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[–]Els236 155 points156 points  (29 children)

According to Tesco's website, yes:

https://www.tesco.com/help/pages/in-store-faqs/information-about-our-stores/age-restricted-items

"To purchase any knives or razor blade products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, you must be 18 or over. In Scotland, you must be 16 or over.

We operate a strict age verification policy on all these products, known as 'Think 25'."

Admittedly though, if it didn't come up on the till as an authorisation request, she could claim inadequate training (which wouldn't surprise me).

[–]SamCodesStuff 39 points40 points  (16 children)

If it was an internal test purchase then yes, arguing lack of training would work but because it's a Trading Standards test purchase, they won't care as you've still committed the criminal offence of selling a bladed article to someone under the legal age.

[–]TommyG3000 13 points14 points  (13 children)

I didn't think the people used in these think 25 tests were actually under 18 though.?

[–]FrostySquirrel820 22 points23 points  (8 children)

The purchasers employed by the testing companies are over 18 but look young.

I believe the police/trading standards use 15/16 year-olds so a crime has been committed.

[–]Far_Kaleidoscope_102 9 points10 points  (2 children)

I remember police coming into our school about 20 years ago to ask the year 10’s if they wanted to participate. Out of around 150 kids no one wanted to.

[–]Belle_TainSummer 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Good kids. Remembered, never be a cop for the cops.

[–]TommyG3000 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If they'd asked that at my school and let the kids keep the alcohol everyone would have volunteered.

[–]Suspicious_Tax8577 4 points5 points  (4 children)

Trading standards (certainly the year I did test purchases) used under 16s. We were primarily tasked with going into shop X, and buying alcopops or similar.

[–]FrostySquirrel820 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Good point. I’d forgotten some products are “over 16”. Edited accordingly.

[–]Suspicious_Tax8577 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Felt really bad when we did actually leave a corner shop with a 6 pack of WKDs.

[–]Hazeylicious 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Did you at least get to keep them? 😂

[–]Suspicious_Tax8577 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wish! Unfortunately not.

[–]Ham0nRyy 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Something I dislike so much about this sort of thing is it’s all so subjective. The trading standards folk send in someone over the required age, you sell it to them, they claim you did something wrong.

Well if they are over the age then how was it wrong, and if you say you should ask for ID based on challenge 25 rules then who gets to decide the lesson looks under 25? Because surely just saying “I judged them to look 25” just counters any argument of wrong doing. It fucks me off man. It’s a subjective thing to judge how old someone looks, and if they are over the required age then you’re just being fucked over for nothing.

[–]Helenarth 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think when it comes to Trading Standards/police, they actually do use underage kids. So if you sell to them, you have actually done something wrong.

[–]goofymf893 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think they are 18-20 years old, I used to be a test purchaser. Always hated trying to buy blades as the process to handle them if I got sold them was a PITA

[–]vlh-official 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The police can use any age

[–]lpind 32 points33 points  (1 child)

Razor blades are exempt though? Unless they've changed the law since 2005 (with the Violent Crime Reduction Act; which they may have). The exemptions to selling a bladed/pointed article to under 18's (was 16 before the VCA came in?). The VCA (Violent Crime Reduction Act) only amended the age from 16 to 18. It didn't change the exceptions! The exceptions always included "folding pocket knives with a blade less than 3" in length, and "blades with less than 2mm" exposed from a fixed housing (pencil sharpeners and cartridge razors).

If I am wrong I really do want to know because as somebody who owns/uses many different types of "sharp tools" I like to keep abreast of these changes!

[–]itsjustmefortoday🧾 Checkouts 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The only ones I can think are restricted are the ones that are like a flat blade that go in the old safety razor.

[–]Electrical_Voice_195 16 points17 points  (2 children)

What happens on SS then when a customer buys razor blades. You can’t expect the colleague to look at every customer as they swipe the item to see if they are purchasing these items. It’s Tesco’s responsibility to ensure any Think25 purchase is flagged up surely?

[–]glglglglgl 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You can’t expect the colleague to look at every customer as they swipe the item to see if they are purchasing these items.

That's what is expected in a bar for selling alcohol, so I don’t think it's unreasonable for a cashier to look at their customers when selling alcohol or other age-restricted products.

[–]Electrical_Voice_195 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Alcohol along with other age restricted lines are flagged up when you scan them. The checkout operator on self service has to authorise the purchase after they’ve done the age check. What the OP is saying is that razor blades are not flagged up so unless they observe every customer on the,perhaps 12 self service tills, they won’t see them scan them and it will not need to be authorised.

[–]LukeCloudStalker 7 points8 points  (4 children)

How do teenagers in England shave then?

