A mum 'kicked off' after being refused alcohol in an Aldi supermarket.
Kelly Marsh was stunned and embarrassed when a cashier told her she couldn’t buy bottles of lager and Newcastle Brown Ale - unless her and her children provided ID.
The mum-of-three nipped to her local Aldi to buy items including toilet roll, tea and Halloween decorations. She was joined by her two daughters - Courtney, 17, and Bethany, 15 - and said that staff initially believed she was actually their friend rather than their mum so denied her buying alcohol.
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She told LancsLive that the whole experience left her confused and frustrated as it was "clear" that the drinks weren’t for her teenage daughters. 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.
She said: “I said ‘these two are my children, they don’t have ID. 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. The 35-year-old salon owner explained: “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. She said: “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’.
However a manager backed up the cashier's decision and banished her from the store. She explained: "At that point he said ‘get out, you’re barred.”
Kelly, who owns a salon in Leyland, 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. The mum has since complained to Aldi’s head office which has said that the action taken in store was correct.
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 told LancsLive that she “supports and abides by” that rule but thought it was ridiculous that teenagers would be wanting lager and Newcastle Brown Ale.
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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