Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think asking for proof of age if you look under 25 is a bit much?

71 replies

skybright · 26/08/2009 09:05

I was asked for photo identification when buying cig's yesterday. It might have been a little funny if i had any apparently acceptable ID with me but i had ...NHS photo card,a credit card and a switch card ...all this was not enough!.

So at the age of 31 i was refused cigarettes..what do people under 25 do now? Carry ID all the time.

Surely an age gap of 7 years is a little extreme.

BTW i think she thought i looked about 24 which is six years over the age limit anyway .

OP posts:
Trikken · 26/08/2009 09:58

oh and my sister got asked for id when she was buying nail-polish remover in somerfield a couple of weeks ago, she is nearly 24.

Plus if you want something thats age-restricted you have to accept that you will be asked for id if they have even the slightest hint of a doubt, it is their job, not their fault you dont have id.

OracleInaCoracle · 26/08/2009 09:59

but stretch, you dont have the right to buy alcohol. its not like as soon as you turn 18 you suddenly get the authority to buy alcohol and no licensee can refuse. the licensee can refuse for whatever reason they wish (i refuse to serve the alcoholics who try to buy their cider with us because i feel that it is irresponsible to continue to serve known drunks) and if you want to buy alcohol, get some id. whats the big deal?

Teladi · 26/08/2009 09:59

I am 24 and thus get IDed all the time now. I don't drive and having had my bag stolen before, I am not carrying around my brand new passport, they are expensive to replace!

I got myself a Citizencard, which was very inexpensive and easy to do. As it is part of the nationwide PASS proof of age scheme, all the supermarkets take it and I think a lot of bars do too although I haven't tried it out there. I don't work for them btw!

Citizencard

OracleInaCoracle · 26/08/2009 10:01

saltire, as i said earlier, you can buy alcohol at 18, but the shopkeeper doesnt have to serve you. it is far easier to look 18 than 25. not id cards by stealth, simply responsible licensing.

Trikken · 26/08/2009 10:01

as long as it has the pass hologram they should accept it Teladi

Teladi · 26/08/2009 10:04

Thanks Trikken it does have the hologram just in case anyone is thinking about getting one for themselves.

I felt like I was breaking the law when I got IDed and didn't have a card with me, it was only after the second time I noticed the policy had gone up to Think 25 from Think 21!!

Trikken · 26/08/2009 10:16

The citizencards are only £10, thats not a lot to cut out a lot of hassle isnt it?

StretchFucksTheMailDaily · 26/08/2009 10:16

lissielou, I wasn't trying to buy alcohol!! It was my mum, paying for her shopping right after I'd paid for mine!

My mum is 48 btw! The kids were calling her nana etc..!!

I never bother trying to buy alcohol now, (apart from a couple of bars that I used to work for who know me), as I get asked and don't have any id.

I agree with id'ing people, but to refuse to sell alcohol on the grounds that you may be buying it for the person stood infront/behind you, well then, nobody would ever get served!!

lolapoppins · 26/08/2009 10:24

But, what I don't understand is that the legal age to buy alcohol is 18.

If I was 18 (ha! I wish) and went into a shop with my a passport saying I was 18, I would be refused alcohol on the grounds that I was under 25??

What is the point of having the age limit at 18 then, or am I being really thick?

earplugs · 26/08/2009 10:24

Its a no win situation really. If there isn't a standard policy across the board for all shops then there will be some that will end up selling to underage kids and will personally get prosecuted for it. (It is the individual that gets to go to court, not the shop for which they work!). So, if I were in their position I'd rather ask for ID than get to stand before the magistrate!

Plus I'm sure the same people that complain about being asked for ID would be the first to be outraged when Sainsburys for example gets done for selling cheap booze to teenagers. Shops can't win either way.

Teladi · 26/08/2009 10:27

lolapoppins if you have ID proving that you are over 18, you will be able to buy alcohol. The policy is that they have to challenge everyone who they think might be under 25 to prove that they are over 18.

StretchFucksTheMailDaily · 26/08/2009 10:27

So, if I was to go into a shop and buy alcohol, and wasn't asked for id (am over 25, but don't always look it!) and someone reported it, would the shop be in trouble for not asking? As I am over 18/25, there is no law breaking?? Am confuzzled!!

OracleInaCoracle · 26/08/2009 10:28

stretch, sorry didnt see that. does seem a bit extreme.

lola, if you are 18 and have id you should be served, however if you look under 25 and dont then you probably won't.

earplugs, agree. damned if you do, damned if you dont.

njmomof1 · 26/08/2009 10:29

Ex Bar Manager here x

I agree that it's a bit much for cigarette sales but I used to get served for cigarettes when I was about 12....I know I was naughty but I grew up and grew out of it.

