General Chat

Well I think they probably guess that a baby in a pushchair is not going to be standing on a street corner guzzling the wine

I cant understand how,as you were buying it,,,,,,how did they know she was your daughter?what made them question you.?

It is not illegal for an underage to be served a glass of wine or beer in a restaurant if a meal is taken,,,,,,min age is 14,,,,,its not illegal for an underage to drink in the confines of their home.....

Kay,
They were clearly with me as they were also helping to pack the bags

Thank you Ginnie, that was my point.
I honestly see where M&S are coming from, but the policy is unfair and discriminates.
Luckily, my girls CAN produce evidence of their age, but what if they couldn't?
I would have been refused the wine.

Just doing what the law requires of them Kay - daughter or not is immaterial

Seems ridiculous to me to deny service to someone obviously over the legal age to buy alcohol. Who is with that person is neither here nor there, they aren't doing the buying.

When we go to a pub for a family meal we can still buy a drink, even though there are kids with us. Maybe they should stop that.

M&S are overstepping their obligation under the law, in my view, by a very long way.

And for every hundred that are legitimate there may be one that is not - would you rather they relaxed the law - does it really matter that you have to show some ID? In the great scheme of things, showing ID or proving age seems like a very little thing in my bookn if it protects an individual and their livelihood.

The point is that the person buying the booze was well over the required age.

M&S wanted the ID of the people she happened to be with. What if they hadn't had ID with them? The person buying booze legally would be denied that right.

Stupid.

a meal for two consists of,main and pud and a two glass bottle of plonk,,,is that consistant with buying some booze........no Errrol M7S were not adhering to the law........they clearly were putting the buyer into an uncomfortable position with no cause,,,,,,so small grandchildren cant be with grany in M&S while she buys one of these deal meals,,,,,,,,utter rubbish......

my daughter can not buy alcohol from morrisons, because every time she tries they ask for id shes 32 :-D :-D

actually Kay they were adhering to the law. If in diubt always ask for proof of age - if you suspect buying for a minor also ask for proof of age.
It may seem a little draconian but, again, surely that is better than selling to all and sundry regardless.
Would you rather that alcohol was just sold to anyone?

You are thinking along the same lines as me Kay.

M&S: any adult , can buy alcohol from their stores, but it it seems to me that not whilst in the company of young adults
You can be with infants and children but ,apparently NOT teenagers or anyone who looks as if they could be just slightly under 18yrs old.

We are a family and we often shop together
If my girls were aged 15, 16 and 17... the policy that they adopt says that I should NOT be sold a bottle of plonk
If they were obviously, under... say 13 or 14... there does not appear to be a problem.

Errol.

The wine came as part of the meal deal as in OP,,,,,,so the booze wasnt being bought as a single item,,,,it was a combined package,,,,,,so why M&S said the wine couldnt be bought doesnt seem right,,,,,,,,,how were they going to deduct the wine or take a part payment on an combined item that would have boxed with a barrcode......I'll ask my friend who works in M&S clothing dept if they had grounds,,,,,,,

Kay although it does seem a trifle heavy handed, they have to protect themselves. The fact that it was a combined package is surely immaterial - alcohol was part of it and if the sales assistant (rightly OR wrongly) felt that the alcohol part of the sale could possibly have been passed on to a minor then they were acting very responsibly surely.
Would you rather no checks were made and alcohol was sold to anyone and everyone?
A happy medium has to be struck but I still believe the shop assistant acted in the correct way in this instance because he or she believed that the alcohol was being passed on. She must have had reason to believe that - maybe through body language or a throw away comment or something

Hi Kay,
Just to clarify. M&S always have a soft drink offer as an alternative to the wine
Often 2 cartons of orange juice or a yucky elderflower thing.

AND Errol... it has happened twice.
At no point was there anything to infer that my purchases may be for my daughters use.
It was simply the fact.... that they were with me at the time.

I still do not see what the problem is - why shouldn't they check? Everybody complains about underage drinking so surely a proactive approach is to be lauded.

I thought all the major supermarkets used the think 25 policy, not just M&S.

Sorry folks but I am with Errol on this one.

Both the Police and Licensing Department from local Councils regularly carry out "under age sales" checks on all licensed premises. They often send in teenagers who are underage but look older.

Been there, done that and copped an £80 on the spot fine with the possibility of losing my License. My boss also had to attend a meeting with the Licensing Department, she could also have lost her License. Fortunately she was able to prove "due diligence" by showing them our "Refusals Log", I refused a minimum of 8 sales per shift.

It is not only M&S who have this policy, it is all major supermarkets and "off sales" retailers. Most have a "think 21" policy and many have a "think 25" policy re alcohol sales.

Supermarkets do have the right to challenge anyone who they believe to be under 25yrs.... the person concerned has to prove that they are over 18.
In this case, irrespective of age, it was me who was doing the shopping, not my family who accompanied me.

Errol, one day you may have reason to go into a shop to purchase alcohol in any form
Just make sure you are not with a 17yr old son, daughter; grandchild friend or young adult .. the store can refuse to sell it to YOU.

..........and this policy also includes sale of cigarettes.

My Brother in law was shopping in a supermarket with his daughter,who smokes, and she gave him money to buy her cigs. Staff who had seen him take her money refused to serve him.........his daughter was 27 and had two children! ..but as said stores play safe in case of prosecution and I suppose who can blame them.

I've had to provide proof of age recently.....

When I've asked for Seniors' discount.

:-D