A young dad claims he was stopped from buying Calpol in Tesco for his sick baby son.
Declan Anderson, 18, was refused the sale while attempting to buy medicine for Archie - who had been suffering from Neisseria meningitis - at the Maltkiln Road Tesco in Barton.
He claims the cashier rightly asked for identification in accordance with the supermarket's Think 25 policy where they must ask for proof if they think somebody trying to buy and age-restricted product looks under 25. If they cannot prove they are old enough to put the product, they will be refused.
Declan claims he showed her his driving licence, which proved he was 18 - two years older than the minimum age of 16 to buy paracetamol containing products, but that she said he needed to be 25. However, Tesco claim he did not show ID and that this is why he was refused the sale.
Desperate to get the medicine, he sent his father back in to buy it for him, who was also refused due to it being a proxy sale.
Declan said: "Our three-month-old son Archie had an upset stomach so we went to Tesco to get him some Calpol. At the till, the lady scanned the product and asked me for ID so I gave her my driving licence and I’m clearly old enough, but she said I have to be over 25. I’m not sure if she got it mixed up with having to look 25 or not."
He added: "I went outside to get my dad and he went up to pay for the Calpol and he definitely is old enough, he's in his 60s. She refused to give it to him because she knew he was going to give it to me." Declan's dad challenged the cashier, claiming the policy was "ridiculous".
Thankfully, Declan managed to get Calpol from another shop in the area to help three-month-old Archie who had been suffering from Neisseria Meningitis. He said: "It’s made him quite unwell, but he’s doing ok now. I felt quite upset because I could tell that he was in pain and we couldn't get the medicine that makes him better.
"It’s upsetting to be honest, we went to Co-op in Barton in the end to get some."
Tesco declined to give an official comment, but insisted that Declan had not produced any ID when asked and emphasised their strict Think 25 policy.
On its website, it states that the legal age for buying paracetamol is 16 but that the Think 25 policy must be applied.
It states of products with age restrictions: "We operate a strict age verification policy on all these products, known as 'Think 25'. This means that if our cashier believes that you look under the age of 25 and you can't provide an accepted form of identification, then we will refuse the sale."
