General Chat

My daughter, who is 23 went into the te*co supermarket the other day, with her husband..who is 27....they did their shopping...and got a couple of bottles of wine.......when they got to checkout...the cashier asked my daughter if she had some ID....
she had not....her husband was paying for the groceries anyway.so he showed them his driving licence.......'No' she said we cannot accept that....you have to prove that SHE is over 21...but I am paying....'doesnt matter' she said...you may be buying it for her.....and she may be a minor!!!
SO he got his warrant card out (he is a policeman) and showed them that.....to prove that he would not be buying alcohol for a minor........and still they would not allow them to have it......so they left their trolly with all their shopping in...and have shopped elsewhere..........

So does this mean ....if you go shopping with your kids with you..that you are not allowed to buy wine etc?????
errrr I dont think so....I see loads of folks filling up their trolleys with wines and spirits for parties etc.....
What do you think??

idiots!! as if a policeman would put his job on the line , and as you say if you've got your kids with you does that mean you could be buying it for them whats it comeing to?

Hi CMD.
The same thing happened to me in the same supermarket. I was standing at the self service till waiting to serve myself. My 17 year old daughter was with me and a worker came up to me and said that i could not buy the lager i had in my hand. I told him that i was over 21 and he said that it did not matter because the girl that was with me appeared to be under 21. I then replied that i was buying non alcoholic lager. He went bright red in the face and appologised. I laughed my head off.
Bet he felt a right pratt.

Alyson

It is getting ridiculous. One of my daughter's was stopped from buying Pritt Stick, over 21 oh yes she was, over 5' 2" only just..lol she was not amused!

So glad they left their shopping there! Exactly what I would have done. Next step write to the Head Office.

Sue x

My youngest - small, looks young for her age, could pass for a 15 year old etc is rarely challenged . However, her 34 year old 6'6 fiance is often asked!!! Really pees my daughter off! LOL

Happened to my cousin ~she had her kids with both over 18 and she was asked for proof of the ages as they had booze in their trolley ~they had none and the the girl on the till refused to sell them the booze.

Te*co lost a sale of over £300 ~she has said she will never ever shop with this lot again.

Talk about PC

Does that mean you can't buy Paracetamol, Ibuprofen etc, if you have kids with you?????????

I would write to the press about this CMD

Sue.....is there an age requirement for buying pritt stick...I thought kids can use that?

My daughter is 6 foot and had her wedding rings on..
I would not say that anyone would think she looks under age......

Talk about PC all you like. Why not learn a bit about the Law?

The store employees are (mostly) doing their best to comply with the rules - while (some) customers have little to amuse themselves other than mocking.

Grow up!

I think it's getting ridiculous. I understand that the shop assistants are trying to protect themselves from possible prosecution, but it is going too far now, I think. In the supermarket I used to work at, they used to apply the "Think 21" policy, but last time I went in there there were signs saying that if you looked under 25 you would be asked for ID.

They really need to make their minds up because (although I actually am 24, like Maggie's daughter I look young for my age - I certainly don't think I look 25) there are getting to be a lot of loopholes. We're in a situation now where an eighteen year old can be refused a sale if they don't look over 21 (or 25) even though they're technically old enough.

Maggie...
thats so funny...cuz my son is 6'7'' and his girlfriend,(they live together) is only about 5'3' and a tiny size 6
she is older than him (27) and only looks about 14 or 15 unless dressed up.....
they make a cute couple...
cmdx

Agree with the staff trying to do their jobs, but some do take it too far

Sounds like over zealous cashiers to me who are misinterpreting the rules. Just ask to speak to a supervisor.

Rose

Dermot....
If you read the post properly.....you will see that my son -in-law........knows the law........
A POLICEMAN.....

This was a touch to far....

hello everyone. it happened to my nephewwho is 30 and a father of two! its all a load of twaddle anyway. the kids today godbless them all can get wot they want anyway. society is so bad these days, bring back the innocence of being a child and learning to play with their immagination. nite. x

cmd

Tescos regarded Pritt Stick as an item which could be used for solvent abuse...lol

Sue

My point is......
1, I can understand being asked.....thats their job..but once they were shown evidence...that my son-in-law was well over 21.....and he was buying the groceries...then I cannot see a problem......

2, Does this mean that Anyone who has minors with them....cannot buy alcohol.....even if they are toddlers?

IT seems like the only ones actually getting the booze are the underage ones. Saw an 'exchange' outside an off license the other day. The youths were hanging round and asking young men to go get them beer. One guy come out with a bag of musta been a dozen cans. Walked a ways up the street with the youths that had been waiting before handing it over. youth walked back down the street with it, he didn't look a day over 14.

The second lot while we were on our way back to our car (we'd been to the chinese) weren't as discrete and when a guy said no they called him all kinds of foul language. Turned out he did right to refuse as the woman who worked in the offy was in the doorway having a crafty cig.

My point is...how can a retailer be held responsible over what happens to the alcohol once it is bought by a legal adult? They can't, it's unrealistic. But, that said, they are able to refuse to sell you anything they want whether age restricted or not.

Although, all it takes is a bit of common sense. I do agree that it's all got a bit stupid now though.

Oh fanks.....WiNtErWiTcH
I will relay this to my sproggs......
tommorrow.
cmdx

Don't depend on getting a decent answer from him - I too wrote to him direct re the behaviour of one of his managers - reply said manager was popular with customers!! The day I saw him he was like a screaming dervish! In other words I was telling porky pies! I wasn't