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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect Waitrose to deliver veg without proof of age?

136 replies

WhatNoPeas · 05/10/2020 19:27

So Waitrose have just refused to deliver to my disabled 31 year old sister because she couldn't provide ID showing she was over 25.

There was no alcohol in her order, just veg and the like. The guy just took the shopping back from her doorstep and disappeared.

AIBU to think that she should be able to receive her (alcohol free) shopping without proving she's old enough to buy alcohol?

OP posts:
CheeryAlmond · 05/10/2020 22:44

In fact, I've just checked the Ts&Cs of Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrison's, Co-Op, Iceland and Waitrose and all of them say that someone over the age of 18 needs to sign for the goods.
They operate 'challenge 25', but the receiver only needs to be 18.

CheeryAlmond · 05/10/2020 22:45

18 or over that should say.

AmIACowBag · 05/10/2020 23:26

Well Tescos left shopping with my 12 year old before when i wasn't back from work yet and they came early. y child had never carried shopping in his life he wasn't impressed 😂 That's ridiculous of Waitrose OP.

Havanananana · 05/10/2020 23:30

These guys don't ask your age when delivering ...

Applesandpears23 · 05/10/2020 23:30

What? Ocado have left mine on my door step before at my request (was 10 mins away). They wouldn’t leave the bottle of wine but took that away and refunded me and left the rest. Did she have the bank card she used to pay?

Frappuccinofan · 05/10/2020 23:35

Why didn’t your sister have any ID at home?
Genuine question, what are people who cannot afford ID supposed to do? It’s not like passports and driving licenses are free?

MrsSchadenfreude · 05/10/2020 23:50

My mother has no ID - she is 87, doesn’t drive and has no passport. Bus pass not deemed acceptable ID. What is she supposed to do? Have a proof of age card?

ineedaholidaynow · 05/10/2020 23:52

Can’t you buy ID cards?

Will drivers have the same issue as employees in the store, that once they have challenged someone and asked for ID they can’t complete the transaction unless ID is shown. They can’t change their mind. Isn’t that a disciplinary offence.

bitheby · 06/10/2020 00:06

@MrsSchadenfreude

My mother has no ID - she is 87, doesn’t drive and has no passport. Bus pass not deemed acceptable ID. What is she supposed to do? Have a proof of age card?
She might just scrape past the challenge 25 test.
MrsSchadenfreude · 06/10/2020 00:10

@bitheby you would think so, no? But the Amazon driver refused to leave some gin I had sent her as his machine said he had to tick a box saying he had seen evidence of age (eyes clearly insufficient) and input the date of birth. Amazon also refused to leave my gin with my 97 year old neighbour for the same reason.

RunningWaterfall · 06/10/2020 00:11

@bitheby You say that, but someone asked my 70-something father for ID a couple of years back. Apparently they’d been caught out by something recently and had been told to ID absolutely everyone, even where they clearly passed the age test.

rainkeepsfallingdown · 06/10/2020 00:14

Tesco and Sainsburys are both happy to leave my shopping outside my door without me coming out to see them. It's safer for all parties this way.

It does mean I haven't bought any alcohol in a long time, because it's not worth the faff of ID verification in my opinion!

I'd be really pissed off with any retailer forcing me to have a face-to-face drop off in these times if I hadn't ordered any age restricted products.

Go for Tesco. Their social media team are also really good at fixing things when they go wrong.

Staffy1 · 06/10/2020 00:41

I had no idea of this policy and feel offended never to have been asked for ID.

Elsewyre · 06/10/2020 03:06

@WhatNoPeas

So Waitrose have just refused to deliver to my disabled 31 year old sister because she couldn't provide ID showing she was over 25.

There was no alcohol in her order, just veg and the like. The guy just took the shopping back from her doorstep and disappeared.

AIBU to think that she should be able to receive her (alcohol free) shopping without proving she's old enough to buy alcohol?

Was there any age Id items?

Energy drinks, alcohol flavoured things like bbq sauce etx

Elsewyre · 06/10/2020 03:09

@Brefugee

so if you don't have a passport and you don't have a driving licence - what is an acceptable ID?
Provisional drivers license is the cheapest and best option.

Otherwise there is the 18+ card but pretty much no one accepts it for substances

safariboot · 06/10/2020 03:56

YANBU.

It's an idiotic policy. It's true that most supermarkets require an adult to receive the order, but without age restricted products there's no good reason to require ID for groceries.

Tesco and Sainsbury's have never IDed me in my late 20s/early 30s. For both, the drivers will have a list of the groceries, and Tesco highlights tobacco and alcohol in its own section.

I agree with previous posters. Raise the discrimination angle - she was unable to provide ID upon request due to her disability.

Ghosts2020 · 06/10/2020 04:05

I worked for waitrose and that was never a rule, I'm very confused maybe the delivery driver got confused? Or perhaps she did order alcohol?

alexdgr8 · 06/10/2020 04:08

i think she needs to change her supermarket,
and check the new one is more sensible.

alexdgr8 · 06/10/2020 04:15

some people could not apply for a provisional driving licence, due to disability, they could never drive, and it might just be an offence to purport to be able to, eg if they are blind.
and what is an 18 card. i'd have no idea how to get one.
this is a big problem for some people, increasingly so, with everything being online, universal credit etc, needing ID, computer says no.....

MrsSchadenfreude · 06/10/2020 07:45

My mother’s handed in her driving licence as she’s stopped driving. It would be a bit strange if she suddenly applied for a provisional licence! My daughter, who looks younger than she is, applied for a proof of age card, and nowhere accepts it! Not night clubs, not supermarkets, not the Amazon delivery man.

cologne4711 · 06/10/2020 07:59

I've never been asked for ID by Sainsburys, and, no, not everyone has ID at home.

So what is Waitrose's reasoning?

cologne4711 · 06/10/2020 08:01

All this proves is that we do need ID cards, and people have got to get over the idea that we don't. I'd much rather have a universally accepted ID card than have all this messing.

cologne4711 · 06/10/2020 08:04

The thing about completing the contract doesn't apply, because the under 18s can buy "necessaries". So they can't stop you buying vegetables or non-age-restricted items. And anyway, nobody is signing for items at the moment.

Also, in Scotland, the age of capacity is 16, not 18, so do they have the same policy there?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 06/10/2020 08:09

@cologne4711

All this proves is that we do need ID cards, and people have got to get over the idea that we don't. I'd much rather have a universally accepted ID card than have all this messing.
It proves that common use is going to press for a change in the law that many don't want.

I don't want to be obliged to carry ID. I do, most of the time, but am often out without purse, phone, etc.

I work with peope who don't have ID... no drivers license, passport, no bills in their name etc. It's a nightmare for them to get through a lot of things, something as simple as a text message to confirm ID is impossible. The ID thing made it impossible for them to get their government food boxes for a while... it took us ages to sort it out. Our final fix was the landlord of a local pub taking over the food box distribution and him trusting us to identify clients!

ID cards will continue to be a very hard sell to some sections of society, and I am not talking about conspiracy theorists etc!

LolaSmiles · 06/10/2020 08:59

What a load of rubbish this is!
You've got to be over 25 to receive a food delivery?
That's not what's being said. 🤦‍♀️

Whether people agree or disagree with stores having a policy of delivering to adults only and ID-ing under Think 25 if unsure, it's fairly silly to see lots of posters acting like supermarkets are stopping under 25 year olds buying groceries online. They're not. They are clearly saying they will deliver to adults 18 and over.