daughter was asked to leave homebase because she's under 18?

[whatisgoingonitw]

My daughter and her friend (both 15) went shopping yesterday and nipped into Homebase as my daughter wanted a plant and her friend wanted a heated blanket. They were approached by a member of staff who said “what age are you both you don’t look old enough to be in here” they replied 15. The member of staff asked them to leave as you need to be 18 to shop. My daughter is very straight forward and says how it is, she told the member of staff no as that is not true. The girls continued to walk around the store and they were followed by this lady who works there. They got to the till and paid with no issues the employee at the till didn’t mention age. My daughter told me this when she got home and explained the employee was rude and followed them around the store as well as giving them “dirty looks” I rung the store today to speak to a manager as that customer service is not okay. He told me you do infact need to be with an adult 18+ to shop. Is this serious? I can’t find anything on the website.

Your entitled daughter needs to understand rules do apply to her. It is up to each shop who they allow on their premises. She does not have the right to enter or stay on private property if she has been told leave. The law applies to her.

Decathlon is the same. I can understand a group going in. - because of the display games and bikes etc, but a lone teen wanting a bit of sports equipment??

👏👏👏

No, if the security came over and asked them to leave because their behaviour was inappropriate then, yes, the store would be entitled to withhold service on an individual basis. This was not the excuse given.

The security guard said that it did not allow people under 18 to shop without an adult - a policy that was not signposted on the doors or even raised by the cashier, nor is it stated in the Homebase terms and conditions/policies section. It is actually not legal, either, as the Sale of Goods Act only references the sale of prohibited items to under 18s.

It is discriminatory conduct because the 15yo was asked to leave because she belonged to a class of people (under 18’s) not because of her individual behaviour.

I’d kick up a stink with Head Office.

Rules? You mean the made-up policy that isn’t signposted or mentioned anywhere online? 🤔

Your post is a classic ‘let’s be nasty to OP’ post. Do better.

If OP has nothing better to do with her life than ‘kick up a stink’ with Homebase head office about her little darling then I feel very sorry for her. Plenty of other shops selling plants and electric blankets, it’s a non issue. DD is 19 and I can’t imagine her or any of her friends even thinking about a trip to Homebase, it’s very odd and I don’t blame the staff for being a bit confused too.

You think it’s “odd” that a teenager wants to buy a plant? You think the staff were “confused”?! The world must be utterly baffling for you!

@MaloneMeadow the way you speak about this child is quite disparaging. Children are part of our society and no less entitled to be treated respectfully and as the individuals they are, as any other person.
It doesn't matter that there are other shops where the dd could buy a plant - she was in this^^ one, and she shouldn't have to meekly accept being ordered to leave (with no explanation given) just because she is young.

And just because your 19 year old doesn't want to go to Homebase, it doesn't mean no other teenager should. It's not 'odd' at all.

Nope, I’m just utterly baffled that the OP thinks it’s such an issue. It’s their shop, her DD isn’t entitled to be there and they don’t need to give a reason for her to be asked to leave. Whether she likes it or not that’s the way it is.

Your son has a childhood diagnosis and support, I suspect.

I was over 40 when diagnosed. No support, no coaching. I haven't been able to figure out social skills by myself. A friend of the family who worked as a SEND teacher commented to my mum that I don't mask well at all.

Autistic people aren't all the same. Some don't even speak, so how can they be well-mannered?

My teens and their friends regularly go to Homebase for plants (succulents seem especially popular for some reason), pain samples and soft furnishings - and they have never been stopped by officious security staff, hence my feeling this is a policy misapplied by management/security.

Just wonder whether it’s not okay to ‘kick up a stink’ because this child is assumed to be a white, middle-class ‘madame’ [we actually know nothing about the child or OP] and even if this is so, what does that say about the chances of a black/Asian/disabled child who may equally wish to shop there being permitted to go about their legally entitled shopping?

So, yes, I’d be kicking up a stink. Noone makes my child feel unsafe or uncomfortable without me responding.

Good on OP for raising a child who was able to advocate for herself, I say.

That's for website sales, not shop sales.

I wager money that she'll be burnt out from masking by 40.

My DD being polite and pleasant isn’t masking, it’s how she was raised to be. Being autistic is no excuse for being blatantly rude

I hope you don’t have teenage daughters.

Or perhaps it’s just other people’s daughters you think ought to just put up with random expulsion from shops and being discussed in these terms.

Oh there are, usually sod or worse.

I have a teen DD and I would be absolutely appalled if she challenged a shop worker like that and insisted she knew better than them. Thankfully she was raised with manners so it’s not going to be an issue I’ll ever have to deal with or hear about!

You can get a council flat at 16 in Scotland. I did.

@MaloneMeadow no that's not just 'the way it is' - it's discriminatory unless there's a solid reason. Law abiding citizens are entitled at the very least, to an explanation of why they are being asked to leave and to be asked nicely, not spoken down to or ordered about by officious staff whose tiny bit of power has gone to their heads.

But in this case the teen clearly did know better. There was no such policy and the cashier served the girl.

We do our teens no favours by insisting they always meekly accept unjustified discriminatory behaviour.

Unless you can provide the elusive evidence that this is indeed a valid policy?

Unless she’s somehow an expert in Homebase store policies, then no, at that particular moment in time she didn’t know better.

TBH I’d be happy if more places barred unaccompanied minors. Especially cinemas.

It makes sense that unaccompanied children are not allowed in DIY stores. Yes staff can challenge them if they are trying to buy an axe or knife, but what's to stop the child grabbing a tool and using it on someone in the store?

Shops have to abide by equality legistlation but equally they have a duty of care to those in store. A blanket ban on children that don't have an adult to control them could be seen as justifiable if there are items that could be used as weapons.

Welcome to Mumsnet. Where all teens are angels and cheeky teenagers who answer back are lauded

I wish more places banned unaccompanied children. We don't all live in St Mary Mead.