How difficult is it to refuse alcohol sales to underage customers? The Grocer questioned retailers
A government crackdown on binge drinking and drunkenness among young people has included a wave of test purchasing by the authorities, where a youngster under 18 is sent into a store to see whether it will sell them alcohol.
Retailers have faced these kinds of tests before over other age-restricted products such as cigarettes and the national lottery, but making sure underage customers do not get their hands on the wrong products is not easy. Often it is difficult to be sure of a customer’s age and when challenged they can often turn nasty.
To find out retailers’ views about the new crackdown and the problems around age-restricted products, The Grocer visited the Booker Cash & Carry depot at Northampton to gauge opinions at the sharp end.
Pravinder Dhamdachia of Shelly Park Stores in Wellingborough says he does not have a lot of problems. He knows nearly all his customers and how old the youngsters are. If in doubt he says it’s no ID, no purchase.
He believes much of the problem of underage drinking is caused by over-18s making legitimate purchases but then giving alcohol to their younger friends.
“Sometimes parents are buying alcohol or cigarettes for their children, and you can’t blame the retailer for that,” he says.
Mahesh Modasia runs Bina Food Store in Northampton and has had two test purchasers in his store. Each time they were refused. He says he is not against test purchasing, but it should be targeted. “If someone is flouting the law, then fine. But it can be difficult to tell children’s ages because today they look so much older than they are.”
He believes retailers should not be blamed for underage drinking and drunkenness adding: “The problem is pubs and clubs where they can get absolutely paralytic for £10.”
Atul Patel of Premier Store in Rushden has also experienced test purchasing. “My wife was serving when a girl came to the counter with a bottle of wine.
“She asked the girl whether she was 18 and she said ‘no’ so my wife gave her a right telling off. Then the man came in afterwards to explain.”
He is not against test purchasing if the child is obviously underage “but it is not right if the child looks over 18 and they are just trying to catch you out when you are doing your job”.
Patel says you can usually tell if a customer is underage because there is no eye contact. However, sometimes when he has asked for ID there has been an aggressive response. “You get abuse, more from the girls than the boys,” he says.
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A government crackdown on binge drinking and drunkenness among young people has included a wave of test purchasing by the authorities, where a youngster under 18 is sent into a store to see whether it will sell them alcohol.
Retailers have faced these kinds of tests before over other age-restricted products such as cigarettes and the national lottery, but making sure underage customers do not get their hands on the wrong products is not easy. Often it is difficult to be sure of a customer’s age and when challenged they can often turn nasty.
To find out retailers’ views about the new crackdown and the problems around age-restricted products, The Grocer visited the Booker Cash & Carry depot at Northampton to gauge opinions at the sharp end.
Pravinder Dhamdachia of Shelly Park Stores in Wellingborough says he does not have a lot of problems. He knows nearly all his customers and how old the youngsters are. If in doubt he says it’s no ID, no purchase.
He believes much of the problem of underage drinking is caused by over-18s making legitimate purchases but then giving alcohol to their younger friends.
“Sometimes parents are buying alcohol or cigarettes for their children, and you can’t blame the retailer for that,” he says.
Mahesh Modasia runs Bina Food Store in Northampton and has had two test purchasers in his store. Each time they were refused. He says he is not against test purchasing, but it should be targeted. “If someone is flouting the law, then fine. But it can be difficult to tell children’s ages because today they look so much older than they are.”
He believes retailers should not be blamed for underage drinking and drunkenness adding: “The problem is pubs and clubs where they can get absolutely paralytic for £10.”
Atul Patel of Premier Store in Rushden has also experienced test purchasing. “My wife was serving when a girl came to the counter with a bottle of wine.
“She asked the girl whether she was 18 and she said ‘no’ so my wife gave her a right telling off. Then the man came in afterwards to explain.”
He is not against test purchasing if the child is obviously underage “but it is not right if the child looks over 18 and they are just trying to catch you out when you are doing your job”.
Patel says you can usually tell if a customer is underage because there is no eye contact. However, sometimes when he has asked for ID there has been an aggressive response. “You get abuse, more from the girls than the boys,” he says.
70%
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