A mum with a broken hand was shocked when she was banned from buying booze at Morrisons – because her 17-year-old daughter was helping her PACK her groceries.
Nikki Chapman, 46, was left embarrassed after she was told she could not buy alcohol because her daughter Ellie was underage.
She had asked Ellie to help her pack party snacks and three boxes of Carling last Wednesday because she was struggling with the injury she suffered in a motorbike accident.
But the mum-of-three – whose arm is in a cast – was stunned when they were stopped at the check-out by a member of staff at the store in posh Royal Leamington Spa, Warks.
The shop worker demanded to see Ellie’s ID and when Nikki said her daughter was 17 the assistant banned them from buying the booze.
Nikki then complained to the store manager who maintained they could not sell her the alcohol.
Ellie even suggested she go and wait outside and the staff could help her mum pack the shopping – but was told this was ‘against company policy’.
Nikki, who runs a gardening business with husband John, 47, fumed: “As a mother of three teenage daughters I totally agree with identification checks on young adults.
“But I was paying for the shopping on my card and considered their actions, and the embarrassment we were put through at the self-check-out tills, to be extremely unnecessary.
“It is company policy gone stark raving mad.
“It felt as if they were insinuating that I was going to go down the park and hand out these cans to teenagers.
“All it requires in a bit of common sense. But all they could say is that is was against company policy.
“If she was trying to buy the drink then fair enough – but are they really going to stop every parents that comes through with their children if they are buying alcohol .
“It just seems ludicrous to me.
“Ellie was so shocked. She even said to them what do you think I’ll go and do, go and drink 40 cans of Carling down the park?
“I was so embarrassed by how we were treated and made to look.
“I left the shopping on the counter, walked out and took my business elsewhere.
“We went around the corner to Asda and had no problems there whatsoever.”
Ellie, who lives with her parents and sisters Hannah, 16, and Jenny 14, in Cubbington, Warks., said she was left gobsmacked by the incident.
Ellie, a caterer at Warwick Castle, who turned 18 on Wednesday added: “We just couldn’t believe what was happening.
“The attitude of the staff was unbelievable. I was completely gobsmacked.
“They could clearly see my mother’s arm was in a cast and was really struggling
“She was her card out ready to pay so I was literally just helping pack the shopping bags.
“Ironically, it was for my 18th birthday anyway so by the time I got to drink one it was perfectly legal to anyway.”
A spokesperson for Morrisons apologised for the incident but defended the decision to ID Ellie.
He said: “We are really sorry the customer felt embarrassed and upset.
“We take responsible selling of alcohol very seriously and where the product may be bought for someone who appears to be under 18, the check-out operators must ask for ID from that person.”
