A mum-of-three was refused alcohol while shopping in Aldi with her daughters because staff "thought she was their mate".
Kelly Marsh was left stunned when a cashier would not let her buy bottles of lager and Newcastle Brown Ale - unless her children showed ID.
During her trip to the supermarket, the 35-year-old purchased items including toilet roll, tea and Halloween decorations and said it was clear the drinks weren’t for Courtney, 17, and Bethany, 15. But she said staff initially believed she was their friend rather than their mum.
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When a manager backed up the cashier’s decision, Kelly, who lives in Preston, said she was banned from returning to the store in Buckshaw Village, Lancashire. She said the whole experience left her confused and frustrated and has since complained to Aldi’s head office which has said that the action taken in store was correct.
A spokesperson for the supermarket chain confirmed a Challenge 25 policy is in operation at all its UK stores, reports Lancs Live. And this applies to when the alcohol is potentially purchased for others.
Kelly has criticised the way she says she was treated and believes the policy of requiring ID from all members of a group is unfair.
Kelly said she was immediately asked for ID before the cashier started scanning and it was then explained that all three would need valid ID to allow the sale. “I said ‘these two are my children, they don’t have ID’,” Kelly explained. “They’re not doing any shopping today, they’re just with me.”
Kelly claims service was initially refused because the staff didn’t believe she was actually the girls’ mum. “I even started to get photographs on my phone, it started to make a bit of a scene because people were staring at us trying to look through my phone."
According to Kelly, she was told she couldn’t have the drinks as she may be buying it for the underage children. “He was really patronising and kept telling me to stop shouting and I wasn’t raising my voice. He asked me again and I said ‘this is shouting’.
“At that point he said ‘get out, you’re barred.” Kelly, who owns a salon, said she has not been back to the store since but has been to the Chorley branch without similar problems. She also says her husband has been shopping with the children without any issues when buying alcohol.
Like other supermarkets, the store operates a Challenge 25 policy which means anyone who is purchasing alcohol and looks under the age of 25 must show ID. Kelly said she “supports and abides by” that rule but thought it was ridiculous that teenagers would be wanting lager and Newcastle Brown Ale.
“It’s a gentleman’s drink, it’s not something you’d find kids drinking in a park.” she said.
Kelly continued: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s the same principle, no matter the age of the children. If you’ve got a single mum who looks young like me, what’s she going to do? I agree with the Think 25 policy, I also agree if the manager sees something like somebody taking money outside, they can refuse service.
“They didn’t see anything like that. As a 35-year-old woman, there’s nothing I can’t buy. The only thing is if I go shopping with my children then I’m not allowed.
“I’ve been ID’d in other shops. I make sure I have it with me because I’m lucky enough to look very young and my kids are taller than me. Even my 15-year-old son towers over me. I carry ID everywhere for that reason but it only seems to be Aldi who have this problem.”
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Like all retailers, we operate a Challenge 25 policy at all of our stores, and we apply this to any customers purchasing age-restricted products whether these are for themselves or potentially for others. We encourage customers who may appear under this age to carry photo ID if they intend to purchase alcohol.”
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