Refused booze in tesco again

melorablack

Bamber19 wrote: »

No it hasn't. The reality is that when someone is caught selling to a minor, sweet FA happens to them.

The policy goes over the top. Staff posters on here talk about how it isn't a hassle to bring an ID with you... of course it isn't, but when you ahve your 13 year old son with you you can't bring along an ID for him when you put a bottle of wine in with your shopping. In addition, despite the fact that, as above, sweet FA happens when selling to a minor, in the situation where someone sells to an adult who has a child with them there is simply no way prosecution could be justified.

If the doubt that apparently exists in this situation was a strong reality then all alcohol should not be able to be sold to anyone because "they might be taking it home/outside to give to a child" it's simply ridiculous and it's wholly unreasonable to assume that alcohol is being bought for the child, ergo on the balance of probabilities when an adult is buying alcohol, he/she is buying it for themselves and or their adult friends.

On the other hand it's all being taken too seriously anyway, stop putting alcohol up on a pedestal like a forbidden fruit and maybe you wont get so many kids guzzling vodka at the weekend.

This is wrong - In my OH's shop many members of staff have been fired for selling to minors and the shop has been fined too.

Bamber19

tandraig wrote: »

arghhhhhh forgot to say - in this country legal age for buying alcohol is 18 - what is this 25 !!!!!? stores making their own laws now?

Yes, stores pretending that someone must now look 25 to be sold alcohol. The age remains 18, if you look at someone and believe them to be 18 or odler and sell them alcohol you haven't done anything wrong. At least now they're getting the hang of it though and realise that their daft policy is to ID those who look under 25 but that when they prove they are at least 18 they can be sold alcohol... back at the start I recall showing an ID that proved I was 21 at the time and beign refused the sale (initially) because I wasn't 25. Again, they're taking it too seriously and if it wasn't for their media image most of these places would happily sell to a ten year old kid for the few quid profit it would bring.

Bamber19

melorablack wrote: »

This is wrong - In my OH's shop many members of staff have been fired for selling to minors and the shop has been fined too.

...says the supervisor to all new staff to scare them.

I should have been clearer though, my issue, having worked in stores that sell alcohol is with the BS and scare stories from staff about the legal implications of selling to minors.

I guess it's fair to say someone could be sacked, but that's down to the store policy and not the law, and I admit I should have drawn a distinction, but what wont happen is that the individual will get in to any legal trouble whatsoever if they sell to someone they believe to be over 18 (not over 25), regardless of whether they ID them or not (and extremely unlikely even if the person clearly is under 18) they may get a scare and a discussion about selling to minors and checking for ID but nothing will happen to them.

melorablack

Bamber19 wrote: »

...says the supervisor to all new staff to scare them.

I should have been clearer though, my issue, having worked in stores that sell alcohol is with the BS and scare stories from staff about the legal implications of selling to minors.

I guess it's fair to say someone could be sacked, but that's down to the store policy and not the law, and I admit I should have drawn a distinction, but what wont happen is that the individual will get in to any legal trouble whatsoever if they sell to someone they believe to be over 18 (not over 25), regardless of whether they ID them or not (and extremely unlikely even if the person clearly is under 18) they may get a scare and a discussion about selling to minors and checking for ID but nothing will happen to them.

OH has worked there for 4 years and in that time:

4 people have been sacked by the shop for selling to minors.

1 person has received a £100 on the spot fine from Trading Standards for selling to a minor (bear in mind that was almost half a months wages to that person)

The shop received also recieved a fine for the above offense.

These aren't scare tactics - they actually happened.

However the penalties for selling alcohol even 1 minute before or after the shop's license says they can are much harsher than those who sell to minors lol :rolleyes:

sarahg1969

Ah, but has anyone ever been fined for selling alcohol to someone who is over 18 but under 25? Hmm.