[–]Odd_Feedback_7636 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The same way they cut a loaf of bread, they use the knife their parents or another adult has purchased. Or the razor blades someone else has purchased.

[–]RMCaird 6 points7 points  (2 children)

You can buy safety/cartridge razors at any age. That doesn’t mean the store won’t have its own policy about think 25, but as far as trading standards are concerned my 8yo can go buy cartridge razor blades. 

OP hasn’t said what type of razor blades they are. 

Edit: not safety.

[–]TheHareBearBunch 2 points3 points  (1 child)

A touch pedantic however safety razor blades are the loose razor blades, not the cartridge ones. They’re called safety as they are more safe than the straight / cut-throat razors which was all there was prior to that.

Sale of safety razor blades are 16 in Scotland and 18 in the rest of the UK.

I wondered what the policy is and the Tesco web page on this doesn’t exempt cartridge blades from Think 25 either.

[–]RMCaird 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ah, sorry, corrected. Thanks :) 

[–]TopAverage1532 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it didn't come up on the till, then Tesco should be at fault too. If this was self-checkout then it's entirely Tesco to blame

[–]DiscombobulatedMix20 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Question:

Were they enclosed inside a casing such as refills/disposable handles or were they not? If they are and less than 2mm is exposed, it is exempt. If not, it is a restricted item.

[–]georgialucy 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Glad police were on the case for someone trying to shave their legs.

[–]ColtonSavannah 40 points41 points  (1 child)

Meanwhile as the police are pulling the team member for one misstep at the till, £200 of stock was being stolen right out the front door with no consequences

[–]Far_Fisherman_7490 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Happened to me at the Asda I work at, and also failed a challenge 25 one lol

[–]Requirement_Fluid 12 points13 points  (0 children)

So likely the test purchase bought the wrong item, didn't get flagged (cartridge rather than double sided blades), and now they are trying to make it their problem

[–]supremexjordan_ 17 points18 points  (3 children)

It’s a police test purchase which is different from the internal one in that the person they use is literally underage. The people doing the internal test purchases are always just over 18, maybe 19. With the police and trading standards purchases they tend to be a lot stricter and when it comes to alcohol you can lose your DPS licence. I am unsure if the exact same applies to bladed articles.

If it’s a first time fail the store might get a warning rather than fine or other consequences.

I’m not sure about the colleague as that’s down to the investigating manager

[–]JustAnother_Brit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I might have delivered to an internal test purchase yesterday then, our Dotcom keeps failing and yesterday I delivered a bunch of restricted items to a guy who’s barley 18

[–]RMCaird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It depends on the razor blades. If they’re the cartridge type blades then there is no age limit. 

[–]BritasticUK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then the police should know that cartridge ones aren't age restricted (OP confirmed they were a refill of the cartridge type in another post)

[–]bronze_kanga_roo 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Tesco only sell safety razors and razor blades which are exempt from the Think 25 rules as less than 2mm of blade is exposed.

We found this info ^ because the scenario OP described happened in a local store last year and it caused a lot of confusion due to the lack of till alert but the police were insisting the colleague and store should be fined for selling an age restricted item without asking for ID. We had to dig through colleague help to find the info to refute their claims and it turns out there is a document that list Think 25 products and why some are excluded from the policy (like safety razors and razor blades).

[–]TheRAP79 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Open razor blades ARE age restricted to 18 years old.

Cartridge razor blades, where the blade is less than 2mm and permanently enclosed in a cartridge are NOT subject to age restrictions.

I know this because ANY age restricted sale Amazon makes I MUST show my ID, despite being well above the age of 18 and that includes utility/craft knives. Cartridge razor blade packs are posted through my letterbox.

TL;DR cartridge razors are NOT age restricted.

[–]Alert-Performance199 6 points7 points  (1 child)

This is the store issue and nothing on your colleague if the prompt didn't come up.

It's good that this has been flagged, and your colleague should not get any repercussions from this. It's a computer error that needs fixing. It will be stupid for them to hold them accountable, you're not going to constantly think "is this think 25?" That's the whole point of the checkouts alerting you.

[–]bronze_kanga_roo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There will be no repercussions for the colleague as the police and trading standards people are wrong in trying to fine the colleague and store- Tesco only sells safety razors and razor blade cartridges that are exempt from the Think 25 policy as the blades are enclosed in plastic with less than 2mm of exposed blade so don’t meet the government or legal requirements to be included.

[–]Mitridate101 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Have the police really got NOTHING better to do ?

Is there not a phone snatch or a knife crime happening that they should be investigating instead ?

[–]Alien_Goatman 2 points3 points  (3 children)

I’ve never had a pop up on the screen for razor blades?

