Alcohol retailing law

[bevywevy]

Today when shopping in Morrisons I was at the till with my lively 2 year old and asked my daughter who is 11 to get me a bottle of wine, she has done this many times but this time she came back with a member of staff who said she couldn't physically take the bottle from the shelf and put it in my trolley, he mentioned some law which i've forgotten now due to feeling so embarrassed, I thought the law was that children could not purchase alcohol thats all, if i'd have known she could not even take it from the shelf to put in her mums trolley i'd never have let her do that all the other times, is this law right, and does anyone know the name of this law?
They also said my daughter couldn't purchase deodorent either which i never knew. plz help, one very embarrassed mum.

[bevywevy]

Lol yeah your prob right, if these laws are true why isn't there any signage in the shop? madness! I wish i could remember the law he stated, something about choosing or selecting to buy... wish i could remeber looked on net but can't remember his exact words so no help,, rang morrisons up and they said sorry for the embarrassment but sorry not what i wanted if this law is right i wan't signage in store to make parents aware of this to save any embarrassment in store, we go first thing every morning when the store is dead and staff know us very well and the member of staff that stopped my daughter getting the wine has seen us many times and many times she has grabbed a bottle for me, its madness.

[Postdog]

So you got embarrassed falling foul of the laws, it's no big deal is it? Be grateful you weren't in that supermarket which won't even sell it to you if you are with a kid.

[bevywevy]

Yes it was embarrrasng, for my daughter and me!! they should make us cosumers aware of this rule or law. There should be signage up to warn us.

[redcrx]

you want signage in the store??? thats taking it a bit far dont you think. Its hardly a regular occurance that parents ask their children to grab the bottles from shelves is it?

There are already signs in those sections saying 'ovber 18s only' so that surely should be enough, its not as if youre going to be fined or arrsted for asking your child to pick up an item from shelf.

Just brush it under carpet and just remind your daughter not to pick up alcohol for you again. If you cant reach it then make one of the staff (who have nothing better to do than spy) pick it up for you insetad :)

[bevywevy]

No store has a ban of selling alcohol whilst children present i think to my knowledge, only if they suspect it was for a minor, so that store you are on about obviously suspected something. In my case it was the fact she had taken the alcohol from the shelf as she was stopped there at the shelf, not the question as to whom it was for they were on about,

[bevywevy]

I just feel if they'd make these rules clear many parents would think twice of asking their kids to pick up wine from the shelf, (i was struggling with my lil 2 yr old at the time, that being the only reason i asked her)
All i wanted to know really was the law this member of staff stated not anyones opinion, but cheers anyway for it!

[north star]

Not against the law in my opnion but maybe contrary to store policy.

Found this intersting piece though

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-566340 /Tesco-bans-parents-buying-alcohol-OWN-childre n.html

[Postdog]

You were saying.....

Cheers north star

[bevywevy]

Interesting article north star, glad that didn't happen to me. can't believe tesco did that unless they had major suspicions or heard a conversation etc.

[Hermia]

Was it a spray deodorant your daughter was trying to purchase. I think they are worried about kids sniffing aerosols. I was actually walking to Morrisons a couple of months ago and found a bunch of young teenagers behind the back of the building sniffing body spray. They had about 10 cans of spray around them.

[bevywevy]

No the cashier at the till just mentioned did i know they also couldnt sell deodorant to her which i didnt know so was glad she told me, makes sense i guess, but honestly didnt know they had a policy or law that kids couldnt or shouldnt put alcohol in their parents trolleys. i only thought they could not buy them.

[loonytunes]

I think you should let this drop. YOU have commited an offence. Section 152 of the Licensing Act 2003 says:-

(1) A person commits an offence if he knowingly sends an individual aged under 18 to obtain�
(a) alcohol sold or to be sold on relevant premises for consumption off the premises, or
(b) alcohol supplied or to be supplied by or on behalf of a club to or to the order of a member of the club for such consumption.
(2) For the purposes of this section, it is immaterial whether the individual aged under 18 is sent to obtain the alcohol from the relevant premises or from other
premises from which it is delivered in pursuance of the sale or supply.

This attracts a fine of up to �5000.

The store have done you a favour. Seeing it from their point of view, an 11 year old girl walking, unsupervised around a supermarket with wine which she could have gone into a corner and drunk is not really a sensible thing to allow is it? As to signage, will you be wanting a sign on traffic lights saying "Do not go through red lights". Ignorance of the law has never been an excuse.

[bevywevy]

I only really wanted to know what the rule or law the member of staff said to me, something like select to buy or something it wasn't the rules you stated, I don't need an opinion about traffic lights lol but thanks.

[bevywevy]

How can it be ignorance of the law when I didn't know that she could not pop a bottle of wine in my trolley?????( I know red means stop thankyou ) I didn't know that so I was not ignoring it.

[loonytunes]

I think you are talking about contract law and "invitation to treat". I would explain it in more detail if you had not been so rude and ungrateful. This legal information would normally cost my clients at least 50 quid. Ignorantia juris haud excusat. Not knowing the law is not an excuse for breaking it. Let it drop. My teacher once told me to let everyone else think I am thick rather than speak and remove all possible doubt. If you learn nothing else from this thread, remember that. You messed up, were stupid and learned. Leave it there.

[jkkerr]

"we go first thing every morning when the store is dead and staff know us very well and the member of staff that stopped my daughter getting the wine has seen us many times"

Why don't you report the store for selling alcohol before the legal time.........

[bevywevy]

Why when is the legal time to sell alcohol in store? We were in store at 8.30 am it was a Tuesday not weekend.