what is the minimum age to buy alcohol in london?

Hey,

I'm an international student and arrived a week ago.

I was in sainsbury's to buy some beers and wine when I saw an ad saying something like that: 25? be prepared to show proof :confused:

I thought it was 18 the minimum age :o:

i'm mad!!! :s-smilie:

in my country it's 16 :yep:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Clubber Lang

18 is the legal age - as long as you can prove it with a passport or british driving licence

Reply 2

Madjackismad

Yeah, if your under the age of 21 or look it :p:

you need to present ID.

Reply 3

mahaneap

18, but if they think you look under 25, they'll ask to see your ID.

Reply 4

Joy Division

25 are you sure?

Some shops might have it higher if they feel like doing that but it's not a very clever business idea...

Reply 5

NoHands

what tehy mean is that if you look 25 or under be prepared to show ID to prove you are over 18.

Reply 6

Dionysus

Nah it'll just be Challenge 25. ie. They'll ask anyone who looks under 25 to prove they are over 18. There are a few bars that are 21+ though.

Reply 7

DarkWhite

Legally, it's 18 to buy it.

You'll find that most big supermarkets ask anyone they feel looks under 25/21 to present ID. It saves them getting told off for serving underage customers.

Bars and places run similar schemes, and you'll find that bouncers will ID most people on the door.

Reply 8

Indieboohoo

you can drink at 18 but have to be 21 to buy it

Reply 9

Indieboohoo

depends where you are as well bars/clubs 18 supermarkets 21

Reply 10

Holli2011

i work in a supermarket apparently its the law now, the police made it challenge 25 instead of 21 so that the margin of error is lowered even more

Reply 11

TheNorth

*Facepalm*

Some people really can't see outside London can they?

*end of facepalm*

It's 18 in the UK but most places operate a policy where if you look under 21/25 then they ID you.

Reply 12

Isobutane

Reply 13

destination unknown

NoHands

what tehy mean is that if you look 25 or under be prepared to show ID to prove you are over 18.

if I want to buy from a supermarket, is it 18 or 21?

Everyone say something :biggrin:

Reply 14

lady_leon

I've heard that the Co-op only serve you if you're 21... well, they do around here anyway.

Reply 15

Clubber Lang

Holli2011

i work in a supermarket apparently its the law now, the police made it challenge 25 instead of 21 so that the margin of error is lowered even more

its not 'the law' its a thing shops are doing due to to political pressure due to so much underage drinking.

the law is still 18 to buy.

some shops may choose to only sell alcohol to over 21s but Tesco and Sainsburys are not in that group yet AFAIK

Reply 16

Holli2011

Clubber Lang

its not 'the law' its a thing shops are doing due to to political pressure due to so much underage drinking.

the law is still 18 to buy.

yeah the law is 18 to buy, but i think it is some sort of regulation that shops must now follow challenge 25..if you sell to someone under 25 in any supermarket and its a sting you get fined now, its not just if they are under 18, we had a store not far from us this happened to and the manager even got fined and lost his licence

Reply 17

NoHands

destination unknown

if I want to buy from a supermarket, is it 18 or 21?

Everyone say something :biggrin:

18.

Reply 18

elixira

TheNorth

*Facepalm*

Some people really can't see outside London can they?

*end of facepalm*

Annoying, isn't it?! :rolleyes:

Reply 19

TKC

- The legal minimum age is 18.
- Shops might 'challenge' you to present ID if you look young (hence, challenge 21/25)
- Shops have the right to choose what they sell to whom, so they might enforce their own special restrictions.

Simples.