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DORSET TRADING STANDARDS

Dorset County Council Trading Standards Service check and
approve businesses so you don’t have to.
For more information visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or
call 08454 040506.
To report or seek advice about problems you have
experienced when dealing with a trader call 08454 040506.

Age restricted sales

There are laws that restrict the sale of certain products and services to underage
people. Just some of these age restricted products and services are:

Minimum age 18 – Alcohol, fireworks, knives, vapes and tobacco.
Minimum age 16 – Aerosol paint and petrol.
Minimum age 12 – DVDs and computer games with a 12 aged classification.
There are concerns about the potential availability of age restricted products to
young people, and of the personal and social implications that come from
buying them underage. Trading Standards enforce the law for many different
types of products, helping to keep young people safe, and communities
protected from anti-social behaviour.
Retailers know that they
shouldn ’t sel l age
restricted goods to people
younger than allowed.
They are encouraged to
put systems in place to
make sure that they don’t
sell illegally. Challenge 25
is one such system that
can be used. Shop staff
are trained to always ask for ID from a person who looks younger than 25. If that is
followed closely, then sales to people younger than 18 should not be made.
Other processes can include having a refusals ‘book’ to demonstrate that sales
are being refused, and by which members of staff. Posters can also be displayed
that state that ID will be requested. Some shops have till prompts that put a sale
on hold until the seller has had a proper look at the buyer to determine their age.
If Trading Standards have concerns about a seller, then they use young people as
volunteers to check whether retailers are following the rules by attempting to buy
age restricted products. It is a fair test; volunteers would always be picked on the

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