Refused Serivice at Sainsburys

garyandlynn

I wish to complain to the manager at Sainsburys. The attendant said he believed I had already had a drink and refused to serve me a bottle of wine. What right does he have to not serve me?
If i had been in a pub i could understand if i was falling about the place but i was just buying a bottle of wine.
What rights do i have?

lukerichardson40

I am not sure you have any rights as such, they can serve who they want and it may be store policy not to serve to people they believe are already drunk. You have the right to complain of course.

System

Had you had a drink? It's unclear in your post what state you were in?

Helix

We were told in our Think 21/25 training not to sell alcohol to people that are clearly intoxicated. I'm not sure if it is the law or just a recommendation. There were some known drunks who were known to get violent when refused alcohol so we were told to serve them regardless.

DevCoder

They have every right not to serve you, not withstanding that they have a duty of care they can dictate who they will serve in their store/premises.

stormbreaker

The shop assistant has the right to refuse sale to anyone and does not have to give reason.

As for the alcohol side of things, it is an offence for anyone in a licensed premises to sell alcohol to someone they believe to be intoxicated.

MamaMoo_2

As said above, it's illegal to sell alcohol to somebody who is already drunk, and if the cashier did serve you, they could be subject to a hefty fine.
In reality, Sainsbury's can refuse to serve you for any reason (other than discriminating based on your sexuality, race, religion etc.)

Takeaway_Addict

garyandlynn wrote: »

I wish to complain to the manager at Sainsburys. The attendant said he believed I had already had a drink and refused to serve me a bottle of wine. What right does he have to not serve me?
If i had been in a pub i could understand if i was falling about the place but i was just buying a bottle of wine.
What rights do i have?

None.......

DCFC79

You were refused a bottle of wine, not worth worrying about is it ?

vikingaero

They've discovered traces of horsemeat in the wine so they've had to refuse to sell it to everyone.

marvin

Any business can choose to serve you or not serve you as they wish it is entirely up to them just as it is entirely up to you if you do business with a company or not. (EG. I won't buy Dyson due to their disinvestment in UK jobs by exporting them abroad, or anything to do with Murdoch they can't force me it is my choice.)

It does not just have to be alcohol and they do not have to give a reason and if you felt you had a complaint you should have raised it at the time with the customer service desk.