Very cool, if true

Something similar (but less extreme) happened recently with me...

That sounds perfectly reasonably to me. I haven't seen you, but my girlfriend is your age and is regularly carded, as am I at 25. Furthermore a passport is valid ID whether it's out-of-date or not - indeed, when I carry ID I carry my out-of-date passport so that I don't lose my real one - and that has a picture of me at the age of 12 on it, looking almost exactly the same as I do now. Which is a case in point, really.

From:

pigeonhed.livejournal.com

I would have reacted the same way as the 73 year old gentleman. (I am 42) The law expects the server of alcohol to refuse service if they have reason to suspect that the purchaser is under 18, but if they could reasonably assume the purchaser is over 18 then even if they are actually under-age no offence has been committed by the seller, only by the purchaser. The 'Over 21' approach used by many stores is a way of covering the grey area where somebody of 17 can reasonably look 18 or 19 and vice versa.

From:

a-pawson.livejournal.com

On the other hand, the easiest way to remove any doubt is to ask everyone to verify they are over that age. This seems to be the norm in some shops. I have noticed I have recently been asked if I am over 18 when making purchases (I'm 32 and hardly likely to be mistaken for a 17 year old). Given that the person on the till can personally be prosecuted if they serve someone underage, it is hardly surprising that some retailers are instructing staff to do this.

I have been in bars in the USA where everyone had to show ID to get served, were they 21 or 81. No exceptions. In this case, no ID was required, the man simply had to confirm verbally that he was over 21.

From:

Permission to steal that icon?

From:

a-pawson.livejournal.com

Help thyself.

From:

pickwick.livejournal.com

I've stolen it too, hope that's OK - shout if it's not. It's very pretty :)

From:

if they could reasonably assume the purchaser is over 18 then even if they are actually under-age no offence has been committed by the seller

Proof please - this is contrary to everything I've heard.

From:

pigeonhed.livejournal.com

15 years working behind a bar in a pub just a few hundred yards from a sixthform school. We had regular visits from the police reminding us of the law and penalties, letters from our Head Office, etc.

The emphasis in application of the law changed a few years ago in England, so that if you look over 18 and I have no reason to suspect otherwise then I may serve you even though you may be under-age. It is very difficult to judge however, particulalrly with teenage girls, hence places opting for 21 as a safety net.

From:

With all due respect, that's not proof; it's you restating your opinion.

I have another long-standing barmaid here who says quite definitively that regardless of how old they look, if you serve an underager, you are liable, and your employer, not the purchaser.

From:

Argh. That's awesome; how can everyone involved have such a bad sense of humour failure? Mind, there's a woman at the Morrison's near my parent's house who always, always IDs me for alcohol in a really sour way, and then gives me the most droning lecture about it (despite me protesting I KNOW I WORK IN A PUB) and sometimes threatens to call security. It's weird, it's like she has a personal grudge against me.

Um, yes, those Morrison's people were just being really petty. I hate Morrison's anyway..

From:

What the hell does she give you a droning lecture _on_? The evils of alcohol and how it will lead you straight to hell?

Fantastic picture by the way.

From:

"It's me job Ah have t'ask everyin fer ID if they leuk unner 21 and ye leuk unner 21 and it's the law see an if Ah serve ye an ye're unner 18 then ah lose me job it's not me it's the law" all while pulling a horrible face.

From:

Aaaah, so she feels bad about it. But then threatens to call security anyway?

I'm so glad I've never had to work in a supermarket. I'd go mad.

From:

She goes *on* and *on* and all the time I'm trying to interrupt with "yes, I know, I work in a pub, I understand" and eventually she seems to notice my hopeless bleating and changes to "Ah could call security if ye've got a problem, ye knaa, Ah could"

Aaargh.. Anyway, there's a M&S food hall in Morpeth now so I just go there instead.

