J.D. Wetherspoon

[rfr10]

Well I have to say, I always have unpleasant experiences with the food here but today was a different matter and before I submit a formal complaint to them, I'd like to know people's opinions on what happened-

Today, I purchased three alcoholic drinks at a total cost of £6.20 for three friends I was with. I had identification to prove I was at the legal age for purchasing alcohol. My friends did not, although they are both eighteen years of age. The bar staff did not ask me for proof of identification, therefore I happily took the drinks and sat down with a meal. It wasn’t until we had started consuming the drinks that a waitress approached our table and asked if we had ID. Now, I am sure I am correct in saying that, if they had doubts about our age, the bar staff should have asked us for this in the first place before allowing us to purchase the drinks. Yes, it was our fault that we did not all have identification but it is at the fault of the bar staff for selling us the alcohol in the first place and then, after purchasing it, asking for ID and when the two of my friends did not have ID, their drinks were taken away. I had asked for a refund as they had barely even touched the drink but the waitress refused and said “You are the ones who risked buying it without ID in the first place, you shouldn’t have done that”. It was a total disgrace the way we were treated. I am aware that we are teenagers but this does not give the staff the right to speak to us like this (or maybe they speak to adults like this too?). I asked to speak to the manager who, after about 10 minutes, eventually came over with a smug grin on his face and basically said the exact same as the waitress said to us, as well as “You shouldn’t be buying alcohol for under agers”. All my friends were at the legal age for purchasing alcohol, we told him. We received little response as he walked away from us. Again, I was disgusted with his attitude towards us and he evidently did not care one little bit and did not apologise.

Maybe it was our fault completely. Maybe we have no right to get our money back and maybe I have no right to complain? What do you think?

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Start spending your money elsewhere. Perhaps Weatherspoons don't need your cash.

[changilass]

It was remiss of the bar staff not to ask for the proof of age, but you all knew the score before going into a pub in the first place. You may have a valid complaint about their attitude being bad but you don't have a leg to stand on with regards the alcohol. You may have been with your 2 friends but how were the bar staff to know that you were not planning on consuming all 3 drinks yourself?

[rfr10]

It was remiss of the bar staff not to ask for the proof of age, but you all knew the score before going into a pub in the first place. You may have a valid complaint about their attitude being bad but you don't have a leg to stand on with regards the alcohol. You may have been with your 2 friends but how were the bar staff to know that you were not planning on consuming all 3 drinks yourself?

Yes we were fully aware that we may need ID. If they refused to sell us the alcohol at the bar, I wouldn't have any problem with it and I would easily purchase something else. I would guess they are trying to save themselves incase anyone saw us drinking it and thought we were under 18. They know the guidelines more than we do so it is their responsibility to either refuse the sale or allow us to purchase and consume it. I was carrying ID myself but I was not asked for it. Surley it is the same for a supermarket, I could attempt to purchase alcohol on my own (I could be purchasing it for someone else) but if they did not believe I was 18, they would need to ask for ID just like in Wetherspoons. If I was to consume all three drinks myself, this would still mean they should have asked for proof of age from me. Now there is absolutely no way I look under 21 and therefore they should have asked for it. Obviously the bar staff trusted that I was 18 and didn't ask for it. I thought it was rather odd and irresponsible of them to ask for the ID once we had started consuming it.

[bothyman]

Why did you buy Drinks for your Friends if you knew they had no ID, and you knew they could be asked for it??
Did your Friends go with you to the Bar ??
If not they probably thought you were trying to pull a fast one.
You could have drunk all 3 drinks yourself as you had ID and your friends did not ??

Just seen this part maybe this is why you were not asked as you say you do not look under 21 ??

> Now there is absolutely no way I look under 21 and therefore they should have asked for it

[Invisible]

I think you have good grounds to make a complaint, this happened to me when i was 18 and my mates didnt have ID.

[rfr10]

Why did you buy Drinks for your Friends if you knew they had no ID, and you knew they could be asked for it??
Did your Friends go with you to the Bar ??
If not they probably thought you were trying to pull a fast one.
You could have drunk all 3 drinks yourself as you had ID and your friends did not ??

In that case, they should have asked me for ID but they did not even do that. I had to provide ID as well once I had purchased the drink. It is more the service I am annoyed with rather that just the fact that they had to take the drinks away from us. The manner of the waitress was bad enough, I though the manager would be a little more considerate rather than walking away from us when I was trying to speak to him and question why I was not asked for ID before purchasing the drink. The manager was worse than the waitress. He basically just smiled at us as he came over and though it was a complete joke. Maybe he doesn't take people our age seriously.

[rfr10]

Just seen this part maybe this is why you were not asked as you say you do not look under 21 ??

> Now there is absolutely no way I look under 21 and therefore they should have asked for it

Sorry, meant to say there is no way I look over 21.

