To hate "think 25" guidance

[FairiesAlwaysWearBlue]

Im 28 and look my age! I'm ten years over the legal drinking age and Waitrose wouldn't let me buy a bottle of cider!

Yes I know I should have had ID but I don't drive so no license and I don't often have my passport with me.

I was looking forward to my bottle of cider as a treat for working hard in the library earlier today.

Yes you should protect underage children from buying alcohol but IABU to be annoyed with "think 25" now means everyone needs to show ID?

I recently got turned away from a nightclub because I didn't have ID so they couldn't let me in. I'm 42. The nightclub was empty, now I know why.
Yeah. I was refused sale because my 50+ year old mother didn't have ID! Their justification was we couldn't prove she was over 25 and I might give her the wine. My mother! Who with the best will in the world neither looked under 18 or 25.

maisy it's ridiculous isn't it? There needs to be some common sense in there somewhere. Wonder if alcohol sales have gone down in the UK?

Some staff just have no common sense whatsoever, or are just on a power trip. That's the problem.

Someone around the age of 18 to mid 20's or so should expect it, because looks can be very deceiving.

An obvious middle aged person buying an age restricted product should not be asked for ID. It's pathetic and stupid. None drivers won't risk carrying their passport around just incase they want to pick up a bottle of wine or DVD or whatever. So what, they are denied making a perfectly legal purchase because some twat at the counter is an idiot or on a power trip?

I was with my friend and her 10 year old daughter once, and I wanted to buy an 18 rated film. I wasn't allowed to buy it 'just incase I was getting it for the child'. Who are they to decide what someone may or may not do?

Oh do fuck off with that provisional. I don't drive and i have no vehicle.
Why should i shell ot a sigificant amount of money because i may encounter some cow who is like "i'm having a bad day, so i will spoil yours. BTW, its a compliment"

And passport... Its my most important document. I wouldn't risk carrying it aroud to places where i could get pickpocketed.

I never needed any proof at clubs somehow. My guess if they ask a 40yo for an ID, they have some sort of face-control policy, they just didn't want you there.

Re the cashiers interfering in your home life - it's not that at all. While under 18s can drink alcohol, watch age-restricted films etc at home, it's illegal to buy or sell these things on behalf of an underage person.
So if the cashier has reason to believe you may be buying it for the person with you then they would get in trouble for selling it to you.

Of course common sense should be applied - a parent with young children or an adult with a 40 year old won't need IDing, but you do get parents who would buy alcohol for their 17 year old who is with them, for example.

Re the medication, my memory is a little fuzzy but certain things like solvents and posaible medicines have a legal restriction of "none, unless the customer looks as though they will abuse it, in which case 18" - strange I know. So many stores have a blanket age of 16/18 to cover themselves. Therefore not a legal requirement, but not completely unreasonable.

People really need to be understanding of the shop workers, we face fines, job loss and even prison . it is the law that all parties in a group buying alcohol have to look over 25, as it is also an offence to buy alcohol for underage folk. It's reall not clever to have a go at a cashier until they give in. We don't make the rules we just have to enforce them. So sick of dealing with ignorant twats who think we are just being awkward. We're only trying to earn a living like everyone else.

Oh do fuck off with that provisional. I don't drive and i have no vehicle.
Why should i shell ot a sigificant amount of money because i may encounter some cow who is like "i'm having a bad day, so i will spoil yours. BTW, its a compliment

Then you will continue to have the same problem.
I don't drive yet i have a provisional.
Amazingly i don't think people are out to spoil your day, but i think you have a massive problem with workers for some reason. I think ypu feel they are beneath you..

But the point is that an adult doing a normal shop with their child present isn't giving any reason to suspect that alcohol is being bought on behalf of the child. When they refuse you the sale, they are making a judgement - that they have reason to believe that you are attempting to commit a crime, and are purchasing alcohol on behalf of your underage child. How do they come to this judgement? What are they basing it on?

I've been ID'd for aerosols, red bull and nail glue before -_-
You can get 'validate UK' cards which confirm your age but fit in your purse so you won't be without againxxx

People really need to be understanding of the shop workers, we face fines, job loss and even prison
I've worked in shops so don't bullshit me.
There's no prison or job loss if you let a family get on with their shopping.

Group of teenagers fair enough. A family really?

I knew I had aged when buying wine, cashier asks for ID, I don't have any so she looks directlyat my face and says "oh that's ok" I blame the children :P

but you do get parents who would buy alcohol for their 17 year old who is with them, for example
But if there is NO evidence they are buying for them then it is not the place of a cashier to decide that those ADULTS are not allowed to have their alcohol.
When they refuse you the sale, they are making a judgement - that they have reason to believe that you are attempting to commit a crime, and are purchasing alcohol on behalf of your underage child. How do they come to this judgement? What are they basing it on?
That's my point. What exactly are the criteria that makes it 'responsible adult buying a weekly shop with a teenager present' vs 'adult cannot be sold alcohol as part of their weekly shop because I've decided at face value they aren't responsible enough'.

So if the cashier has reason to believe you may be buying it for the person with you
And how exactly do you determine that in you amazing wisdom?
Seriously I get it if there's a discussion between parent and teen about alcohol. But other than that it's just based on how pissy there server wants to be.

I never said families , I meant groups of young people. Some of us use common sense. I would never presume that a parent was buying alcohol for a child. By the way calpol is age related. If a shop is prosecuted the cashier can face jail, it's not bullshit.

www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1009.aspx?CategoryID=62

"There are no legal age restrictions for buying over-the-counter (OTC) medicines."

I don't understand why people get so in a tizz about this. If there was no think 25 and people's 17 year old's who looked 18 were getting bladdered every night there would be uproar that the shops don't do more.

It's not a new thing. Either suck it up and carry ID or go without an alcoholic beverage for a small period of time...

I never said families , I meant groups of young people
And I have no issue with groups of young people being asked for ID because that's an obvious potential proxy sale and the cashier understandably needs to follow guidelines.

But I do have an issue being refused alcohol when I was with my 50+ year old mother because "you can't prove she's over 25". I felt like saying well I'm 25 and she's my mother so I'm fairly sure that she's over 25. But no. Apparently I might have given my mam some of the wine we were buying.

I object to proving I'm almost 30 and my husband is with me (he looks older than me) and we're told he has to go to the car to get his ID even though I've just proven my age. And normally I'm at the point now where cashiers hit the 'no ID required' button.

Situations like that are nothing to do with following the law and everything to do with staff either being on power trips or incompetent.

Bollard You can be listed as an additional cardholder on someone else's credit card without being 18.

Bollard You can be listed as an additional cardholder on someone else's credit card without being 18.
Yes, but if people want to, they can get around any requirements for ID. As long as the staff have taken reasonable precautions. But then are supermarket staff trained on the difference between credit and debit cards? I doubt it. Are they trained in what a passport or driving licence looks like? If a 16 year old presented a driving licence for a moped, would the staff pick up on that?

As the name would suggest, I work in a pub

Licencing laws are there to protect children (under 18) from buying and consuming alcohol. I think that a licencee also has to prove that they have a challenge policy in place.
Trading standards, the police and local councils(who issue the licences) regularly test licences premises, only usually you only find out if you fail a test purchase, if you pass they leave you be. And they are quite inventive in their test purchasing too, groups who sit away from the bar and one or 2 with ID buying the drinks. 'Parents' buying for their teen 'children' - and even if you challenge and ask for ID, some will argue with you their age etc etc - to test that you don't cave under pressure. And they sometimes will use the bank/credit card one as well - there is an approved list of ID accepted and if you don't stick to the list, you're at fault.
Results of test purchase failure or of serving someone under age are disciplinary action, job loss, fines, and even imprisonment.
Sorry, but I'm not going to risk all that so I don't inconvenience someone.
Yes I agree that common sense needs to be applied to, I wouldn't ID someone who was obviously over 21/25 but if I'm unsure I ID - no ID, no sale.

I don't drink so have never been asked for ID for buying it. But...

• I used to buy petrol and never ever got asked for ID. ( I looked under 16, and to some people I still do)
• I once bought a lighter and got asked for ID, asked for ID.
• I bought white spirits from Homebase's, didn't get asked.
• I've been to a beer pong bar and played and drank some beer there. I didn't buy the beer but shouldn't someone have questioned the girl who looks like she could still be at school? Non of the guys I was with look like they could be my parent but they are older than me (most by 5+ years).
• I bought knives from ikea and didn't get asked. Though I was with my dad who often gets mistaken for my boyfriend.

Yeh I also wouldn't ID an adult buying alcohol JUST because they had a young person present, definitely not if they had a child present haha unless I legit thought that it might be a proxy sale, but I was always fairly nice to people and am fairly sensible lol

Bollard "Are they trained in what a passport or driving licence looks like? If a 16 year old presented a driving licence for a moped, would the staff pick up on that?"

We'd look at their DOB? Like, 17 year olds can have a driver's license, and children can have passports...you just check that the ID is:

• A valid form of ID (Passport, EU photocard driving license/provisional, card with PASS logo)
• Theirs - the photo matches the person
• Has the appropriate DOB to make them old enough to purchase the thing.
• Not expired

Beerwench - I also work in bars and absolutely, if you're unsure you ID, and no ID, no alcohol. I'm a bit 'really?!' now I'm in my 30s that people ask me, as I have some grey hairs and a couple of lines but I'm a shorty so used to having to have ID everywhere, and wouldn't be rude to a bartender.

To be honest I wouldn't go to the pub without my passport, and always take it to the supermarket if I want to buy a bottle of wine or whatever. But I really think that including baby paracetamol in challenge 25, which is only to do with alcohol is ridiculous. Shops can do what they like - they can refuse to sell oranges to people under 5'6", but they can't say it's the law!

Basket - I wasn't aware that you needed ID to buy OTC medicine?! I'm a bit about that, seems overkill.
There aren't any laws though are there? So like you say a shop can have its policy but it's not the law! Staff though, might think it is because of the way training is presented? If it's alongside the actual license laws then it could be mistaken in that way.
Still though, if the shop has an age policy then staff has to follow that or face the consequences of not doing so, so I can understand that, the shop however is a bit OTT