The Student Room Group

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L i b
The key here is don't shop at Tesco or Morrison's. When I'm at home, I buy most of my food and booze locally - and I've been happily served alcohol since I was 16 in that context.


Things are different in your part of the country from mine. I certainly do think it's a north/south (Yes, I'm talking about the whole of the United Kingdom) where the north is infinitely more leniant than the south.
I think its perfectly reasonable. Everyone knows that supermarkets operate these policies. If they then choose to come out without a small piece of card that can prove their age, then that's their fault if they aren't served.

Just carry your ID in your wallet and the problem is non-existant. You'll never be caught out that way.
I went to my corner shop, the night of my seventeenth birthday, had a house party had a massive badge on my chest saying SEVENTEEN TODAY and he sold me alcohol :|
Reply 83
we might as well have surrended in 1939, flown the white flag and started learning the words to the Horst Wessel Lied

the minutiae of daily life would probably be quite indistinguishable from what it is now.
No.666
I work in Tesco and they operate a 'think 21' policy and ID everyone in the group buying the alcohol. I think its possible for a lot of 17yr olds to look 21 though.

Yeah, but the majority don't. I know plenty of 17 year olds who could obviously pass for 18, but next to none who look 21. And the store isn't responsible if the underage person does look undoubtable over 21. Think 21 just covers their backs if blatently underage people try and buy.

L i b
Why do you assume that? I have a passport - which I wouldn't dream of taking to a shop and handing to a cashier (indeed, such use is prohibited - as it says within the document) and I've just had to give up my university matriculation card. I have a driving licence, which would be the only obvious form of ID I have - but that is surprisingly enough only because I drive a car. Many - most, even - do not.


Most 17 year olds these days get provisional licenses as soon as they can, whether they're driving or not. Supermarkets will also take Citizen cards, which are cheap to buy.

If you want alcohol and know that you are going to be IDed, yet don't get any such ID, then you cant really blame anyone but yourself.
Reply 85
ch0c0h01ic
I was denied the right to buy a small 200g bag of Whiskey Truffles in Thorntons when i was in fact 18 (didn't have my ID). Again, very very low alcohol content, small quantity and i was turned away.

They did a study on TV, and to consume sufficient alcohol from alcoholic truffles to actually be over the drink drive limit they had to eat several kilos of chocolates. Far cry from my 200g.



I got asked for ID to buy one single Bailey's chocolate in Woolworths! I was gobsmacked!
Reply 86
I don't have a massive problem with the think 21 or even think 25 policy. I carry ID with me at all times so that's not a problem. The group policy is ridiculous if it's taken to the extremes. If I'm buying alcohol and I happen to see someone I know in the shop, I guess I'm supposed to completely ignore them in case they don't have ID on them? Fair enough if there's a group of people that all look about the same age going to the till together, but I don't think the fact that they have been seen interacting with another person at some point is enough. Also it seems really over the top blacklisting someone because someone else didn't have ID.

Personally I think this whole thing is a plan by the government to introduce compulsory ID. If they put enough pressure on shops and make as many products age restricted as they can, people will effectively have to carry ID with them all the time simply because of the massive amount of things you need ID for. Give this a few years so people are used to carrying ID the whole time, they'll have no problem supporting laws that say we always have to carry ID. I think our generation is so used to it, it won't be long before ours and younger generations make up the majority of the voters.
Donald Duck
I think it's totally overdone, rediculous, etc. Even though the UK has one of the strictest legislations in western europe, they also have the most binge drinking youth.


There's a train of thought that in the old days a persons first taste of alcohol was likely to be at 16/17 in the pub with their family and they'd go on to treat it more responsibly, whereas now you'd get ID'ed and thrown out.
Can't remember where I heard it though.

The groups thing is just stupid, it's only ever going to catch you once and then you'll remember to organise any money outside and only send one person in - meanwhile you get situations like AnythingButChardonnay's example.
The fact that some of you have said that TGIs and Tesco have a Think 30 policy had just depressed me greatly....I never get ID'ed in either of those places (or anywhere else for that matter).

I do think it's somewhat ridiculous to have a think 25 and think 30 policy to be honest. The legal age is 18, so surely think 21 is enough. I can't imagine that somebody couldn't tell the difference between a 17 year old and a 21 year old.

