To think my son aged 15 shouldnt be ID'd to buy....

[Marble179]

Alcohol Free Kopperberg?!!!

Whenever we had BBQs this summer or went to a party, my son now gets alcohol-free Kopperberg. He has been allowed some of the fall stuff in a small amount but is happy with the alcohol free and not in a rush to drink alcohol. I often had the same as him as it feels like a treat but without alcohol.

He has to have an adult buy it for him in the shop. The shop assistants insist on this even though we have pointed out that it is alcohol free.

Is anyone aware on the law on this and if that is correct? It's just a fizzy fruit drink in a glass bottle!

Why are people still labouring under the misapprehension that it is illegal for people under 18 to buy low alcohol (

I understand it's frustrating for customers when they don't understand the reasoning but (I work in a supermarket) alcohol free koppaberg may just be "juice" as the alcohol content is so low, but it's also got the brand name of Koppaberg which is a cider, and it cannot legally be sold to under 18s. We have to think 25 on energy drinks/lottery also which people say "do I look under 16!!??" No you don't, you look under 25 so we have to check . The energy drink one isn't the law though it's a voluntary age restriction set by the company

but it's also got the brand name of Koppaberg which is a cider, and it cannot legally be sold to under 18s

And where in the law does it say that exactly?

It doesn't.

Dh got asked for ID by the new, very young, barmaid in our local a few years ago. He happily showed her his driving license and she said "1976, how old does that make you?", then apologised profusely when he replied (at the time) "38". He was exceptionally pleased and didn't shut up about it for ages, the baby faced git

Whether it's a legal requirement or not if it's company policy then the cashier has to comply.

It's not fair to argue with them because you disagree. Complain to head office. You can't honestly expect a cashier to risk their job for your benefit?

If your son is now 15, he has at least another 10 years of being asked for proof of age, he might as well get used to it. The store I work at now age checks for Red Bull and other high caffeine drinks, under 16's cannot buy it. I have rules set by my employer, I enforce them. If you don't like it you can shop elsewhere. (Until their licence is suspended for failing to obey law and they bring in even more stringent checks! :) )

producers can't call drinks with very low alcohol content "alcohol-free"

Just to mention drinks that are sugar free or zero calories do still have sugar and calories in them, they are also just so low that legally they're allowed to be branded as such. There will be a legal cut off written somewhere (not sure what) because of false advertising.

And don't get me wrong, I was pissed off with aldi, I was pregnant and hormonal and my argument was that I didn't sell it to someone under age and surely there reason it is think 25 is to allow some leeway for individual thought and people who just look a bit older for their age.

It's not really the issue if it's illegal or not to sell alcohol free cider to someone under 18, the shop assistant isn't wrong to ask for ID if the company policy states that they must. To not follow company policy has repercussions for the shop assistant.
The shop assistant doesn't make the policy, nor has any bearing on that policy being changed, because you see the people making the policy aren't the ones dealing with the crap from customers are they? It doesn't actually affect the policy makers, because customers fail to see that they can stand there shouting the odds all day, at the shop assistant, but it will change nothing because the person you're complaining to and about has no power to change anything. This is why nothing is changing, this is why these threads go around in circles.
And just because it's legal doesn't mean it absolutely has to happen either, you don't have the ultimate right to be served just because it's not against the law. I have refused to serve people that have produced valid ID when challenged - because it was thrown at me whilst calling me a cunt. I couldn't give a fuck if that person was 18 and it was legal, you're getting fuck all out of me behaving like that, and it's not against the law to refuse to serve someone who can prove they're over 18, some people seem to think that shops and pubs are some sort of public service, they're not and the licencee/owner/server can refuse service for lots of reasons.

And someone has said that challenge 25 isn't a legal requirement, not strictly true. The law says you must be 18 to buy alcohol, not that you must look 25, that is true enough. However a condition of gaining and keeping a license to sell alcohol is that you have in place, and actively use (and prove with paperwork) an age challenge scheme. Challenge 25 is the most appropriate, in fact my local licencing officer actively discourages challenge 21 because it's too close to 18. So while not changing the law, and not actually doing anything, the government have pushed the responsibility onto the retailer who have in turn pushed it onto the servers. The companies try their damdest to look good at their licence reviews - "look how responsible we are, we age restricted all these items, aren't we good" and the customer gets pissed off and takes it out on the shop assistant. Companies are usually quite aware of the issues, but the current system allows them to blame the server if they use common sense and get caught.

Shandy, brewed botanical drinks and quite a lot of other sift drinks have an alcohol content that is higher than some alcohol free beers, you don't need to be over 18 to buy them

I reckon drinks companies would get some grief if they were essentially marketing a child's version of their product and many vendors have taken the sensible step top include them under alcoholic beverages so as not to be seen as youth marketing a product that is going to transition them into alcohol

Also they are in bws category on their tills

Which will automatically throw up an age verification screen when they are scanned

More relevant to bigger chains but we used to have a similar system in our independent shop

It's always the 18-21 year olds who kick off about IDing, the ones over 21 tend to be much better.

The way the rules are being interpreted is crazy eg the person who posted on here that her 23 year old couldn't buy paracetomol but neither could her father!

Because that it called a proxy sale.

A previous post as it's not a legal for children over 5 to drink alcohol in the home it's also not illegal for them to drink it in a restaurant providing they are having what is classed as a full meal ie not just crisps nuts or mouth full of parents food.

It should be lowered back to 21, 25 is too high when most age limits are 18. Never understood how you can procreate legally at 16 but can't buy eyelash glue! Also don't understand the smoking laws. Can legally smoke at 16 but can't buy anything til 18. Yet anyone that does buy if for you can be fined. Why aren't they both 18

slashlover those "Pass" things were a good idea but they didn't really take off. I once had a lady at the checkout in Tesco telling me they "only accept driver's licenses and passports" whilst she had a sign about a foot from her face saying they accepted anything with the PASS hologram on it. And that was a big brand who could roll out training and signage for them, it was hopeless trying to convince a small off license or a bar staff member that it was legal ID. I ended up with a Provisional license even though I don't drive, which is annoying as they cost a fortune. I do wish there were an optional, free or cheap governemnt ID scheme which could reliably work.

'Wetherapoons 🤣🤣🤣