I do carry the card part of my driving licence with me in my purse anyway as they've recently had a big push to enforce the licencing laws around here, we used to have them in my pubs too and I would just make everyone ask for ID regardless of whether it was fairly obvious cause the fines are MASSIVE now and can really jeopardise your business.

But it more likely that your really fortunate and don't have the usual bedraggled/harrassed mommy look that the rest of have!!!

OracleInaCoracle · 26/08/2009 10:31

stretch, no. the shop would only be in trouble if you were under 18. the idea behind challenge 25 is that a 16 year old cannot look 25, yet can look 18. its to make it much harder to buy alcohol if you ARE underage.

MrsSantoslovestheNHS · 26/08/2009 10:33

God, I would love to be asked for ID. I was "carded" in America and refused entry to a bar because I didn't have ID and was narked at the time. I would love to even fleetingly be considered under 25 but unless the assistant was half-blind, drunk and wearing sunglasses then unlikely . Print this thread out and save it. You will spend more of your life wishing you looked younger than you will wishing you looked older!!

njmomof1 · 26/08/2009 10:34

Stretch - No the shop wouldn't be in trouble as you are in fact over 18 and the sale is completely legal. However, if you were 17 and the shop didn't ask and served you then it is an illegal sale and the shop deserves it.

lolapoppins · 26/08/2009 10:35

Ok, thanks for that! Was a bit confused as my niece is 19 and was refused a bottle of wine at a co-op because they said she had to be 25. She had her driving licence photocard showing that she was 19.

juneybean · 26/08/2009 10:49

Lolapoppins - this is what annoys me, some of the shops etc. seem confused. We got a takeaway menu through the door the other day saying they now sell alcohol however it says "you must be over 25 to accept delivery"

So at 24 if I decided to have a takeaway and order a bottle of wine whilst home alone I'd not get the alcohol.

It's ridiculous, and the governement should explain it very clearly.

lolapoppins · 26/08/2009 10:57

What I find rediculous is people getting stopped buying alcohol becasue they have ayounger person with them. What do you do if you have a 14 year old child with you, and you want to drop in somewhere to pick up some wine? I guess they would refuse you on the basis that you could be buying alcohol for an underage person.

Why not just rufuse to sell to people unless they can prove they are 18 with a valid form of ID? Why have the confusing 25 rules, when some shops get the wrong end of the stick?

AvengingGerbil · 26/08/2009 11:00

I've never been asked for ID in my life [ancient-looking crone emoticon].

ElieRM · 26/08/2009 11:13

I'm 19, and if I'm alone I never get asked for ID! Although I will if I have DD with me Everywhere round here has the Think 25 policy, although few seemto ID all under 25s.
I think its all mad personally. We have such a bizarre relationship with alcohol in this country. We've turned it into the forbidden fruit, so instead of kids learning how to drink sensibly, they're htting their teens and binge drinking in parks. What with kids being peverse and desperate to try snything they're not supposed to.
Think we need to get away from the idea that booze is'bad,' and start promoting sensible drinking instead.Surely if kids are given the odd glass of wine from say, 13, they're going to be less tempted to go drink wite cider in the park because alcohol will have lost its mystery and they'll have a taste for better quality booze? And they'll see drinking as a social activity, and something to be enjoyed in moderation, which might curtail horrific binge drinking escapades in town as soon as they hit 18.

skyblu · 26/08/2009 11:26

I was asked for ID to puchase some Alcoholic Chocolate Truffle things from a Garden Centre.

I was 31 at the time with my 6 year old DS with me (clearly calling me mummy, several times, in front of cashier).

FFS!

I did point out to her that if she thought I was under 18 then I would have to have given birth to my son at 11 years old...and if that were the case she would probably recognise me anyway as I'd have been splashed all over every newspaper & magazine in the country!

She then realised the error of her ways and tried to compensate by offering meekly "oh, you look younger than 31"
...yes....I do...but I don't look 17, or even under 21, by any stretch of the imagination!!!

skyblu · 26/08/2009 11:30

Also, when I was 23 I was asked for proof of ID to buy cigerettes.

I had to put my CAR KEYS and my SWITCH CARD on the counter whilst I rumagaed arund for my driving licence.

Again, asked the lady that, although I look younger than I am, do I really look 15 years old?? or younger???.....No, I think not.

AND if I was 15 years old, I wouldn't have car keys and be paying by switch, would I?!

Some people just don't think it through...

Trikken · 26/08/2009 11:33

was that before they put cigerettes up to 18 skyblu?