To think Tesco are being ridiculous with a prove you are over 18 for a food delivery

[Qantaqa]

Tesco delivery booked yesterday. Phone call to say van broken down. Do I want a slightly later delivery or cancel / rebook. I say later delivery is fine and think no more of it.

At the point the delivery arrives I am out. DS1(18) is in waiting for the delivery. DS phones to say driver cannot leave delivery as they have a think 25 policy and he doesn't have ID (he's awaiting arrival of his driving licence ). They wouldn't accept DS2 licence as he is only 17. Luckily mum turned up as DS1 was trying to find his Citizencard ID thing and obviously saved todays Sunday dinner the day.

I have looked and the Tesco website says:

All goods must be signed for on delivery by an adult aged 18 years or over.

Tesco follows a "Think 25" policy when delivering age-restricted items, so if the person receiving the goods looks under 25, proof of age will be requested. If proof is not available and there is no-one of that age at the address when delivery is being made, the goods will be retained by the driver.

1. Since Covid no-one signs for deliveries anymore, and
2. There were no age restricted items in the delivery - it was just a normal food shop.

I suspect someone will come along and say there is some reason that they need an over 18 to accept the delivery but if they have no-one signing anymore how can they prove (other than through tracking data on the van) that they have delivered and if that is the proof they are using then when does it matter if the person who takes the food is 18 or 16 or even younger?

Obviously if there was alcohol or a knife or a DVD of some sort that's different but it was literally fruit, veg, meat and bread and too much chocolate

I'll obviously make sure I am there in future until DSs ID comes through, but AIBU to think Tesco is BU?

Are you sure he got it right? When no booze or restricted items, my 17yo accepted a delivery.

If there was no alcohol, etc in the shopping, then I agree it’s a ridiculous policy. They should surely be able to mark each delivery as one that either needs to have ID checked, or needn’t bother.

When we order Deliveroo and have ordered a drink with the meal, we are asked to show ID to the driver (though they don’t always check) so it doesn’t sound complicated to have an automated option on the driver’s delivery list.

I'm with Tesco on this. I assume there are delivery slots as happens with Sainsburys, which rarely fail. So it's not as if you are stuck at home all day as would happen with a Hermes aka Evri parcel or a BT so-called appointment.

Tesco delivery drivers do not know what is in your shopping and don’t have the time to faff and check. Therefore there is this blanket policy. YABU.

My dd has taken in a tesco delivery before and hasn't been asked for ID. I would expect them to want ID for alcohol etc but would be surprised about anything else.

Happened to us we were at hospital with sick toddler and dd (18) was home so we said would she get the Tesco delivery - no age restricted items. They refused (she doesn’t have a passport and couldn’t find her provisional licence) it was a huge shop too. Dh had to speak to the driver then beg him to wait till he got back from hospital which took 20 mins but it was £200+

I used to work in Tesco and it's not just cigarettes and alcohol that are restricted items. You have solvents, knives even Christmas crackers have a 12 or over age limit. It's a nuisance but he's just doing his job.

I had this with Sainsbury’s for my Christmas food shop! No booze or age restrictions because I buy them separately. You get the occasional jobsworth.

Don't know about Tesco but I worked doing the picking for home shopping at Asda and their policy is only over 18s can accept delivery.
The drivers don't know what is on the delivery and they'd have to check every delivery beforehand to check there are no restricted items. They don't have time. The pickers don't have time to mark each delivery as restricted or not
It's much easier for stores to have a blanket policy so they are covered.
Having said that my 15 year old has accepted an order that had alcohol on it from Asda so it obviously just depends what driver you get.

Yep happens regularly if Ds19 or Dd almost 22 answer the door to tesco. They both have their ID ready if they know there's a shop coming and we are going to be out. i have no problem if there are age restricted items - knives, alcohol paracetamol but it is totally OTT is just an ordinary shop.

All online supermarkets have this policy. If my young adults take it my delivery then they will show ID that proves that they are over 18.

They haven't got time to check through your shopping have they. That's the T&C if you don't like it go somewhere else. It's not jobsworth to make sure a child doesn't get a knife. Knife crime is ridiculous right now.

The drivers don't know (or care) what's in your order, which is why they have a blanket policy.

Yeah exactly. Blanket policy means less chance of arguing and stuff too or making a mistake.

There was definitely nothing in it that he wouldn't have just been able to walk in Tesco and buy without providing ID. If he can do that in the supermarket itself I don't understand why he has to be 18 to have the same items delivered.

I appreciate the drivers can't go looking through the shop but I don't believe there isn't a way to put a flag on the label on the boxes or on their order list that it needs ID v No ID.

It’s really poor. Ocado receipts have things split into categories including one for age restricted items, so the driver can see at a glance. It’s Tesco’s fault for not doing this.

This is weird, unless there's age restricted items in my shop, they always leave it with my teenager?

On my Tesco delivery receipt there's always a red warning stamp stating there is age restricted items in it, such as wine etc., that the driver can see at a glance.

Yep, it's weird. Morrisons also states if there are restricted items. My mum lived alone at 16- does that mean she couldn't have used online delivery?

We had the same when I was WFH and on a call and ds answered the door. No booze or restricted items. I had to come off my call to show my decrepit face for a second before they let ds unload 🙄

The Tesco T&C's state that you must be over 18 to receive a delivery.

The fact that none of your products are age-restricted is irrelevant.

Tell him he can take it back for all you care.

I signed for my delivery today have done for months now. They also bring it into the kitchen again which is bliss

Oh and Amazon have to see my id for rizlas. I'm 53

I lived alone at 17 so find that crazy.