of all the women in a supermarket aged between maybe 35 and 50 there is a good chance that maybe four fifths of them would have a child at home, even if they aren't standing next to them in the shop. Do we then stop serving those women too, just in case they are taking it home to let their children drink it? It just seems like a bit of a slippery slope to me.