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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To get really frustrated by the Think 25 rule

439 replies

Cloeycat · 05/12/2016 10:53

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?

OP posts:
Hettielove · 06/12/2016 22:21

Reverse happened to me i was shopping with eldest daughter the till guy asked if i had a student card (bizarre as no way did i look that young) dd almost had to be sat down with a cup of tea she was laughing so much

Alena2003 · 06/12/2016 22:24

Dear Thundecake I've got 15&13 year old with me, and they still asking for id, so that not the point, you should see faces on my think 25 training papers, there's no way you could guess they ages, so as a precaution carry your ID with you. All Americans do, they're not getting in to arguments over age!

jayisforjessica · 06/12/2016 22:24

I was still being asked for ID when I was thirty. And that's the point. So many people don't look their age. The law is to check, and check everyone. That's so that you don't get underage people trying to camouflage themselves in larger groups where only a couple of people are actually of age.

There is a simple solution. Carry ID. When I was a cashier, there was no way I would jeopardize my job because a customer was getting precious with me about not having their ID with them. I would have just stood there, raised an eyebrow at any tantrum you decided to throw, and refused the sale.

YABU, and incredibly selfish IMO. Your bottle of wine (or your share in it) is not worth the sales person being able to pay their rent and feed their children.

Hettielove · 06/12/2016 22:26

www.underagesales.co.uk/faqs.html
This suggests they do send in test purchasers

weeza13 · 06/12/2016 22:32

Some years ago when I was in my late 20's I bought food , beer and vodka in Tesco, as soon as I had paid I remembered I needed plastic cutlery so nipped back to get it. Got served by same guy at checkout who refused to sell it to me as I had no ID and it's apparently "a potential lethal weapon" when I pointed out that he had just served me alcohol no less than 5 minutes ago he said it was his mistake and could I hand it back and get a re fund. Um, no. I left with my shopping and got cutlery elsewhere

BarbaraofSeville · 06/12/2016 22:34

Hettie RTFT. We know they send in test purchasers, who are under 18, not 24, 37 or 196.

Guidance of suitability of test purchasers, from your own link: (short version is that they ARE underage and they look it).

How old is the young person? To be considered suitable for test purchase operations that aim to establish whether illegal sales are being made, the young person should be younger than the legal age limit for the product that is to be test purchased.
50 Working Time Regulations 1998; Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (employment of ‘children’, and local authority powers to make byelaws relating to the employment of children); Education Act 1996 (defines ‘child’ and ‘compulsory school age’); Education and Skills Act 2008
51 Guidance on the Employment of Children, Department for Education, 2009
Page 20 of 32
Age Restricted Products and Services: a Code of Practice for Regulatory Delivery

Does the young person’s appearance fairly reflect their age? To be considered suitable for test purchase operations that aim to establish whether illegal sales are being made, the young person’s appearance should lead a reasonable person to suspect that they are below the legal age limit for the product to be test purchased52

awayinamazda · 06/12/2016 22:38

I understand that they have to check the age of the purchaser, but there's a big grey area around people who are with them.
My son had to prove his age (he's 21) because he was with me, and I was buying alcohol. But that implies that I would not have been allowed to buy if he had been 17, just in case it was for him (I asked, and the woman was pretty rude, stating that she had no reason to take my word that I wasn't buying for him!).

What about a DS of 14, or 8? At what point does it become an issue, that a woman in her 50's is likely to be buying alcohol for a young person rather than the more likely explanation that she is buying it for herself?

SaucyJack · 06/12/2016 22:38

"The law is to check, and check everyone."

No it is not. There is no law whatsoever regarding checking proof of age of adults attempting to purchase alcohol.

Lucky for you lot I'm a pedantic fucker, so I'll hang all week to keep repeating until you get it.

Pughnichi · 06/12/2016 22:44

Wtf... I can't buy alcohol when I'm out shopping with my 9month old?!! I know I haven't been drinking much of late but seriously I'm only just getting used to NOT being ID'd, but now my baby might be?! 😂 Madness

WatchingFromTheWings · 06/12/2016 22:45

We ask if they'll serve her if I leave - no.
If she comes back on her own in an hour - no.
If she comes back on her own the next day - no.

They were correct in that they couldn't serve either of you for the rest of the day even if you'd gone back later on your own. But there's no reason why they couldn't serve you again the following day. You could have both gone back the following day and been served by someone who thought your daughter was 30!

Hettielove · 06/12/2016 22:46

I stand corrected i had not read the post correctly i was trying to watch the choir lol

NeedsAsockamnesty · 06/12/2016 22:59

the test shopper kids not only have to be kids they also have to obviously look like a kid

TheDayIBroke · 07/12/2016 00:10

Surely the customer who enters an establishment should abide by their policies with regard to the Think 25. If a customer doesn't wish to do so, they are free to go elsewhere. This policy may not be law, but it is our company policy and we HAVE to ask for ID if you look to us to be 25 or under, despite the legal age being 18. If you are 30, 40 or over and look to me to be around the 25 mark, I will ask for ID. My company WILL sack me for failing an in store test purchase, I will be issued with a fine too.

I don't want to aggravate, upset or anger the customers by refusing the sale, nor am I on a power trip. My anxiety rises horribly when I know I will have to ask for ID. I ask politely, and am always full of thanks when customers respond nicely. I don't want you to go without your item, so please just bring some valid form of photo ID.

