Buying Alcohol at ASDA

halibut2209

Second time this has happened (First at Tesco)

Mrs halibut was refused the sale of alcohol because she had her 16 year old daughter with her. It's ridiculous that an adult cannot buy alcohol if they are accompanied by a child. Are single parents who have to have their children with them not allowed to buy it any more? Or parents whose partner is serving in the forces overseas?

Anyone else ran into this?

Retrogamer

I know people in their 30's who were refused whilst being on their own as they didn't have ID.
At least one of them hasn't aged well either and looks older than they really are so i'd feel sorry if someone at 18 looks like them.

I always wondered what the rules are in regards to selling alcohol to parents with children.
16 = no but i assume they don't mind serving parents who have children in prams or buggies so what's the cut off point?

halibut2209

There are no "rules", it's store policy. It seems as though this is a recent thing for ASDA (quick google search shows a plethora of complaints from the start of the year), and the big bosses back the policy. It's non-sensical. As you say, where is the cut off? If the adult is buying it, and has ID then that should be that.

And it's completely obvious to anyone that Mrs H and Miss H are mother and daughter.

I'd quite happily support the US system of EVERYONE who wants to buy alcohol has to show ID. That saves all the embarrassment of cashiers asking, and people in their 30s assuming they will be fine. But to refuse if you have your children with you? It's absolutely ridiculous.

PlymouthMaid

I would complain very strongly to the store as it is not law, so far as I know, to refuse to serve somebody who has a child with them. As above posters have said it is ridiculous as there are so many reasons why you would be shopping with your child. Does this mean that an online delivery would be refused if you had children in the house? Mad.

enkoda

Retrogamer wrote: »

I know people in their 30's who were refused whilst being on their own as they didn't have ID.
At least one of them hasn't aged well either and looks older than they really are so i'd feel sorry if someone at 18 looks like them.

I always wondered what the rules are in regards to selling alcohol to parents with children.
16 = no but i assume they don't mind serving parents who have children in prams or buggies so what's the cut off point?

It is perfectly ok to sell alcohol to parents with children so long as the cashier is 100% sure the alcohol isn't being bought for the children. Unfortunately, many supermarkets' own Challenge 25 policy can sometimes make this impossible for parents shopping with their kids, as the repercussions for selling to someone who cannot prove their age is not worth the cashier risking their job.

The greatest threat isn't prosecution from the police or Trading Standards, it's the possibility of failing a company's own internal test purchase, which can easily lead to the cashier losing their job.

Due diligence easily becomes paranoid diligence!

halibut2209 wrote:

I'd quite happily support the US system of EVERYONE who wants to buy alcohol has to show ID. That saves all the embarrassment of cashiers asking, and people in their 30s assuming they will be fine. But to refuse if you have your children with you? It's absolutely ridiculous.

If one person in a group is buying alcohol, everyone in that group must be over 18. It is daft, but as I stated above, some cashiers are not prepared to their risk their job, as ridiculous as it may appear from a customer's point of view.

enkoda

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

Does this mean that an online delivery would be refused if you had children in the house? Mad.

If there was no one in the house who was 18 years old or over (and had ID to prove their age), then a delivery driver has the right to refuse to hand over the items of alcohol.

PlymouthMaid

Well yes but I meant that on Asda's logic re children being present in the store with their parent, even if you were over 18 and could prove it then they shouldn't be delivering alcohol to the house.

barmonkey

halibut2209 wrote: »

There are no "rules", it's store policy. It seems as though this is a recent thing for ASDA

Not new, my friend was refused nearly 4 years ago because she had her 10 year old son with her, she walked out leaving over £200 worth of shopping unpaid for at the till,

The same shop have never refused me when im with my 16 year old

Chickabiddybex

This isn't new at least around here anyway. It has been happening for years.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

At the point of sale, the offer is made. If I was refused service, (text removed by MSE Forum Team) would be picking the items up and putting the whole job lot back on the shelf,as he watched my backside leave the store.

You have feet, vote with them

MamaMoo_2

Considering that any child aged 5 or over can legally drink alcohol at home it's a pretty idiotic rule to be enforcing...