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Denbighshire Trading Standards lead and coordinate work on underage sales issues. We work closely with North Wales Police and various community safety groups to tackle this wide ranging subject.

Preventing Underage Sales

It can be very difficult to assess a person’s age from their appearance. This is why you should always ask for proof of age in cases where there is any doubt over the age of the purchaser. Acceptable forms of proof would be a passport or new photo-driving licence. Documents such as birth certificates and National Insurance cards should not be relied upon, as they do not include a photograph of the holder.
A number of proof of age schemes exist whereby young persons can obtain a card which includes their photograph, and the dates on which they became 16 and 18. Schemes which are PASS accredited (The National Proof of Age Standards Scheme) have been rigorously audited to ensure that the cards issued can be relied upon to be accurate. They also bear a PASS holographic logo which makes them extremely difficult to copy. If any doubt remains about the age of the purchaser, the sale must be refused.

Won’t customers get annoyed if I refuse to serve them?

Always remember that you are not obliged to sell anything to anyone if you do not wish to. If there is any doubt about the age of the purchaser, politely decline the sale. You may wish to copy the ‘Refusal Notice’ provided and post it in a prominent position within your store, or make copies of the ‘Refusal Slip’ to provide to young people whom you have refused.

What can I do to prevent those involved in my business breaking the law?

The law generally provides a retailer with a defence if he can demonstrate that s/he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to prevent an offence being committed.
‘Reasonable precautions’ means setting up a suitable system and ‘due diligence’ means ensuring that the system is working effectively. Remember that the defence is only available if you have taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence, however, what is reasonable will depend on the size and nature of the business. A large multiple retailer would be expected to have a far more sophisticated system in place than say a small corner shop.

What might be expected of me?

The essential elements of a system to prevent underage sales being made are as follows :-
• Staff training
• Warning notices
• Till prompts
• Records of occasions when requests made for Proof of Age
• Monitoring and control by management / owner of the business

Remember however, that ultimately only the courts can decide what is reasonable, taking into account all of the circumstances.