Can I also add, it should also be the responsibility of the bar staff to ask me if the drinks I was purchasing was for myself or other people before selling it. Fair enough if it was the one drink but when I purchase three at the one time should have them asking to make sure.

[Mrs Bucket]

Simples you should all have been adult enough to have ID on you.

[golach]

I would change the law on Licensed Premises to over 21's only, that would solve many problems.

[katarina]

perhaps the bar staff did not realise who the other drinks were for until she saw you sit down with your friends? could this be why they were not asked for proof of their age before they started to drink?

[Fluff]

I can completely understand them taking the drinks off you. they have to protect their license etc..
However I do think it was wrong for them not to give your mates a soft drink in exchange or a refund. I do not know much about the laws for pubs, but even if they had said 'it's not our policy to give refund etc..'
I think you should complain but don't expect to get very far as I get the feeling the managers stick together. Good luck though.

[j_1971son]

this is how it works, if you go into a bar and you look under 21, you should be asked for id, secoundly if the member of staff behind the bar did not think this and they did not see your freinds then they won't ask you, thirdly another member of staff can ask you for id if they are waitrasing as you call it as it is there duty to do so, the bar staff cannot see everyone who comes through the door, and finally yes you are perfectly right about complaining about how you are dealt with. you should of got a refund for the drinks and the policy explained to you in full. From what you have read so far, you were treated very roughly. if you go onto the jd website i believe there is a section where you can complain. This complaint is then forwarded onto the area manager and then sent to the pubs to be dealt with. If you had names as well it would help.

[rfr10]

I can completely understand them taking the drinks off you. they have to protect their license etc..
However I do think it was wrong for them not to give your mates a soft drink in exchange or a refund. I do not know much about the laws for pubs, but even if they had said 'it's not our policy to give refund etc..'
I think you should complain but don't expect to get very far as I get the feeling the managers stick together. Good luck though.

I do agree with you. I realise they have to protect themselves and this is why they did this. It is more the staff service I am annoyed with. I also agree with what you have stated about offering a soft drink as an alternative. I don't think the manager was interested at all. He didn't come over the first time as the waitress came back but I said I wanted to speak to the manager. If he hadn't come over smiling and treating it like a joke and then walking away from us without any form of apology, I probably would be as annoyed as I am.

[rfr10]

this is how it works, if you go into a bar and you look under 21, you should be asked for id, secoundly if the member of staff behind the bar did not think this and they did not see your freinds then they won't ask you, thirdly another member of staff can ask you for id if they are waitrasing as you call it as it is there duty to do so, the bar staff cannot see everyone who comes through the door, and finally yes you are perfectly right about complaining about how you are dealt with. you should of got a refund for the drinks and the policy explained to you in full. From what you have read so far, you were treated very roughly. if you go onto the jd website i believe there is a section where you can complain. This complaint is then forwarded onto the area manager and then sent to the pubs to be dealt with. If you had names as well it would help.

Thank you. Yes, there is a section on their website. I will send the message through the form here and if I don't receive an acceptable response, I'll get in touch with the Highland Council - Trading Standards as I believe they deal with this sort of issue.

[Murdina Bug]

Well, I would write a stiff letter of complaint to the area manager and say how unprofessional the staff were. I can't abide this 'over 21' nonsense - the legal age is 18 and RFR could prove that so he at least should have been able to keep his drink.

[rfr10]

Simples you should all have been adult enough to have ID on you.

We did not plan on going to Wetherspoons to begin with. If we did, all of us would have had ID with us. It is not our fault that we were sold the drinks without being asked in for ID.

[rfr10]

Oh, I have another complaint - why is their food sometimes so terrible and taste like it has been microwaved? I really don't know why I keep going back - think that will have been the last time!

[j_1971son]

They cannot offer you soft drinks in return, and if they had asked for id at the start then everything would of been fine. The rules about serving someone without id are as follows, if the police come in and check for people with id and you do not have any, then you will be asked to point out who served you. The person who served you can get up to a £5000 fine and will most likely lose there job, the pub will be dealt with by the appropriate licensing board and if they have several cases of people being served with no id against them they could lose the licence. Still you were treated very roughly and should complain.

[rfr10]

I probably wouldn't have complained if we were treated with respect rather than having someone come over and ask "Have yez go' ID?" rather than "Excuse me, are you all aged 18... could I see your ID please? .. sorry I'm afraid I'll have to take your drinks away. The bar staff should have asked you for ID before you purchased the drinks". If they had said that, we would probably have accepted it and end of. When I questioned the manager about why the bar staff didn't ask for ID from me - he said "they should have" and this is when we walked off.. I bet he didn't even mention it to the staff behind the bar. They made us feel like we were troublemakers.