To think this is ridiculous? B and M

[Icedlatte97]

I popped into B+M and did some shopping, including a little hand sanitiser that had a key ring thing on it to put on my car keys as I like to have one on me. It was clearly marketed as a children’s one with a motif on it.

I got to the check out and as the cashier scanned the hand sanitiser she said ‘I will need to see some ID for this, you have to be 16 to buy this’. I smiled and said I don’t have any on me but I’m 26’. I didn’t see it in a rude way or anything like that. She looked at me with her eyebrow raised and said ‘are you really’ and then smirked at me, it was like she didn’t believe me. Then she told me she can not sell it to me without ID. Aibu to think this is ridiculous? I have never been asked for ID for hand sanitiser before and thought it was condescending the way she spoke to me

That’s actually a common misconception - hand sanitiser is usually ethanol, as methanol is poisonous and can be absorbed by the skin.

It’s always been flagged as a product needing ID everywhere I’ve shopped for this reason.

My DD recently got asked for ID when buying red bull at a petrol station. It was late, she was the only car on the forecourt, she had filled up her car and was paying for the petrol too. I guess they just follow policy!

No, you can't.

The only acceptable forms of age ID are photo ID like driving licence, passport or PASS ID card.

Children, car keys, tattoos, bank cards and exclaiming "I'm 26!" are not acceptable forms of ID.

In order to sell age restricted products (namely alcohol) you have to have a licence and you have to meet certain conditions to gain and keep that licence. You don't have to break the law to break the conditions of the licence. But breaking the terms of the licence can lead to sanctions such as restrictions, fines and loss of the licence. A challenge policy is a mandatory requirement of a licence.

If you are observed breaking the terms of the licence by not asking for ID if the person who observed thinks you should (licencing officer, police officer for example), "They had a tattoo/kids with them/a debit card/told me they were 26/called me a jobs worth/were offended/I used my common sense" are not a defence for breaking the terms of the licence. The only absolute way is seeing photo ID.

The standard round here is "Challenge 25" - if you look under 25 they require ID. The idea of a 26 year old looking like they might possibly be 24.999 years old is perfectly plausible.

I worked in a B&M. Age restricted products pop up on the screen with a button you have to press to proceed. You have to ask for ID. It's a £2000 fine if you sell to someone underage. I know it's annoying. I've been IDed before when it seems really ridiculous. But it's not the shop assistants fault. It does sound like she was being a bit rude but she had to ask.

😂😂 you absolutely can't

I'm not sure that the act of carrying and producing ID is really an act of suffering? Bit dramatic, no?

OP just take the L and carry ID in future. Sure, it's ridiculous that some items are age restricted and it's annoying when you get caught out, but don't shoot the messenger (the cashier) who might get sacked for not asking for ID.

I bought stuff to make a cake, I went through the self checkout and it flagged up that I needed an override for an age restricted product. I was confused, and so was the supervisor who came to override it - it turned out it was the vanilla extract! At least she didn't ask for ID (I'm 55 😂)

Where did I say not carrying ID is ‘suffering’? fgs some people are desperate to be right on this site. It’s pathetic.

I got refused nail polish remover in Morrisons as had no id
I'm a nurse was going to work in my uniform and forgot I had polish on my nails and still wasn't allowed it. 🫣

I wasn't being pedantic at all
It's not true that syrup analgesia for infants is restricted and it's certainly not marketed at them either, it has a baby on the packaging because it's for babies, it's to make the distinction for dosing
Do you really think chemists would restrict to young parents with no ID with a crying baby in fever in tow that couldn't get a GP appointment?
If we start age restricting as thoroughly as the USA, we need a role out of government mandated, cheap ID, that everyone has to carry, no question
Not a bad idea to be honest, with needing ID to even vote
Not everyone has £100 for a passport they'll never use if they don't holiday abroad
Not everyone can medically drive, or indeed want to drive, or have the money for lessons
Yet again, disproportionately, it is poorer people who will suffer, in the middle of a cost of living crisis no less
And of course alcohol gel isn't mandated, there's unattended canisters of the stuff fixed on walls everywhere you look. Supermarkets, GP surgeries, the side of the tractor at the petting farm, it's a part of life now
There needs to be sensible discussions about it

I get a grip, she didn't think you were over half your age 🙄 what is so hard to understand about THINK 25. Doesn't matter if it's 16 or 18 restricted product, it is think 25 every single time. That cashier should never have sold you it without ID. As PP have said, once you've asked you can't take it back.