And if you can't tell the difference between a young-looking 40 year old, and an old-looking 17 year old, then you clearly need some training.

justontime

sarahg1969 wrote: »

You can renew a child's passport after 5 years for an extra 5 years, and I don't think you have to update the photo.

A child passport only lasts 5 years then it has to be renewed and you do need a new photo. The earliest you can get an adult passport is age 16, but if you get a child passport at 15 you can use it until it expires (5 years) so you would be age 20.

nickmack

melorablack wrote: »

OH has worked there for 4 years and in that time:

4 people have been sacked by the shop for selling to minors.

1 person has received a £100 on the spot fine from Trading Standards for selling to a minor (bear in mind that was almost half a months wages to that person)

The shop received also recieved a fine for the above offense.

But we don't know the context of the above situations. The staff could well have been selling to friends they knew to be underage. As I posted before, if you are selling alcohol and reasonably believe the purchaser is over 18, you have a valid defence. I've not seen any evidence of staff or stores being reprimanded where this has been the case:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=24124203&postcount=177

The test purchases by Trading Standards tend to use 14-15 years olds who are recruited because they look their age. As a retailer, if you fail this, better training is probably required.

samroo

melorablack wrote: »

I've just asked OH and he said he didn't even look at the expiry date or issue date...he could just see a mile off that there was an adult standing in front of him and a kid in the picture :rotfl: the bloke was genuinely shocked my OH couldn't accept it! :wall:

You have stated that your OH could see an adult standing in front of him. Why on earth then couldn't he have completed the sale. Adult = 18+

icequeen1969

wow im confused, so many people broke, skint and looking to save cash..but so many buying alcohol and ciggies1 whats all this about. booze is and has been for ages the last thing on my shopping list in this credit crunch.
amazed.com!

Doom_and_Gloom

carolinosourus wrote: »

The reasoning is that you change so much in 5 years when you're young (look at the difference between a 12 year old and a 17 year old) but when you reach "adulthood" there isn't so much change in your face so it's not necessary to change the picture so often.

I've looked the same over all from when I was 13 to now at 20. Same height, same face shape, same clothes size. The only thing that's realy changes is my hair colour and my breast size :rotfl:.

I first got served alcohol when I was 15 out with my then 16 year old boyfriend who also got served no problems at all and no mention of ID. Roll on to 16 when I'm with my now partner who was 19 then I got into pubs and clubs for 18's and overs with no problems and served no problems with again no mention of ID.

When I turned 18 I suddenly got asked for ID when in a shop buying some vodka :rolleyes:. I think I've been asked for ID about 5 times since I was legally old enough to as no one thinks I'm the age I am and never have (I got confused for a 12 year old when I was 9) and I never wear makeup (which I think the key is as loads of woman use makup to look older). So it's not always easy to spot someone is is younger. Common sense obviously told the people when I was 15 that I was old enough to get the drink I wanted, vodka and cola, as I said it as though I said it all the time. I know it was wrong of me to do so but if I had been challenged I would have backed down and said fair enough I'm not old enough.

When it comes to not being able to buy alcohol because you have a child with you I think that is very stupid. The legal age in a private place is 5 years old for goodness sake. If parent has a child that is younger than 5 it is unlikely they are going to let the child have any and if they are over 5 then they are perfectly able to do so legally. My parents have always encouraged a healthy behaviour about drink. I had my first beer at 4 or 5 years old and was allowed to drink some after that on special occasions. By 13 they allowed drink (such as vodka and rum) at parties I had (checking with my friends parents who was and was not allowed it) because they were well within their rights to do so even with me picking out the drink I wanted before hand at the store. It's not up to stores to dictate to parents if they can let their children drink alcohol in the privacy of their own homes. When I have children if a store wants to argue with me about it I will use the law to my own advantage. It's better that the parent buys alcohol for their child/teen to drink in their own home than it is for the child/teen to go out of their way to get it using older friends/strangers so they can drink in the streets/parks etc!

For the record I don't shop it Tesco as there are a lot of things they do that I disagree with and I will not fund it.