[–]Coxbox400 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Restricted products in stores: 

razor blades (except safety razors)

razor blades permanently enclosed in a cartridge or housing where less than 2 millimetres of any blade is exposed (for example disposable razors or replacement razor cartridge heads).

[–]Alien_Goatman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know you’re supposed to but it doesn’t do the screen like it does with medication, booze and tobacco 

[–]Revolutionary-Mode75 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don't think I have either. Also can't remember razor blades popping up in training.

[–]alexandrawriter00 2 points3 points  (0 children)

boots have had a similar issue lately. called their head offices because not all their razor blades ask for permission when putting them through the till and was wondering why apparently it depends on the thickness of the individual blades and some of them have guards on so you can actually harm anything with it but they won't exclusively state that for some reason so it gets confusing for the customers and colleagues

[–]KingForceHundred 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Would be good if OP confirmed that these were open razor blades. If cartridge blades it’s a non issue.

If open razor blades and not flagged by system Tesco to blame here (though legally employee). If self service there’s not even a member of staff who has sold them.

If police/trading standards involved it’s not Think 25 issue but under 18.

[–]Mark8819[S] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

It was a refill pack, the cartridge ones. 

[–]KingForceHundred 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Don’t think it’s even an issue then. Many posters have pointed out that these are not age restricted.

[–]Feisty_Fan5007 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I regularly buy razors from Tesco and have never once had to have the staff clear the think 25 thing, this sounds like a Tesco error not the staff members ! Let’s hope she gets away with it

[–]bronze_kanga_roo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s a police and trading standards error- Tesco only sells safety razors and razor blade cartridges that don’t meet the government or legal need to be age restricted as the blades are enclosed in plastic with less than 2mm of exposed blade.

[–]Silly_Sundae9218 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I recently bought razor blades in Tesco, used the self serve tills and no questions about my age (f35) xx

[–]Known-View8307 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Internal test purchasers are 18-19. This is us checking the training has landed and we are following think 25. Due diligence protection.

Police , trading standards, lottery, etc will send people in under age. These are ones that can get you fined, shut down etc.

[–]UnlikelyExperience 2 points3 points  (0 children)

TIL under 18s can't shave without someone else buying the razors wtf 😂

[–]Ok_Pianist_4504 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not coming up on the till is something that should be addressed however as Think 25 is covered under your initial training and refreshed twice a year there is, unfortunately, no leg to stand on when it comes to test purchase failures.

Prior to stepping down from a supervisory role I always advised caution when it came to Think 25. Remember what products are age restricted, ask questions if you are unsure of anything and if you are only 99% sure they are over 25 ask them for their ID. Always be cautious, it covers your own back and reduces mistakes.

[–]Curious-Ad-2107 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How long has colleague been there, I would of recorded the self serve not blocking it on the system. We had times where redbull was some how disabled and when scanned it wouldn't ask for autho

[–]Still_Wrap4910 7 points8 points  (11 children)

The till prompt not triggering isn't a good enough excuse, we didn't have those when I worked retail, you were just expected to know all the restricted items that need ID so TS cant catch you out on a test purchase.

[–]Electrical_Voice_195 10 points11 points  (2 children)

What about SS transactions ? You can’t expect a member of staff to monitor every SS till to see what’s being scanned can you ? In those instances Tesco corporately are failing Think25

[–]FreddiesNightmare65 1 point2 points  (1 child)

It flags up in the ss tills with a blinking red light, and the till freezes so you can't scan anything else until it's cleared by a member of staff

[–]Electrical_Voice_195 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh ok. Ours says this ,after you’ve scanned it. “This item will need authorisation but please continue” or words to that effect I think. So yes it’s flagged and age restricted lines need to be verified. But OP was saying razor blades aren’t flagged.

[–]SubstantialFix7341 10 points11 points  (4 children)

Not sure why you’ve been downvoted, it is the rule that you have to check ID before you even turn around to get the item if working on kiosk. Even scanning a bottle of alcohol before checking ID is probably enough to fail.

[–]SamCodesStuff 11 points12 points  (1 child)

No the sale has to go through for alcohol. Tobacco needs to be before you open gantry otherwise you're committing a crime of advertising alcohol to someone under 18 (I know children can be behind the customer you're serving which would be legal but that's just the way the law is). Knives and everything too, as long as you don't actually make the sale, legally you're okay.

[–]Still_Wrap4910 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I'm guessing it's the "the system didn't say so" crowd raging at the thought of actually knowing the law around selling restricted items rather than blindly following a screen prompt.

[–]Mydonutbebussin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As someone who uses the prompt to snap back from hypnosis am I screwed?. Coz genuinly I only start paying attention bcz of the audio prompt. Very handy when ur brain is auto piloting.

