To be baffled by Morrison's ID policy

[Babyfacemortified]

I am really at a loss to understand what I have just experienced. Very minor in the scheme of things but I have been left with a lingering uncomfortable feeling.

I made an unplanned stop at my local Morrison's store for a bottle of wine and didn't have my purse with me, just my bank card. So I didn't have any ID with me but I am 33 years old and was dressed for work in business wear so it never crossed my mind that I would be asked for it, even with challenge 25 as I am 8 years over that but to my amazement, I was asked. In many ways, very flattering. This isn't the part that annoyed and bewildered me....

I previously worked in that store for 5 years (starting 16 years ago) and am still on good terms with many of the staff, including management. It's a small town so I still chat to my former colleagues when I see them and keep in touch on Facebook. I didn't have ID, so was refused the sale. This is fine as for whatever reason, the checkout assistant was not confident that I was old enough to buu alcohol.

I asked whether a different member of staff on another checkout could serve me as they would know for a certain fact that I am old enough but was told rhat no, that is not possible and the assistant refused to let me take the wine to another checkout or call a supervisor.

The people behind me in the queue were really nice, as they could obviously tell I am clearly well over 18 (and 25, unfortunately) but I still felt really embarrassed not to mention disappointed at having to leave the lovely Malbec I had been looking forward to!

On the way out, I spotted a supervisor I used to work with and explained the issue to her, told her I realised it was totally my own fault for not having ID but I really did fancy a glass of wine and had a friend coming the following day so could do with something in to offer, so could she aerve me on her checkout but she also refused. She said that although she knew my age, it would be against the law for her to serve me now that her colleague had questioned my age!

Surely this is madness? I absolutely respect the right of the first checkout assistant to refuse if she isn't satisfied that I am old enough, as the consequences of serving someone under 18 can be very serious, but if another checkout assistant and supervisor knew that I was in my 30s they can't be prohibited from serving alcohol can they?

Name changed as very outing.

Unfortunately thats true - I remember same thing happening to me in a different shop (for liquor chocolates of all things for a gift - if I was a teenager wanting to drink underage it wouldn't have been through a box of chocolates)

When I said I didn't have ID and pointed out I was in my mid 30s she asked the woman at the next till what she should do and the other assistant said that she wouldn't have asked me for ID but as the first one had there was nothing they could do and they couldn't serve me

@TrendyNorthLondonTeen not saying tattoos are I'D but that's one of the reasons the guy serving used to explain why my son got served without asking for ID, he has a beard for starters then the tattoos..the guy said one tattoo maybe but my son has a lot and you have to prove your 18 to have tattoos.
Either way it was annoying for me as i would have liked a drink with my meal.

Not RTFT, but it does seem plausible (and barmy)

Not sure how true this is, and unsure if it has been mentioned, but a close friend, many years ago now, was a barmaid and said that if you ask for ID, you're shown that ID and accept it; if it later transpires that the ID provided was fake, the bar staff in question can still get in trouble, as the original suspicion was there that the buyer was underage and you accepted fake ID?

"the guy said one tattoo maybe but my son has a lot and you have to prove your 18 to have tattoos."

A girl I was at school with managed to get a (terrible) tattoo when we were 14. Another friend got one when she was underage too. I worked in a bookies and no way would I serve anyone I suspected to be underage just because they had tattoos.

Asda are quite keen on ID too, I was asked for ID for a packet of teaspoons 😂🙄 Assistant said it's because it's cutlery so could be a knife!! I was a bit confused.

Sainsburys ID'd me for an online shop the other day. It had no age restricted products in it! When I queried it they said they had to do it regardless. Bizarre.

Not sure how true this is, and unsure if it has been mentioned, but a close friend, many years ago now, was a barmaid and said that if you ask for ID, you're shown that ID and accept it; if it later transpires that the ID provided was fake, the bar staff in question can still get in trouble, as the original suspicion was there that the buyer was underage and you accepted fake ID?

Depends on the type of ID you accepted and the quality of the fake really. You can only accept 'official' types of ID like a photo driving license card, passport, citizens card, military ID card. And obviously the photo has to match the person you're serving and prove they're over 18. That itself can be tricky when the photos can be a few years old and people change over time.
I've refused to accept anything without a photo because obviously it could be anyone's birth certificate etc.
If it's a fake they're usually pretty easy to spot, passports and driving licenses have a hologram on them, and someone making a fake ID for the purposes of getting alcohol then they don't usually go to an awful lot of effort making it, so it's pretty obvious.
Photos on phones of a passport etc aren't acceptable either, because it's quite simple to mock that up with a different picture.
If you accepted a form of approved ID that was a pretty good fake (not wrapped in cling film instead of laminated for example) and had a hologram and the correct info on it, I don't think you'd be expected to be an expert and spot it, you'd have a good defence there for why you served them. It it was from the Mickey Mouse university of fun or quite obviously a fake to the average person, didn't have a photo or depicted a person that looks nothing like the photo, you'd have to answer for that.

sorry not RTFT but i wonder how you prove your age in the UK if you don't drive, have no passport and no work id (which don't usually show your age).

In fact i often wonder how you prove you're you in the UK and why when there is so much demand to show ID you consistently vote against having ID cards. Surely it would make your lives much easier?
(was refused wine in the UK because i had a child with me... it's bloody mad)

Morrisons refuses to sell 2 bottles of Guinness to my DH as he had then-17yo DD1 with him! They thought he might be buying them for her and apparently it is policy not to sell alcohol to anyone accompanied by a minor. He pointed out that the week before he’d bought a bottle of wine with his shopping and her younger sisters were there, but that was “different”. I could have understood more if he’d been buying wine or cider.

bre

The citizen card .

@SarahTancredi citizen card can be a total ballache in itself (refused my application with no feedback but kept my £15 as an admin fee), wants you to have a passport or driving license to make it easier. Heaven forbid you don’t know a professional who will vouch for you!

@TrendyNorthLondonTeen he has a full sleeve and its obviously an expensive one plus more on the other arm plus the beard..was enough for the guy that served us. Just a tattoo on its own defo not.