Register

Too young to drink.

Hic I'm not as thunk as drenkle peep. Glirch.
User avatar
Posts: 755
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:05 am
Location: Newport, South Wales

Too young to drink.

Postby Wokman » Sat Sep 29, 2012 6:04 pm

Puss in boots, my OH went to the Co-Op recently to buy a nice bottle of wine for us. After about 20 mins she returned home empty handed and soaking wet from the rain. She told me that the woman at the checkout had asked her for ID and she wouldn't get served without it :o

Puss has two sons who are old enough to buy alcohol, so I told her to lay off the moisturiser and cultivate a few wrinkles :lol:
Either the woman at the till was just being pedantic or it might have been a case of "should have gone to specsavers".
I must admit that she does look younger than her birth certificate says, but she does look old enough to buy a bottle of wine. (I'm probably going to get a slap for that last comment).

The point is that she now has to take her passport with her every time she wants to buy a nice bottle of wine, so not very convenient.

User avatar
Posts: 4986
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:30 pm
Location: Provence

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Joanbunting » Sun Sep 30, 2012 10:52 am

Strangely enough I was reading an article about the same happening to a clearly elderly man in Asda. I think he was in his 70's.

A "spokesperson" fpr Asda apparently said that he should have asked to see a supervisor as the checkout assistant was only doing as instructed. Incidentally, photo ID is required as a birth certificate could have been "borrowed".

I know supermarkets have to be carefull not to sell booze to under-aged people but common sense doesn't appear to exsist in some places, just jobsworths.

User avatar
Posts: 488
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 10:17 pm
Location: East Anglia, UK

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Suelle » Sun Sep 30, 2012 10:57 am

Unfortunately a policy to look at ID in supposed to be applied without discrimination, which means that obviously old enough to drink people should expect be asked too! If a till assistant doesn't ask, they are technically not doing the job properly.
The blog which does what it says on the tin:

http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

User avatar
Posts: 4139
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Stokey Sue » Sun Sep 30, 2012 5:15 pm

It can be done with charm though

i have no objection to nice young men asking me "Would it be rude to assume you are old enough to buy this?" as several round here do (and I am almost certainly older than their Mums)

User avatar
Posts: 1268
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:14 am
Location: South Wales

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Puss-in-boots » Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:03 pm

It was an older lady and she was quite rude, when i said "you are joking"? she said "well have you got any ID"?, i just left the shopping there and left the shop taking myself to Morrisons, passport in pocket. This weekend i went down there and she served me again and when she looked at the passport she kept looking at me and then said, "sorry i was just trying to work out how old you are" and when i told her she said "and I asked you for ID, I am so sorry".

I know they have a job to do but i mean, i don`t expect to be asked those sort of questions at my age, she just said, take it as a compliment!

If it was a young man who said it with charm I wouldn`t have been so shocked I don`t think... :lol:

Anyway I got the wine eventually, so all's well that ends well, (until the next time)... :lol:

I can believe they ask you Sue.

User avatar
Posts: 179
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:08 pm
Location: Cheshire

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Lou » Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:56 pm

I thought the whole idea was "think 25" if the person looks like they could be younger than 25 then they are likely to get asked for ID?

I can pass for 25 (yeay me!), but certainly not 17, and I wish they would apply common sense.

I have been recently been refused alcohol when buying a bottle of ale for a steak and ale pie, which was frustrating as I could not put dinner on until I popped home and then went back to the shops.
And another time I was buying a bottle of Bucks fizz to share with a friend on her birthday. I was driving so could not really have anything stronger.
Surely if I was a teenybopper planning to get "off my face" in a bus shelter I would be buying something more adventurous than 3% bucks fizz???
Last edited by Lou on Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Posts: 1268
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:14 am
Location: South Wales

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Puss-in-boots » Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:55 pm

I always think 25 because that is how old you have to be to buy alcohol but my eldest son is 28 next birthday my youngest coming up 2o, i should`t tell anyone this but i`m 47 in December... hence the shock at being asked... :lol:

User avatar
Posts: 179
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:08 pm
Location: Cheshire

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Lou » Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:34 pm

I am not surprised. There comes a point when it is hard to smile and say 'thank you for the compliment"

I know a woman in her 60s who was asked in the US, she was shocked they refused to serve her!

User avatar
Posts: 1268
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:14 am
Location: South Wales

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Puss-in-boots » Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:39 pm

:lol: :lol: :lol: Lou you are an inspiratation and lovely to boot.

User avatar
Posts: 106
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:06 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby spotteddick » Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:38 pm

It would be no problems if Brits carried ID cards, here in Germany it is no problem as everyone has to carry an ID with them at all times (your driving license is considered ID as it has DoB and pic on it) But I must also carry my MoD ID with me at all times and this is normal (for all civilians and military working on MOD properties at least), I cannot get my head around this not wanting to carry ID at all times, it cuts out all the hassle

User avatar
Posts: 4986
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:30 pm
Location: Provence

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Joanbunting » Thu Oct 04, 2012 2:08 pm

Hi Dick

I agree. It is quite normal after a while to make sure you have ID in continental Europe but the culture in the UK seems not to be so inclined.