Some children like the taste of calpol, are you happy for your child to buy calpol themself in a world where it's not restricted since it's a "children's product"? The child then drinks the full bottle and ends up in hospital.
Alcohol free drinks- firstly it's usually a well known alcoholic brand name (becks/Budweiser/corona) therefore unsuitable for children to drink let alone purchase. Again, would you really be happy with your child being allowed to purchase a pack of beers? there's no option but to make it a restricted product, and all restricted products are THINK 25, including the so-called pointless ones such as Becks blue and calpol. Having everything the same THINK 25 policy makes it easier for staff to remember which age they are checking for (as opposed to e.g think 21 for age 16) so it's a blanket rule for everything . It's not the cashiers fault, they are just doing their job

I had a full and frank conversation with the manager of our local Tesco about this. I am trying to teach my sons to be responsible adults and part of that is them having their own Go Henry debit card, doing theor own shopping including paying and also being allowed non alcoholic beer/wine etc. This is because I want them to consume alcoholic drinks for the taste and because they enjoy them, not because they want to get rat arsed. Anyway, went to the supermarket, DS2 who would have been 12 or 13 at the time went first with some cans of non alcoholic guinnes that he wanted to try. He was refused by the cashier saying that he was underage. I pointed out they were non alcoholic. She said they were not allowed to sell them to under 18s. I said 'fine, stick them with my shopping then' and then she refused to serve me at the age of 49 with them saying she knew I'd given them to my son. Asked to see manager. Manager rocked up and refused to serve me so they lost about £200 worth of business and I went to Asda round the corner instead with DS2 next to me and bought the damn guinness. There is no common sense applied in this country whatsoever!

Now, I completely disagree with non alcoholic versions of alcoholic drinks being unsuitable for teens and above to buy and drink. I strongly believe that making a big deal about alcohol leads to abuse of it in later life. I was allowed free range of our drinks cabinet from about the age of 8, had a couple of sips of gin and a glass of wine on special occasions, and I'm one of the few people that anyone knows who's never been ill through alcohol/made a tit of themselves while drunk and I'm putting that down to being able to take or leave drinking because it was never made out to be some special thing that only grown ups could do! There is a very strange attitude towards alcohol in the UK.

My DD recently got asked for ID when buying red bull at a petrol station. It was late, she was the only car on the forecourt, she had filled up her car and was paying for the petrol too. I guess they just follow policy!

Couldn't that leave them on dodgy ground, though, if they've allowed somebody who might be under 16 to freely access petrol - which they are then presumably not going to refuse to take her money for?

Why are they marketing them at kids if you have to be 16 to buy them? Bonkers!

It isn't about common sense. I spoke to the cashier in Tesco about some non alcoholic beer I was buying and she said because it does contain a very minute amount of alcohol, they have to put the age restriction on. The store you were dealing with handled it correctly. If the item is age restricted they cannot be seen to selling it, even by proxy, to a minor. They have to follow their store regulations as part of their job.

The law is that anything <0.5% ABV is not alcohol for licencing purposes, and can be sold to anyone of any age

https://alcoholfreedrinks.co.uk/definition-of-alcohol-free-drinks/

If they believe that things with a minute amount of alcohol shouldn't be sold to children, they should also be requiring ID for anyone purchasing bread or ripe bananas.

Well it's not 0% alcohol then and shouldn't be sold as such! It absolutely is about common sense.

My point was whoever and whatever the rules are, or however batshit you find them, the store has to abide by the rules laid out. This is not a debate on who and what can be sold as an age restricted item.

But those AREN'T the rules. If it was 0.5% ABV or below you can sell it to a 10 year old and it would be entirely legal.

Stores - and in some cases cashiers - are making up their own rules in excess of the law.

The point is, however batshit you find it, the age restriction applies therefore the shop has to act accordingly. They cannot sell to you with a very good indication you'd give to your 'underage' kids.

I'm so glad I don't work in retail anymore.

She was doing her job

Yeah, I'm bright enough to get that bit 😁 but it is absolutely batshit!!