Tesco in Ealing Criticised Over 'Ridiculous' Alcohol Sales Policy

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32 year old mother refused wine at till but allow another customer to buy it

When Rebecca Hiscock went into her local Tesco in Ealing Broadway centre to buy a bottle of wine to have with her evening meal she didn't expect to be asked for ID. The 32 year old from W5 says she has never been asked before and doesn't carry any.

Rebecca, mum of two year old Molly, says the lady at the till told her she couldn't serve her and, when the manager was called over, he too refused to budge.

'' I felt like crying - it was just so humiliating' she tells EalingToday.co.uk

Tesco - like many stores - has a policy of checking the age of anyone who looks 25 or under. However this has been subject to criticism recently with complaints that managers in some branches have even refused alcohol sales to parents who are shopping with their teenage children who have no ID.

Whilst Rebecca understands the need to be vigilant against underage drinkers she says what happened next was simply ridiculous.

'' I was kicking up a fuss and clearly upset about the whole thing so the man behind me in the queue said he would buy the wine for me - which he kindly did and I paid him back. The staff were all aware of this, and allowed it to happen. If they really suspected I was underage then this shouldn't have happened.''

Tesco say they won't serve alcohol to anyone who appears to be 25 or under without identification and are looking into this incident.

 

 

 

January 21st, 2010