Where can I get an ID Card?

[Tom B]

I was once asked for identification when buying diet coke (that well known alcoholic drink). The barman steadfastly refused to serve me until I had proved I was over 18...

 

[HSTChris]

I was once asked for identification when buying diet coke (that well known alcoholic drink). The barman steadfastly refused to serve me until I had proved I was over 18...

My friend got that about some Dr Pepper in a SUPERMARKET! lol.

 

[yorkie]

I need to get some kind of ID card to prove that I'm over the age of 16, so that I can buy Lotto tickets and 16 rated games and so on..

Sorry this isn't answering your question but is it really wise to waste money on those things? The last thing I'd have done at that age would be to throw away my hard earned money on lotto tickets! I can honestly say I've never bought one, or any scratch card game thing either. I'd recommend saving your money for more worthwhile things personally, but it's your choice!

 

[CarterUSM]

Is the citizen card endorsed by the portman group? I remember when I was at the age of needing i.d in the mid-late nineties and I got what I think was called an age card, I remember it was endorsed by them. All the off licenses, pubs and clubs accepted them. I cannot remember if there was a cost though you had to send your birth certificate I think and get the photograph signed by a professional a la passport style. Though i'm not 100 per cent sure.

 

[me123]

My friend got that about some Dr Pepper in a SUPERMARKET! lol.

I have asked people for ID for Ginger Beer and White Wine Vinegar in the past

I would recommend a card with a PASS hologram for yourself. All major supermarkets will accept these (at least, they will up here). You may have problems in smaller establishments, but supermarkets should be all right. That said, I've never actually seen one. All we get for ID is driving licenses and passports. I also (unofficially) take the odd polish ID card and Matriculation card if I'm convinced they're real, because I do know what they look like, but I wouldn't rely on "unofficial" ID being accepted.

However, remember that whatever ID you use, a retailer can refuse a sale for anything for any reason whatsoever and, indeed, for no reason whatsoever. If they don't trust the ID or suspect it to be fake, they can refuse the sale.
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My daughter carries he passport round with her constantly, has a YP card with photocard and now has a photocard driving licence but still has been refused alcohol. Shopkeepers have claimed she has lifted her sister's ID.
The daughter in question is 24.:cry:

Whilst it's frustrating, I would argue that this right. Retailers up here now operate a TASK 25/ID 25 scheme where they ID anyone who appears to be under the age of 25. They also have a responsibility to ensure that it is the person in the ID; if in doubt they must refuse the sale.

It's their business and job that's on the line, remember. A sale to someone under 18 will often mean they lose their job. In Scotland, two underage sales means the license will be revoked temporarily, and this will generally cause the business to close. I imagine it's similar in England and Wales.

 

[Oswyntail]

....
Whilst it's frustrating, I would argue that this right. Retailers up here now operate a TASK 25/ID 25 scheme where they ID anyone who appears to be under the age of 25. .....

While I agree that the retailers are right to err on the side of caution, 25 is seven years older than the legal threshold, over 33% safety margin. That would be laughed at if applied to road speed limits ("Sorry, I know it's a 50mph limit, but i thought you might have been travelling at more than 32mph, so I pulled you over just to be safe"). And I do not believe that there is much difference in appearance between the ages of 20 and 25 (after all, most growth has stopped by then) - certainly not enough to tell with any certainty. Official ID such as a passport or driving licence should not only be sufficient evidence, but, as critically, it should be a sufficient defence for the retailer.

 

[yorkie]

There was also a Morrisons supermarket where everyone was asked for ID and if they didn't have it they were refused, even if they were a pensioner (to be fair and non-discriminatory!), this made national news so the rules were relaxed.

At Tesco York for a while if they suspected you were in your 20s then you had to prove you were over 18. If you couldn't prove it then they would not serve you.

 

[dan_atki]

Retailers up here now operate a TASK 25/ID 25 scheme where they ID anyone who appears to be under the age of 25.

As do most retailers in England now. I actually get offended when I'm not asked for ID as a result...!

 

[Ivo]

I've only ever been asked for proof of age once, and that was for buying a lottery ticket on the shop assistant's first day when she was advised to ask everyone... Not that I ever need ID, because I never buy age-restricted products, including my example!

 

[Pumbaa]

As do most retailers in England now. I actually get offended when I'm not asked for ID as a result...!

Yes - two shops near to me were closed during the Summer for selling alcohol to underage. It was a big problem in West Herts at the time. I'm now well past the age of being ID'd, but I will still occassionally be asked in Tesco's, and most places in town will want to see ID just to enter, unless you distinctly look over 50!

 

[Lampshade]

I usually get ID'd for alcohol but I got ID'd in Sainsbury's once when I tried to buy Guitar Hero - which is rated 12 :?

 

[90019]

I was once asked for identification when buying diet coke (that well known alcoholic drink). The barman steadfastly refused to serve me until I had proved I was over 18...

My dad got asked for ID whilst getting some shopping at a supermarket in Australia.
He's in his 50s...

 

[me123]

While I agree that the retailers are right to err on the side of caution, 25 is seven years older than the legal threshold, over 33% safety margin. That would be laughed at if applied to road speed limits ("Sorry, I know it's a 50mph limit, but i thought you might have been travelling at more than 32mph, so I pulled you over just to be safe"). And I do not believe that there is much difference in appearance between the ages of 20 and 25 (after all, most growth has stopped by then) - certainly not enough to tell with any certainty. Official ID such as a passport or driving licence should not only be sufficient evidence, but, as critically, it should be a sufficient defence for the retailer.

But alcohol's not speed limits. Speed limits are a pretty easy thing to measure; the speed guns and cameras tend to be accurate, and stationary speed cameras also have a few mph lenience IIRC (although it's not a theory that I'd be keen to try out!). On the other hand, telling someone's age is more difficult. Teenagers deliberately try to look older in order to purchase a product, and older people try to look younger for totally different and more innocent reasons.

A sale of alcohol means an £80 on the spot fine for the teller, a £5000 fine for the Supermarket, the teller will lose their job, and if there's been multiple offences the store can lose its license. The business would no longer be deemed viable as a result, the store would close, and over a hundred jobs would be lost. No pressure on us at all :roll:

I've asked some pretty old people for ID (worst was 32 IIRC), and I would do it again. If there's any possibility that the person may be under 18, then yes I will ask for identification. Although, being only 18 myself, it often results in a bit of hostility in the 20-year-olds+

There was also a Morrisons supermarket where everyone was asked for ID and if they didn't have it they were refused, even if they were a pensioner (to be fair and non-discriminatory!), this made national news so the rules were relaxed.

It's Morrisons I work in But not that one, of course. I would actually support compulsory ID for alcohol, just to alleviate the stress on us a wee bit!

As do most retailers in England now. I actually get offended when I'm not asked for ID as a result...!

I do know someone who's 22 (or was at the time) who wasn't ID'd, and started shouting at the woman. They refused sale of alcohol in the end
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I usually get ID'd for alcohol but I got ID'd in Sainsbury's once when I tried to buy Guitar Hero - which is rated 12 :?

I know Sainsburys are very strict when it comes to all age related products. It's ID 25 for everything, and that includes 12 rated video games. The problem with 12 and 15 rated games and videos is that 12-16 year olds will generally not have ID, and will often be refused a sale.

 

[D107]

It was reported recently that someone was asked for ID when buying a quiche in a supermarket. Yes, a quiche. :roll:

Mind you in parts of the Rhymney Valley, local byelaws permit people buying quiche in daylight to be thown into a quarry....

 

[clagmonster]

I recall a report of a man in his nineties who was asked for identification and subsequently refused sale in a branch of Tesco when attempting to buy alcohol.
I agree it can be a problem, I once had to jump through various hoops in order to deal with the TSB as I can't drive, I don't intend to leave the country and I don't have a gun license, or a gun for that matter.

 

[thefab444]

I have asked people for ID for Ginger Beer and White Wine Vinegar in the past

But why? Ginger Beer isn't even alchoholic?

 

[142094]

Not sure if people have seen the stories about Fentiman's soft drinks - made up in Hexham. They are botanically brewed, so contain a small % of alcohol, and in the US (think it was Maine) they have banned the sale of it to under 21s.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

But why? Ginger Beer isn't even alchoholic?

Yes it is...it is brewed like beer - fermented - and thus contains a small amount of alcohol.

 

[me123]

But why? Ginger Beer isn't even alchoholic?

I must stress that, when I realised what the product was, I didn't force them to show ID.

The bottles some Ginger Beer comes in is very similar to bottles of cider. We also stock at least one line of alcoholic ginger beer (which I have had to refuse to sell to people many times). Similarly, some white wine vinegar comes in bottles akin to small bottles of wine.

When I asked, them, they just let me know (in various degrees of politeness) that it was in fact a non-alcoholic product, and realised that it was a genuine mistake on my part. I assure you that they did get the non-alcoholic products.

Curiously enough, a product marketed as a non-alcoholic/alcohol free beer still cannot be sold to persons under the age of 18 (at least in Scotland anyway).

 

[142094]

Probably very easy to get confused between a normal bottle of ginger beer and the Crabbe's alcoholic version that seems to be appearing at most supermarkets.

 

[Dolive22]

I got carded for a J20 once, after getting served cider earlier that evening. Apparently the bar had a licence condition 'no one under the age of 18 to be present after 9 pm', and the barmaid thought I looked under but the barman thought I looked over. I had forgotten my ID, so didn't get served, but strangely she didn't do anything to throw me out.

I also got carded for a 12 game once and had to go and get my Provisional licence. Curse of looking young I suppose.

 

[142094]

Quite common that, sometimes see signs in 'family' pubs that allow children in before 6pm or only in certain parts of the bar.

 

[Dolive22]

Some Rubicon fruit juice drinks actually contain a tiny amount of alcohol because the flavourings used are disolved in alcohol, but they are still certified halal.