One side of me is for "freedom". The other, more pragmatic one, is against. With a family in the Army you get used to being checked all the time when visiting. Grandson was a hoot when we were in Virginia this year. Every time we went to the PX or the NX or even to the cinema DD had to show her pass and we had to have our passports at the ready. If the duty guard did not salute DD at the naval base and say "Welcome aboard Ma'am" GS would give him/her a black mark and glower appropriately. I have to say that almost without exception we were treated with the utmost respect and courtesy

User avatar
Posts: 179
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:08 pm
Location: Cheshire

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Lou » Thu Oct 04, 2012 4:49 pm

Hello Dick,
I do usually carry my driving licence with me, in fact right now I have that and my passport in my handbag. I have no issue with having it on me, I have little to hide!
The times I have been asked and not had anything have been occasions where I have taken it out of my purse to use for something (filling out an online form for example). Or if I have been on an evening out it may be in my evening handbag.
It is these rare occasions I don’t have it that I seem to get asked.

I am a terror for leaving my cash card on the coffee table after internet shopping, so on the weekends if I am just popping to a local shop I might just pick the cards up and go. On a 20 minute trip I forget I might need anything else.

I find people who do not drive (which is becoming more common amongst the young), are far less likely to have ID on them as a lot don’t want to risk dropping their passport.

User avatar
Posts: 4139
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:01 pm

Lou wrote:I find people who do not drive (which is becoming more common amongst the young), are far less likely to have ID on them as a lot don’t want to risk dropping their passport.


I know a fair few people who don't drive (more in the city than outside) and it can be a real problem - not everyone always has a valid passport

In the UK, because we don't have an ID, a passport is legally your only form of ID - although many organisations accept a driving licence, it's not legally ID, it just a drivng licence!

I understand some of the resistatnce to natioanl id cards, but there are all sorts of plans to create universal electronic health records for example - and I don't see how these can work without some kind of id card to back them up (you'd need for example to show it in A&E before they coudl access the file that told them what drig allergies you had), and if everyone is to have and carry an NHS card, they might as well bite the bullet & issue id cards.

User avatar
Posts: 3832
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby jeral » Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:06 pm

There is a young person's identity card which is supposed to be accepted by most retailers. It's http://www.pass-scheme.org.uk/ being "PASS :: The National Proof of Age Standards Scheme". Useful for peeps who have no similar acceptable photo ID.

Some smaller shopkeepers here are very cautious about selling to under age peeps (and their tricks to get it) as the penalties are very high if they are found to have sold it, so for that reason, they also keep their eyes open to guess if an obviously older adult is going to hand it to kids immediately after purchase. Guess means sixth sense about other purchases made, how much booze and what sort, whether a regular's typical purchase etc.

National ID cards for 50+ million people and for more important things than just buying booze or cigarettes is a whole different ballgame, both costwise and that governments don't have a particularly good record for developing massive integrated computer systems. The young person pass is a reasonable compromise.

User avatar
Posts: 3832
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby jeral » Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:53 pm

I just met someone who said that he and his girlfriend both 20+ had bought provisional driving licences to use as ID cards (whether they wanted to learn to drive or not) as it was something likely to be accepted by most retail outlets as being "old enough".

The cost of a provisional driving licence is £50 per the Gov't website, so a bit steep, although for peeps who look young and are constantly taken to task it might be a worthwhile outlay.

User avatar
Posts: 4139
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:52 am

jeral wrote:I just met someone who said that he and his girlfriend both 20+ had bought provisional driving licences to use as ID cards (whether they wanted to learn to drive or not) as it was something likely to be accepted by most retail outlets as being "old enough".

The cost of a provisional driving licence is £50 per the Gov't website, so a bit steep, although for peeps who look young and are constantly taken to task it might be a worthwhile outlay.



Also only a full licence is accepted as id for many purposes (e.g. internal fligths)

User avatar
Posts: 179
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:08 pm
Location: Cheshire

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Lou » Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:54 pm

I will never understand that!
Surely, as you get a provisional from the same place as a full licence they should be equally valid?

I fortunately never had an issue using a provisional for ID, I would not have been amused if I had (I am passed now).

User avatar
Posts: 1268
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:14 am
Location: South Wales

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Puss-in-boots » Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:44 pm

I don`t have a problem with carrying ID of any sort just that i`m not used to it. I was more shocked about the fact that I was asked for ID and at my age... :lol:

User avatar
Posts: 1268
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:14 am
Location: South Wales

Re: Too young to drink.

Postby Puss-in-boots » Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:00 pm

Yippeeeee I was shopping today and a couple in front of me were asked for ID, he was my age she was 29 I was sooo glad it wasn`t just me that gets asked for ID. I carry my passport with me now but all the same at least it is not just me. :thumbsup

Return to Beverages

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests