To get really frustrated by the Think 25 rule

[Cloeycat]

Not so much having to be ID'd but the fact that if I am with my partner and don't have my wallet (I'm over 25 and also obviously pregnant) that he is not able to purchase alcohol for himself unless I hide or pretend not to be with him.

I don't always carry my ID with me, especially if we are just popping to our local supermarket for something for dinner and he is paying but it is so frustrating that I then have to wait outside the door in the cold like a naughty 16yr old so that he can buy himself a beer or bottle of wine.

Does this rule apply to parents buying alcohol if they are accompanied by children who are under 18? Or is it just when it is two adults trying to legally buy alcohol that a problem arises?

I get annoyed because I DONT get id'd anymore! I'm only 23

I remember my dad kicking off big time in a co op because the boy wouldn't serve him a bottle of wine when I was with him. I was 6. I don't know what the boy thought my dad was going to do with it. Stick it in my juice?!

I'm quitting smoking and finding it very hard.

I cried in Tesco last week when I didn't have my ID with me, and they wouldn't sell me the nicotine chewing gum.

Oh that reminds me about my best friend. She was ID'd in asda buying peppa pig toddler cutlery

It is a ridiculous farce. And it's not about "ID" it's about proof of age.

But you know the rule and you know you look under 25, so either take id or carry on pretending not to be with him. Is it really so hard to grab your purse on your way out?

Shops and their staff can get big fines for selling to underage people so that's why they're so strict.

Its ridiculous. My dh and I got into an argument with a tesco worker and then manager because they refused to sell us a bottle of wine because Dh's 21 year old cousin was with us with no ID. The law is that you have to be over 18 to BUY alcohol, anyone over 5 is allowed to consume it in your own home I think? So what business of them is it who is with you?! Madness.

I don't have a problem with them asking the person who is buying the alcohol for ID- but people with us?! We knew the people behind us in the queue who offered to buy our wine but the manager said they couldn't because they knew they were giving it to us- wtf?! My husband and I were in our 30s at the time and clearly looked it- we hardly are dodgy children hanging around the car park asking adults to buy our white lightning!

I'm 24 next year and getting asked to prove I'm over 18 really bugs me. Im sorry but no way do I look under 18

Remember it's the member of staff who gets the fine, and the criminal record. Surely it's not too difficult to take some ID with you?

I got ID'd this morning buying paracetamol. I always forget it's age restricted and go to the self-service, then have to wait forever as sainsburys is incredibly under-staffed. She then stood for a good two minutes trying to work out my age on my full driving licence (I was born in 1990 so not a complicated sum, surely).

It's a fucking pain in the arse. I'm 28 and get asked for ID probably 50% of the time. They always look sheepish when they see my DOB. I look my age IMO, no way do I look anywhere near 18. I think I look older than 25.

Happened me in Sainsburys, I certainly look and am much older than 25. I had no dc with me that day.

It's ridiculous. I understand that shops have to be careful, but really. I'm 29. I could possibly be mistaken for 25. There is absolutely no way anyone could think I was 17. It's not illegal to sell alcohol to someone aged 18-25, so there's no doubt in these cashiers' minds that I'm legally allowed to buy and drink alcohol, even if they think I'm younger than my actual age.

Asda are particularly absurd. They tried to ask me for ID to buy nail polish remover, which I had in with a week's worth of shopping. Yes, obviously I'm a teenager trying to purchase this to inhale the fumes.

I find it really embarrassing and tend not to return to shops that are unreasonable about it.

I'm 30 and get ID'd all the time. I don't look under 25! I look my age, maybe 28 on a good day! My DH hasn't been ID'd since he was 15 & I often get sent away when he's buying booze (which is usually a few bottles of beer in our weekly shop)

I'm 27 and DP is 30 and we got ID'd on Saturday. I do think it's ridiculous and agree with coffee that if we are going to have a ludicrous arbitrary rule, it should only apply to the person doing the buying. If I wanted to share some of my lovely Rioja with a 12 year old at home then why the hell is that anyone else's business? (I mean, I wouldn't, it's all mine, but the principle still stands )

It is stupid when they're refusing to serve people in their 30s because in the right light, with a full face of slap on, and one eye half-closed they look like they might pass for 24 years and 11 months. You'd still be well over the legal drinking age.

It happened to me a good few times when I was a bit younger. It achieves absolutely diddly squat.

It's a personal fine so no I don't have a problem with it. I know I get id so I take it everywhere. I if people in there 30s when I used to work in a pub.
The funniest ones were the people who would get annoyed by being ID who turned 18 days or weeks before

coffeeisnecessary 'I don't have a problem with them asking the person who is buying the alcohol for ID- but the people with us?!'

Exactly! Another one was at the cinema, I was with my partner and had ordered myself a coke and popcorn and then left to use the loo. He was paying so waited for the popcorn and coke to be served and decided he wanted a pint but they wouldn't serve it to him because he didn't have my ID and he might let me have a sip. For gods sake

But I agree it's stupid to ID people who are not purchasing anything

I used to have a great laugh working in a pub, years ago (when it was much less strict and you didn't have to ask for ID) by asking for ID for anyone over 60. They always thought it was hilarious and preened a bit.

There is absolutely no way anyone could think I was 17. It's not illegal to sell alcohol to someone aged 18-25, so there's no doubt in these cashiers' minds that I'm legally allowed to buy and drink alcohol, even if they think I'm younger than my actual age.

I work for a big name supermarket, it's not about breaking the law, it's about avoiding being caught out breaking the shop's Challenge 25 policy. Break that rule, get the sack.

I couldn't risk buying alcohol last week. DH had my driving licence as ID in his wallet for a night out and forgot to remove it before departing for his flight abroard. (The irony being that alcohol, and women driving are illegal in that country so it was a totally useless piece of plastic there!).

At 35 I still get asked frequently enough, and on producing my driving licence, my early 80s birthdate results in some very confused looks.

It does seem daft that I need to assume that people will assume that I'm a decade younger than I am, to prove that I can buy something that I could legally buy nearly half a lifetime ago last century!

Fortunately I haven't resulted in my older, prematurely very grey husband being refused service.

She then stood for a good two minutes trying to work out my age on my full driving licence (I was born in 1990 so not a complicated sum, surely).

Yes, you're clearly 15.

I think if you look young you just take ID with you. It's when you don't look young and someone asks you to prove your age, and apparently laughter lines and a DS nearly your own height doesn't count...

I was IDed for scissors in Dunelm at 7 months pregnant (I have big bumps) with my 2 year old in the trolley. I was 32.
I decided to see the funny side over moralistic insinutations about my love life