Not Sure Whats Going On Here

tesuhoha

My son who is 23 went to the pub with his friends on Friday. When he went to buy a pint at the bar he was ID'd. This happens to him all the time so he had his passport with him.

The barmaid looked at his passport under an ultra-violet light and said he didn't have certain strips on his passport (not sure what they are called). He told her his passport was old although it is still in date and she said these strips have been put on passports for the past ten years and she called the police.

I renewed the passport for him when he was 16. He is English, born and raised in this country. So I don't understand what is wrong with his passport. Someone else bought him a drink and he stayed in the pub but the police did not turn up.

Is there any explanation for this that anyone can think of?

pinkclouds

The simplest explanation is usually the right one. If you are certain your son's passport is legally obtained and hasn't expired then the barmaid made a mistake. Barmaids aren't infallible and certainly don't get paid enough to be so!

thorsoak

Since when did Barmaids become Passport Control?

Callie22

Sounds like the bar has been stung for selling booze to underage kids, and is now being super cautious. It also sounds like their training is rubbish.

globalds

She called the Police ..They did not turn up ...??

Possibly she just did not want to serve him.

Not a problem worth spending too much time over.

lollipopsarah

I'm a barmaid and I've never heard of this passport thing.
I can only think that she was scared of being caught but then she could have asked another member of staff to check.
Being an old girl I do struggle with i.d's so If I can't see the numbers I ask someone else to verify.
I am at a loss here in thinking that surely the manager should have made the call.
xx

coolcait

Machine readable passport:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/passports1/passports-a-to-z/m-topics/machine-readable-passport

Can't remember exactly when they first came in, but I got a new passport in summer 2005 to go to the US, and that was machine readable. I think the 'machine readable' thing was very new at that point.

The new passports are 'biometric'!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/Applicationinformation/DG_174159

- can't wait till 2015 when I have to get a new passport . Still, there will probably be something new by then!

The barmaid appears to have taken a little bit of knowledge, applied it wrongly, and proceeded to demonstrate her skills at rectal ventriloquisation. :rotfl:

I don't think there's anything wrong with your son's passport.

ManAtHome

Probably the biometric ones which have holographic 'bars' (feathers) over the photo page - these started in 2006 (not 2002) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4776562.stm.

mishkanorman

tesuhoha wrote: »

My son who is 23 went to the pub with his friends on Friday. When he went to buy a pint at the bar he was ID'd. This happens to him all the time so he had his passport with him.

The barmaid looked at his passport under an ultra-violet light and said he didn't have certain strips on his passport (not sure what they are called). He told her his passport was old although it is still in date and she said these strips have been put on passports for the past ten years and she called the police.

I renewed the passport for him when he was 16. He is English, born and raised in this country. So I don't understand what is wrong with his passport. Someone else bought him a drink and he stayed in the pub but the police did not turn up.

Is there any explanation for this that anyone can think of?

So what was the point of her refusing him if she then allowed him to stay and consume alcohol ?

Sounds like a bit of a clueless barmaid all round, little bit of knowledge applied in totally the wrong way !

Pollycat

coolcait wrote: »

The barmaid appears to have taken a little bit of knowledge, applied it wrongly, and proceeded to demonstrate her skills at rectal ventriloquisation. :rotfl:

I don't think there's anything wrong with your son's passport.

I agree with this.

I don't think there's anything going on, just a mistake by the barmaid.

Isn't there any other method of ID rather than carrying a passport about?
I can see it getting tatty at best, lost at worst.

Our local Wetherspoon pub has some application forms for ID acceptable in pubs, that may be a better option for your son.

Are you sure you've got the full story?
It sounds a bit over-the-top reaction by the bar staff to me, especially to call the police on her say-so rather than discuss it with the manager.

rachbc

I suspect the barmaid knows less about passports than the passport office so would ignore her. He has used the passport to gain entry to the country? I'm guessing immigration control also know more about it than she does and would have flagged any problems.

I got pasports fro both my kids last year at the same time - they are both totally different - one has photo at the front, one at the back, one a chip and not the other...both got us back in fine!