Portsmouth Tesco refuse to sell alcohol to 46-year-old mum
A mum was told she couldn't buy wine at a supermarket in case she gave it to her 14-year-old daughter.
Karen Dumelow queued up with her weekly shopping, including two bottles of Tesco Finest white wine.
But the checkout worker refused to serve the 46-year-old, saying she needed to see identification for daughter Emily.
Mrs Dumelow then approached three senior members of staff at the North Harbour store, but they backed their colleague.
'I was a bit bemused and said "my daughter doesn't have ID – she's only 14 years old!",' said Mrs Dumelow, a fraud investigator.
'My daughter was with me because I take her shopping.
'I don't leave her home alone. I was paying for the shopping, not her, how extreme can something get?'
Mrs Dumelow, from Shelford Road, Milton, was forced to put aside the two bottles of wine and pay for the rest of the shopping.
She then had to send off her daughter to the car so she could put the bottles of wine through the same till.
'My till receipts support this madness, I have one recorded at 5.28pm purchasing groceries and the second recorded at 5.29pm for two bottles of wine.
'I would never purchase alcohol for an under-age person. I'm sure now there are many Tesco customers who do not believe that to be the case as this incident took place in the middle of a busy store and clearly did not go unnoticed, so what does that make me look like?
'I'm a professional person, I always abide by the law and find it extremely distressing to have been treated and embarrassed in this way.'
Daughter Emily added: 'It was embarrassing. I don't understand why they wanted ID for me because it wasn't for me and I wasn't paying.
'I don't have ID but if I did it would have shown I was 14 so it was stupid.'
Tesco has now apologised for the incident.
Spokesman David Nieberg said: 'We're sorry for the inconvenience and any embarrassment we have caused this customer.
'We work hard to prevent under-age sales, including proxy sales where adults purchase alcohol for under-18s.
'However in this instance we got it wrong and sincerely apologise.'
WHAT OTHER SUPERMARKETS SAY
Sainsbury's – spokeswoman Cheryl Kuczynski said: 'The vast majority of our customers who buy alcohol do so as part of their regular and large grocery shop and we do, of course, sell alcohol to shoppers accompanied by children.
'However, it is against the law for an adult to buy alcohol for a child or young person under the age of 18. If a colleague believes that an adult is buying alcohol for an under age person to consume, we err on the side of caution and refuse to sell alcohol to that person.'
Waitrose – spokeswoman Jess Hughes said: 'Our checkout staff are trained to "Think 21" when serving alcohol.
'If there is reason to believe that the customer is buying the alcoholic drink for someone under age then the sale would be refused.'
Asda – spokeswoman Sian Horner said: 'If someone doesn't look 25 they are challenged for ID.
'We judge every case independently. Every colleague is held accountable by law if they sell alcohol to an under-age person.
'If in doubt, challenge for ID, that's the rule we stick to.'
Morrisons – spokeswoman Melanie Hill said: 'We have a TASK 25 Scheme which ensures that if we believe a customer wishing to purchase alcohol is under the age of 25, they will be asked to provide recognised proof of age documentation.
'Under current licensing laws, stores are not allowed to sell an alcoholic product to a customer who is suspected of buying for a minor or for someone who is unable to prove their age, as was the case in this instance.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
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