[–]Lassitude1001 4 points5 points  (2 children)

That's not the expectation today. There are thousands of products and it's all done via the databases, especially with different languages and such coming into it that wouldn't really be realistic either.

Plus, at least from my experience, being on a till is absolutely mind numbing. In the rare occasions I'm forced to go on one, I zone out and just scan items; I absolutely do not look at what the items are unless there's a till prompt to say otherwise.

With that said, I'm not sure how that would apply with razors normally being security tagged, unless it was ripped off by the customer anyhow.

[–]Ieatsand97 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yeah, there are restrictions now on certain specific solvents that can be used in certain cleaners such as carpet cleaners which are supposed to be age restricted.

That would be very hard to know unless you want to read the formulation of all the products and check it against the list of solvents that are age restricted.

Add to that the voluntary caffeine age restriction which is measured by caffeine content per unit of liquid. Yes this wouldn't be enforced by trading standards but it would still be a restriction that a checkout worker would need to comply with. And again, unless you want to read all the labels (if they show it) then it would be very useful to have it on the system.

[–]Still_Wrap4910 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sadly it is the expectation from TS even if not from the store, all they care about is the 6 main categories they enforce.

[–]Medium-Dimension4574 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I failed an internal test purchase done by Tesco the person was very clearly over the age of 18 (I know it’s think 25) but she had tattoos etc showing she came back saying I failed which threw me off manager came down and wasn’t really bothered and didn’t do nothing with it

[–]faythlass 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the exemption for age restriction razors :-

razor blades permanently enclosed in a cartridge or housing where less than 2 millimetres of any blade is exposed (for example disposable razors or replacement razor cartridge heads).

Do many supermarkets sell other than the above?

[–]0-starlight-0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are they part of a union do you know? They might be able to help the case. You could argue not enough training and safe guards in place

[–]BackSearchingForChin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So I can vote, drive a car, buy my own house, get married, have kids, go to war but I can't have a shave until I'm 26.

Yet people accept this as normal 🙄

Like anyone is ever far away from a kitchen drawer full of completely untraceable "cutlery" at any time.

Madness!

[–]Any-Investigator-944 1 point2 points  (0 children)

According to the online test it only states Blades no mention of razors

[–]Cool_Ad9326 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cold sweats

[–]TechDude032💨 👨‍💼 Express shift leader 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Knives, including - household cutlery, axe and individual razor blades and any item with a blade or sharp point which is adapted for causing injury to persons

Excludes folding knives with a blade less than 3"; cartridge razors and replacement cartridges where less than 2mm of blade is exposed; skewers; corkscrews; screwdrivers; pruning saw; plasterboard saw; peelers; children’s cutlery; wooden/plastic cutlery.”

[–]zillapz1989 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're allowed to move out of home at 16 but won't be able to buy yourself cutlery for a further 2 years lol.

[–]Subject-Path-2962 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this a serious question?

[–]RQCake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you certain?

[–]Jokipur 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is an age limit though with Tesco. I have bought from a full "new razor kit". Cartridges and replacement blades. Every time SS has flagged up and I've had to wait ages. The think25 can get a bit OTT at times and now that store will be completely on edge. At 32- I will get id'd for a lotto ticket or scratch card. I definitely look 25. Yet as a teenager I could walk into a shop and buy cigarettes for my mates? Make that work.

At the end of the day if it didn't flag up for confirmation, the CO wasn't to look at what was being bought and I'd they needed challenging. Tesco are at fault for their system not recognising the item was age restricted. Either that the buyer bought the wrong "type" of item.... But they are still investigating because of the purchase 🤷🏻‍♀️

[–]konhub1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The blades will be exempt from the 18+ rule if they were encased in plastic. However Tesco policy is probably stricter.

Are there any exceptions to the law?

Yes, there are 2 exceptions to the age restriction;

 folding pocket knives if the cutting edge of the blade is not greater than 3 inches (76 millimetres) in length.  3 inches / 76mm

 razor blades permanently enclosed in a cartridge or housing where less than 2 millimetres of any blade is exposed (for example disposable razors or replacement razor cartridge heads).

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-06/knives_2019.pdf

[–]Moist-Station-Bravo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't matter if it comes up on the till or not, if they have done their think 25 training they are still responsible.

If it was trading standards they will be lucky to get off with a final written warning, Tesco were in a lot of shit over this a few years ago and it's taken incredibly seriously.

[–]TommyG3000 -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

God I wish I still got asked to show my ID. All of a sudden people stopped asking. I got old 😢

[–]cannontd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Only ever been asked for ID once in my life - in Vegas when I was 43. Didn’t have ID - didn’t get in.

[–]Ethan3011 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Any bladed article you need to be 18+