8:46pm Sunday 12th July 2009
By Kate Wadsworth
A shocked mother has hit out at supermarket bosses after staff refused to sell her four cans of beer because they suspected she was buying them for her 15-year-old daughter.
Antonia Viner was at Morrisons in Skipton when she was asked to provide identification for her daughter Amber who was with her at the time.
Mrs Viner, a Skipton hairdresser, said she was buying four bottles of Sol for her husband, Mark, but staff refused to believe her. Now Mrs Viner, 36, has vowed never to return to the store as their “over-zealous” Think 25 Policy over alcohol sales makes it impossible to shop with children.
Mrs Viner said: “I got to the wines and spirits checkout and I was asked for ID. I thought it was funny and said ‘I think I’m old enough.’ Then I realised they wanted ID for Amber even though it was me who was buying the beers.
“Amber volunteered her bus pass but I thought they were being ridiculous, as they had no grounds whatsoever to think I was buying the alcohol for my daughter.
“Much to the embarrassment of my daughter, I asked to speak to the manager. A supervisor said they were following company policy, calling it the law.
“The supervisor suggested that if I wanted to purchase beer then we should perhaps leave the children in the car or worse still in the car park.
“It all got a bit heated and at one point a man shouted to me ‘Leave it love they are always doing it’. A client has also told me subsequently that it has happened to her.”
Her husband Mark, 43, a former Upper Wharfedale rugby player, said he had lodged an official complaint at Morrisons’ head office.
He said: “Antonia and I are responsible adults who try to educate our children in all aspects of life including consumption of alcohol. Part of this is the inclusion of our children in the process, that is shopping for it, keeping it in the fridge and then drinking it as responsibly as possible.”
A Morrisons spokesman said the company adhered to regulations barring stores from selling alcohol to adults whom they believed intended to supply to minors. “In this individual case as it was not possible to establish who the product was intended for, the store used its own judgement and refused sale,” said the spokesman.
“The store followed procedure. We apologise if the customer thought the store was being over-zealous in applying these rules. Morrisons welcomes families into all of its stores and does not have a policy where children should be left outside the store.
“We adhere to strict regulations regarding the sale of age restricted products. These rules are in place to protect our customers and their families, who in the majority of cases appreciate our vigilance in the sale of age-restricted products.”
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