IDing people doesn't fill me with joy or power, it fills me with dread.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 07/12/2016 00:30

So where in the think 25 gumph does it say it's routinely acceptable to accuse people of attempting to buy fags for their tiny babies or gin for their toddlers?

lalalalyra · 07/12/2016 00:38

My BIL is gutted that he's turned 24 because he does a lot of mystery shopping and one of his favourite jobs was test alcohol purchases. The report basically centeted around if he was asked for ID, the client was the supermarket themselves and the jobs were only offered to people between 18 and 23. It was obviously the shop checking their own training, but I always thought it was very random as all they knew about him was his age. For all they knew he could have looked 14 or 44 so how they checked the true reliability I don't know!

XmasSteamTrainsRealAleOpenFire · 07/12/2016 02:42

So these these "conditions" are actual law eg passed through parliment (HoC/HoL) or just "guide lines"?

To everyone saying to carry ID at all times:- Is there any (UK) law that states that everyone has to carry ID 24/7, excepting certain careers.? By-the-bye I'll don't have any ID! and why should i?

The fact is its against the law to purchase alcohol fir someone who is under age or to serve someone knowing they will likely to be giving it to someone who is underage.

Really Giles?...I do think that you need to brush up on the law again. I can/could give my 8 yr old a brandy at home after buying from your shop (if I so wanted too), even in a restuarant I can buy a brandy for my 8yr old, doen't mean he gets to drink it, though.

Are there any lawyers in the house to comfirm all of the above?

This policy may not be law, but it is our company policy and we HAVE to ask for ID if you look to us to be 25 or under, despite the legal age being 18.

Thats why people are pissed off...IT'S NOT A LAW! (sorry for shouting Blush )

Ooh just thought of something else:-

A person born on Feb. 29th. how old are they, when they to try and buy "age restricted items"?, would they be 6 or 24?

WyfOfBathe · 07/12/2016 03:23

Look, you have a choice:
A) Carry ID
or
B) Don't try and buy age-restricted products.

I really can't see why it's a big deal for anyone who has ID - I keep my driving licence in my purse, before I learnt to drive I kept my passport at the bottom of my handbag.

I do agree that we need a form of cheap photo ID. I think the govt should introduce optional ID cards, but when they tried that before there was mass outrage. In France, an ID card is free (unless you lose it then a replacement is €25).

WyfOfBathe · 07/12/2016 03:24

A person born on Feb. 29th. how old are they, when they to try and buy "age restricted items"?, would they be 6 or 24?

Well, how many years have they lived? 24? Then they're 24 years old. Hmm

Ifailed · 07/12/2016 06:20

I can/could give my 8 yr old a brandy at home after buying from your shop

You can give brandy to an 8 year old at home, it is however illegal to buy brandy on behalf of your 8 year old, a hopefully unlikely occurrence.

46LivinglifeintheFastLane46 · 07/12/2016 06:24

I would rather have someone ask me for ID if it means they don't risk getting a fine, possible criminal record and the shop loses their license.
Just take your ID and find something more worthwhile to moan about

awayinamazda · 07/12/2016 06:47

At the risk of repeating myself, it is not as simple as 'just carry ID', it is also 'never shop with someone accompanying you, who is under 18, or looks as if they might be,' or you may not be allowed to purchase alcohol!

Original poster
Cloeycat · 07/12/2016 07:22

I will repeat myself again because people are missing my point entirely. I carry my ID when I am going to buy alcohol or to a bar or whatever. I don't carry ID when I'm nipping to my local shop to buy bread and milk however if while I'm there my OH decides he wants a beer I then have to either risk it and hope for the best (which as I do look my age is fine more often then not) or if certain staff members are on the till I've to walk home without him or my items while he completes the sale in order to allow him to be served. That is the ridiculous part! It's the random, inconsistent use of the 'proxy selling law' to prohibit grown adults to purchase alcohol.

I don't think anyone has a problem with the purchaser of alcohol having ID the problem is when that extends to their whole social circle.

OP posts:
TheDayIBroke · 07/12/2016 08:32

Cloey if the cashier thinks you look under 25, and you are with someone buying booze, they can ID you. It's drummed into us that we should do this, rather than get caught by an in store tester other TS. It is crap, but it is our store policy and we must adhere to it.

We hate it just as much as you do but we have a "duty of care".

myfavouritecolourispurple · 07/12/2016 09:10

Just take your ID and find something more worthwhile to moan about

As I remember, when the pre-2010 government tried to introduce ID cards there was an uproar. Yet quite a few people on here seem to think it's fine that you should have to show ID so that someone you are with can buy an age-restricted item.

Not everyone has verified photo ID. If you don't drive and don't travel overseas, why would you have it? And as a 30+ year old who may have an under 18 child with you when shopping, you are unlikely to have one of the ID cards that youngsters equip themselves with. Which effectively means you cannot buy age-restricted items unless you go out alone and make sure you look over 25. It's a nonsense and goes away beyond the point of the law, which is to stop 18 year olds buying alcohol for 17 year olds. Or to stop 17 years olds buying for themselves.

Kittybythelighthouse · 07/12/2016 10:00

I'm 36 and I buy alcohol weekly. I have literally been asked for ID twice in my entire life; once at 15 (the cashier was the mother of a school friend so she knew) and once in NYC where they ID everyone. As a teen I often bought booze for friends because I never ever got ID'd, it was great then but I'd rather like to get asked now!