Woman, 92, can't buy alcohol because she has no ID

[marmar]

Shop staff refuse to sell whisky to great-grandmother, 92, because she couldn't prove she was over 18

By Jessica Satherley
Last updated at 2:10 AM on 2nd November 2011




A great-grandmother blasted shop staff today after they refused to sell her alcohol at the age of 92, because she had no ID to prove she was over 18.

Diane Taylor was stunned to be asked for proof of age when she asked for a bottle of whisky from her local One Stop Shop in Harlow, Essex.

The great-grandmother-of-three produced her over-60s bus pass, an OAP card and even her pacemaker certificate, but was still turned away because she could not provide a passport or driving licence.

It was the first time that the pensioner, who was born in 1919 turned 18 in 1937, has ever been asked to show ID when buying alcohol. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2056076/Shop-staff-refuse-sell-whisky-great-grandmother-92-prove-18.html

[seabeyond]

1. the law is not to prove you are not 21. it is not having a license. it is have to be over 21.

she obviously looks over 18. this is a power trip for some low wage worker.

[Chan790]

2. It's England...

who knows what the law says?

It might require proof-of-ID-and-age of all customers...several US states have such laws, including CT. They have to card everybody and the state police do run ID-check stings with full-grown adults obviously well-past 30.

[seabeyond]

4. you are right. i do not know england. thanks for info

i have had people not sell me cigs cause i dont have id. really? you really cannot tell i am three decades from 18?

morans

[freshwest]

9. ...

[mucifer]

3. My 64 year old friend couldn't enter a Chicago bar because she

didn't have her driver's license with her. We found a better place. :) and yes she does look 64 years old.

When we were in our 20s (back in the 1990s) my friend and I went to a bar she showed her state ID and they asked her her date of birth and she stuttered a little and then they said she could only enter with a drivers license. My friend has huge cataracts and clearly cannot drive. What they did was clearly discrimination. They said they have the right to refuse anyone entry.
She made a little noise in the bar. We were very excited a few years later when the place went out of business. This was in a Chicago suburb.

[Shagbark Hickory]

5. Why should she be treated any differently?

Better yet, why is a 92 year old buying whiskey?

[SwissTony]

7. To toast her contemporaries who didn't get that far? nt

[bigwillq]

8. Maybe she's thirsty.

Maybe she likes whiskey.
Maybe she wants to get bombed.

Who are you (we) to judge?

[monmouth]

15. Manhattans at 4:00..n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

17. Maybe she wants a drink.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

6. You know that song " Here's Your Sign"?

I think that store staff needs one.

[davsand]

10. Hard to say what that clerk had been told.

I am not defending this in any way, but it is possible that the clerk was told to card everyone--no exceptions.

I'm over 50 and I got carded recently when I bought a split of Merlot to cook with. Trust me on this one, I clearly look like I am over 21. I kinda laughed at the clerk a little bit--I actually THANKED her for carding me. Her response was "We card EVERYONE no matter what age we think they are..." (So much for HER brownie points!)



Laura

[sarge43]

13. According to the article, the store manager stated that everyone is carded

FWIW

[RedCloud]

11. maybe Prohibition still applies to that generation?

[WildEyedLiberal]

12. Utter, abject failure of common sense

A nice example of sacrificing the spirit to the letter of the law.

[elleng]

14. Shop staff is stupid!

[Enrique]

16. sometimes the company runs stings

and sometimes law enforcement does them too.

Maybe the clerk thought it was a sting and they'd get fired or even arrested if it turned out it was a sting. I don't know about England, but in Florida the burden is borne by the clerk, not by the store, the store throws you under the bus, and clerks do get arrested, not just fined.

Bottom line, don't blame the clerk. Maybe it's not common sense, but how does the clerk know how much common sense the store or the police will show?