From:

Blech, that's a little beyond a joke. Given that it's not the law to ask people to prove/state that they're overage; it's just illegal to serve underagers. The old man was a little humourless, but the manager taking the staffmember's side in that instance is incredibly bad customer service. It's his job to take the cheeky customer's side, apologise, promise to reprimand the server, then not bother forget the whole incident five minutes later. People in retail are starting to forget their jobs these days.

I can just about handle me and Bex being constantly carded. I could in some crazyland be under 18 (I actually look younger now than I did then) and I certainly act it, bouncing all over the place like a five-year-old, and then Bex, who probably couldn't pass for 18 under normal circumstances, looks young by association.

Also, the servers in Tescos are often about half our age and kids are terrible at judging ages, so I can totally forgive them - they always have the good grace to look embarrassed when Bex or I have had to run home and fetch ID to prove we're seven and nine years into the safe-zone, respectively.

But seriously now; there was no way that guy was going to be a legal threat. And then by being pissy back at him they turned him into a PR threat. Well done Morrisons.

From:

I felt much the same way. The guy was a bit of an idiot for not just saying "I am over 21", but the manager needs to be taken out and shot.

From:

OH AND it's not just old men, Morrisons seem to be developing a theme here: trouble down in Wiltshire and A Sunday Sun columnist (local north east sunday paper).

From:

all our stores operate the Task 21 scheme, which addresses the difficulties our staff face in being able to determine if a customer is legally old enough to buy alcohol. To further limit any element of doubt staff are required to ask anyone buying alcohol to confirm they are over 21.

Interestingly, this completely misses the point of the Task 21 scheme. The scheme targets people who look under twenty one, yes, but they're legally only obliged to prove they're over 18 (except in pubs who can do what they like). The spokesperson doesn't fully understand the rules they're enforcing so strictly.

From:

It's really, really weird, isn't it? God, he more you look te more Morrison's sound like a bunch of muppets :D

From:

chuma.livejournal.com

I got carded by someone in Tesco a few months back on the notion that I looked 21. Unlike the old bloke in the story however, I was very happy about it :D

From:

dreema.livejournal.com

I was down in st ives last week with

misculanious. We walked into a pub, mainly to have some lunch, but I went up to the bar and asked for a pint of coke and a pint of blackcurrent cordial. The barperson asked for ID. Unluckily Nat had changed her trousers and left her photocard in the bathroom, so wasn't able to provide it. I asked why we needed id for soft drinks, apparently the bar staff didn't want us on the premises if we couldn't provide proof of age, so we left and had lunch elsewhere

From:

xquiq.livejournal.com

I'm amazed at how everyone involved ends up looking like an absolute tosser - quite a result.

I think it's ridiculous to ask someone who's blatantly elderly to prove their age, but while asking them to confirm they're over 21 verbally may be overkill, it doesn't really inconvenience anyone.

I keep hearing that they're cracking down on this, but I can't say I've experience it. I've been asked to prove my age twice since I turned 18 and I don't exactly look like mature for my age.

From:

bohemiancoast.livejournal.com

I try to avoid dealing with organisations that ask me unnecessary and intrusive questions, and I'm afraid I too would have had an identical sense of humour failure.

But as I already shop in Morrisons only if there is absolutely no alternative, I doubt it would stop me shopping there.

From:

octopoid-horror.livejournal.com

Rules are there for a reason. The guy was being an arse. The supermarket are my heroes.

From:

Not all rules are there for a reason - some are just fucking stupid.

From:

octopoid-horror.livejournal.com

Some have a -stupid- reason, they still -have- a reason even if it's stupid.

"To further limit any element of doubt staff at the West Kirby store are required to ask anyone buying alcohol to confirm that they are over 21."

If I had to ask hundreds of people each day, most of whom were clearly past their 30s, how old they were, I imagine half-way through day one I'd get tired of the jokes, outrage and snide remarks and it'd become pretty routine. So when someone decides to arse about, I think it's nice the store is backing them.

From: