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?

There are millions of under 18s with their own debit cards DJ

the PIN proves its your card
that... hmmm. Family members often share cards (and pins). Even though banks strongly advise not to do so.

I had a debit card way before I was 18

I also knew my mums PIN number way before I was 18.

I'm 37 and was ID-d by a supermarket when I was buying champagne to take to wedding celebrations. The girl laughed it off and said I should be flattered - I wasn't, it was massively inconvenient to drive twenty minutes home and twenty minutes back again.

And apart from the obvious fact that I don't look 25, I can't imagine many underage drinkers buy champagne

but if you had to drive, didn't you have your driver's licence?

I was buying wine a supermarket once, and the cashier threatened to ID me. I taught the cashier, he was one of my Year 13s. He got the raised eyebrow and the death stare over the top of my glasses, and decided it wasn't worth it, especially as he had seen the 40th birthday banner my tutor group had pinned up over my whiteboard the previous year.

I am 38 in a week or two and was asked if I needed a young person's ticket on the bus last week :)

It's a minor inconvenience - carry ID with you. If you don't drive get a provisional licence or a prove your age card or something like that. Alcohol related harm levels in the uk are pretty shocking. Think 25 is a good policy. Staff CANNOT use discretion - the penalties fall on the staff member

Also, be chuffed - you obviously look young ;)

So if you are 30 with a credit or debit card and the PIN, thats not proof of age?

You can have a debit card with a PIN before 18. My DD has one. It just doesn't let her go overdrawn.

If it happens to you once ... meh.. bit annoying but so what. If it happens all the time , take ID to buy alcohol.
I'm 50 . It never happens to me any more,

My dd 10 has a debit card with a pin. She completes tasks we set her and earns money. And it has lots and lots and lots and lots of parental restrictions.

Think 25 is a good policy.
No it isn't, it's daft.

I'm 27 and was ID'd for the LOTTERY a few weeks ago. Isn't the minimum age to do lottery 16?
I'm curious as to how old she actually thought I am!

I once got asked for ID to buy calpol in sainsburys, I had my 3 year old dd and 1 year old in the buggy.... I was gobsmacked I know I was young at the time ( 22 ) but ffs, calpol.. anyway I just wanted to put that in there, I normally get my alcohol from my local Tesco express and they know me in there as I am in the place every other day so I don't get asked in there.

Even more bizarre is when supermarkets refuse to sell you alcohol free cider with no id as has happened to me in the past

DH and DD have both been IDd when purchasing alcohol free beer. DH didn't have ID, the supervisor still refused to serve him. Even after he took pains to point out the alcohol content (ie, none) on the label. If that's not being power-tripping jobsworths, I don't know what is. Bear in mind too that he's in his mid 30s and looks it.

Here's another ridiculous one - DD was IDd when buying shandy. It's the kind that looks like small bottles of beer and is in the off-licence section of Asda. Alcohol content is 0.2%. When she attempted to purchase shandy that wasn't in the off-licence section (sama Asda store) but in the soft drinks aisle, which had an alcohol content of 1.2%, she wasn't IDd.

They just make it up as they go along.

It gets in my nerves but not to the point that I would be rude to anyone about it. I've been Id'd a few times in Tesco despite being 56 yrs old and definitely looking well over 40! I did once query it and pointed out to the manager that if his staff really couldn't tell that I was over 25 then they needed further training.

I did once have an outraged moment in our small local supermarket about calpol because I was buying it for a child

But, Id everyone then we will just get used to it.

Jeez life must be had looking so young and everything

For me, carrying ID when I want to go the the pub or buy alcohol is not a big deal.

However I do not think it's ok to:

• have a store policy on non age restricted products that you only find out about at the till. If they are going to ID for calpol then this needs to be explicitly stated. Every shelf with alcohol has Challenge 25 signs about the acceptable ID etc, but nothing next to the painkillers. That's just stupid.
• refuse a sale to someone just for having a child with them. Kids used to hang around outside my local shop, and would ask me to buy them cigarettes, which I of course never did. They did not follow me round the store chatting about their day at primary school with near enough my exact face.

Railgunner no, I often just stick my debit card in my pocket rather than carrying a handbag around. It's not compulsory to have your driving licence if you're driving, by the way - if you're stopped by the police, you have to bring your docs to a police station within 7 days.

Obviously I bring my licence with me now (and it has happened again, which reinforced the need to do this) but it was absurd - mid-twenties, I expected it. Mid-thirties and it's just plain ridiculous.

I was buying some teaspoons (4 packs of 5 for work !) through the self service checkout at Tesco and it flashed up as an age restricted product. The kind assistant just smiled and pressed the right buttons on the scanner when I asked if it was kidding and did he really expect me to get my driving licence out to prove I could buy teaspoons?!! He thought it was daft too!!

No it isn't compulsory for you to carry ID, but nor is it compulsory for the supermarket to sell you booze. If you want to buy the booze, carry the ID.

Oh and YABU for drinking cider. It is a drink for kids and jakeys.

BoysofMelody Who are you referring to about the cider? Not me. I do remember someone mentioning it but I think it was alcohol-free stuff (or near enough) which surely is pretty much apple juice . . .

And by the way, there are some really nice quality ciders around!

No, the op.

My comment on the cider was mostly tongue in cheek, but I can see why a purchase of cider would give the seller extra cause for concern given that it is popular with underage drinkers.

BoyofMelody I see . . . and yeah, I guess if it's a cheap/notorious one it's a red flag for retailers.

Basket

I've never understood the refusal to sell when you have children with you anyway. It's legal for them to drink in their own home so this policy has never made any sense!