Buying Alcohol Laws

[Hibee87]

Can anyone here point me out the law, not 'supermarket policy' but an actual law that states they can't sell you alcohol if another person you are with doesn't have ID?

Lat Saturday in tesco I was with my missus (33) my son (3) and me (28). We were getting a few things for a family get together and included was a bottle of wine and a bottle of whiskey I picked up for my dads christmas. Scanned it all through etc and obviously they need to buzz the ID thing trough for the drink. I was asked for ID, which I duly showed. My partner was then asked and said she didnt have any one her. To which we were told we wouldn't be served.

The woman cited that she/tesco would get a £2000 fine if they sold ME the drink and i passed it to someone underage i.e my missus.

I called her out on this as being bull****, and she offered to go get a manager, at which point my missus found her ID and eveything was fine again, but I still dont think this can happen.

What if I went in with just my son, would I be refused then?
Even if I did buy it for someone else, that would make me the person resonsible for prosecution, not the shop.

[Moulin Yarns]

It is all here

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/alcohol-and-the-law/buying-alcohol

[Allant1981]

Happened to me also but unfortunately there isnt much you can do if the other person has no ID, its a crazy law as the shop is selling it to someone of legal age but i suppose this is the goverments way of trying to stop under age drinking

[CropleyWasGod]

Can anyone here point me out the law, not 'supermarket policy' but an actual law that states they can't sell you alcohol if another person you are with doesn't have ID?

Lat Saturday in tesco I was with my missus (33) my son (3) and me (28). We were getting a few things for a family get together and included was a bottle of wine and a bottle of whiskey I picked up for my dads christmas. Scanned it all through etc and obviously they need to buzz the ID thing trough for the drink. I was asked for ID, which I duly showed. My partner was then asked and said she didnt have any one her. To which we were told we wouldn't be served.

The woman cited that she/tesco would get a £2000 fine if they sold ME the drink and i passed it to someone underage i.e my missus.

I called her out on this as being bull****, and she offered to go get a manager, at which point my missus found her ID and eveything was fine again, but I still dont think this can happen.

What if I went in with just my son, would I be refused then?
Even if I did buy it for someone else, that would make me the person resonsible for prosecution, not the shop.

It certainly can happen.

Happened to my daughter, when she was about 23 and my son (who was with her) was 15.

When I work my mate's bar at Glastonbury, we take the same tack. 2 youngish people approach, 1 has ID, 1 hasn't.... we have to refuse the sale.

It's really not worth the fine or the prosecution.

Your partner should take the compliment that she doesn't look her age. :greengrin

[overdrive]

Can anyone here point me out the law, not 'supermarket policy' but an actual law that states they can't sell you alcohol if another person you are with doesn't have ID?

Lat Saturday in tesco I was with my missus (33) my son (3) and me (28). We were getting a few things for a family get together and included was a bottle of wine and a bottle of whiskey I picked up for my dads christmas. Scanned it all through etc and obviously they need to buzz the ID thing trough for the drink. I was asked for ID, which I duly showed. My partner was then asked and said she didnt have any one her. To which we were told we wouldn't be served.

The woman cited that she/tesco would get a £2000 fine if they sold ME the drink and i passed it to someone underage i.e my missus.

I called her out on this as being bull****, and she offered to go get a manager, at which point my missus found her ID and eveything was fine again, but I still dont think this can happen.

What if I went in with just my son, would I be refused then?
Even if I did buy it for someone else, that would make me the person resonsible for prosecution, not the shop.

The Tesco I used to go to used to refuse to sell it to you if you had any kids with you.

[DH1875]

The Tesco I used to go to used to refuse to sell it to you if you had any kids with you.


Yip, was in Tesco a few weeks ago and they wouldn't sell me a case of kopparberg because I had my 16 year old daughter with me. WTF :confused:.

[wpj]

I was in Chicago in 95 and was refused beer in a supermarket as my ID wasn't issued in Illinoi. It was my GB passport! I have taken my 15 week old daughter to Tesco and been served wine! Who knows what's what

[Scouse Hibee]

The Tesco I used to go to used to refuse to sell it to you if you had any kids with you.


Which is total overkill and not what the law was designed to do. The real reason is to stop folk buying alcohol and giving it to someone underage which is why most supermarkets are stringent with groups of teenagers when one 18 year old may be buying for their younger mates. To refuse a sale to an adult shopping with their children is nonsense particularly as your regular weekly food shop may well contain wine etc. The other thing is that it may well be the person refusing to serve you is under 18 themselves as legally they can sell off sales to you as long as they have the authority given to them by a responsible person. Common sense needs to prevail as no law is being broken by selling alcohol to parents shopping with their children.

[Hibee87]

common sense surely has to prevail here. Which, btw was a answer I was given. When I asked if I came in with my 3 year old and got alcohol I wouldnt be server, to which the woman said dont be ridiculous sir we do use our common sense. My response to this was use your common sense now then, my partner is 33, my son is 3, if she was 17 then do you think I would be standing here as a 28 year old man with a 3 year old son to a 17 year old girl who would have been 14 when the child was conceived. I didnt get an answer as I think it was around this sentence she did find the ID.

But as others have said, group of young folk and only one has ID, fair enough I can see the logic.

Family buying shopping that includes aclohol, and one is clearly the parent, then use common sense. If I was going to buy booze for a minor i wouldnt parade them around at the checkout.

someone mentioned in a bar if only one has id then they dont get serverd, im sure thats the law or least only one drink would be serverd, but again thats totally different to what happened.

I also said to the woman i would take the booze to another checkout myself then but was told I wasnt allowed to do that, so I asked her how long I had to wait to get drink on my own then, a day, a week an month?

And Cropley, for 33 she isny half cracking :wink: and gets ID all the time. Doesnt offend either of us, but was just pissed in this instance for the sheer logic of it all.

[Sir David Gray]

If you're an 18 year old planning on buying drink on behalf of 17 year old friends (which is why such rules are in place), I highly doubt you are going to take them to the checkout with you!

It's just silly when you are there as a couple and have a young child there that you are refused alcohol.