Hmm mind you having said that I suppose you do get some older looking 17 year olds...

still think 30 is completely wappy.
Morrisons always seem to serve me, maybe they don't operate Think 25 in my local Morrisons?
PinkMobilePhone
The fact that some of you have said that TGIs and Tesco have a Think 30 policy had just depressed me greatly....I never get ID'ed in either of those places (or anywhere else for that matter).

Tesco don't, I don't know where the person who said so got this idea from. It's Think 21. I've never heard of Think 30. :confused:
Joanna May
Tesco don't, I don't know where the person who said so got this idea from. It's Think 21. I've never heard of Think 30. :confused:


I've seen some think 30 signs in my local petrol station, so I know it does exist, but I've not seen any think signs (for any age) in tesco so I was just taking the person's word for it (who said it was think 30 in tesco)
The Co-op, where i work, operates think 21, which i do think is adequate. A couple of times i have asked for ID from someone who turned out to be over 21. Also now we have to estimate the age of anyone buying age restricted products, and enter it on the till, which i think is annoying when the vast majority of people buying them are old.
It should really just be a matter of common sense, so i think "think 25" is excessive, because you are turning away people who you know are able to legally purchase alcohol.
Reply 93
I remember Asda put the age for buying cigs to 18 (before it happened anyway), alcohol to 21 and a think 25 policy. It didn't last long and it's now back to 18 for cigs and alcohol and Think 21.

Think 21 is a good idea, anything else is just plain stupid, "Well yes I know you're 24 but you're under 25 you see..."
PinkMobilePhone
I've seen some think 30 signs in my local petrol station, so I know it does exist, but I've not seen any think signs (for any age) in tesco so I was just taking the person's word for it (who said it was think 30 in tesco)

Fair enough, I've never seen anywhere do it. Although it does make some sense, it's too extreme for me to nagree with fully. Tesco is Think 21 for all stores officially, but I guess some smaller ones might operate Think 30 unofficially.
Joanna May
I think its perfectly reasonable. Everyone knows that supermarkets operate these policies. If they then choose to come out without a small piece of card that can prove their age, then that's their fault if they aren't served.

Just carry your ID in your wallet and the problem is non-existant. You'll never be caught out that way.

My passport doesn't fit in my wallet. If I know I need to buy Sherry for pasta sauce or Prosecco for chocolates, then I'll take my passport out, but I don't drink, and I shouldn't have to carry £72 worth of ID at all times because I might be with people buying alcohol.
I work at ASDA and we run the same policy
Reply 97
Tesco is DEFINITELY think 21.

Some of you are really annoying me though "/ Don't complain about having to get your ID when you're being served if you're 20/21 whatever. When the store can lose its license and the cashier can get fined £3000, get a criminalrecord and lose their job, a little bit of effort getting a card out of your purse isnt going to kill you. >_>
Reply 98
Hmm. Some of the responses I've seen seem to rely on the fact that people assume operators don't use common sense.

If someone was qued at my till, and someone arrived after them and all of a sudden they were like "Oh, hey! How are you, haven't seen you in ages, hows ____?", then I would assume that they've happened to bump into each other in my que. It's obvious when people are together and when they bumb into each other, most of the time.

It's like, we do tend to know when you were part of a group and now you're not. The incient I mentionned earlier, with the young lady buying alcohol for her friends? If my manager hadn't have been aware of it, I wouldn't have been. She did not arrive with her friends at my till, and I hadn't seen them in the shop. But a member of the Wines and Spirits had alerted our supervisor and it had gotton through that way. (Next time you go into Morrisons, or any supermarket that operates group ID policies, look around the Wines and spirits. There's normally at least one or two members of staff who look like they're stacking shelves. They're probably not, they're just fiddling with things on shelves while they watch what everyone else is doing.)
Crosseyed And Painless
My passport doesn't fit in my wallet. If I know I need to buy Sherry for pasta sauce or Prosecco for chocolates, then I'll take my passport out, but I don't drink, and I shouldn't have to carry £72 worth of ID at all times because I might be with people buying alcohol.

Well as everyone else said, it's easy enough not to go into the store with them, or to go in separately. If my mates are going to buy alcohol and I'm not and know I haven't got any ID on me, then I just wait in the car, or go in on my own and buy something else.

Like I said, supermarkets take citizen cards, which only cost £9, if you're that bothered about taking such an expensive piece of ID with you.

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