Walsall shop and owner fined for selling cans of Strongbow to a minor
Staff at a Walsall shop sold four cans of Strongbow cider to a 16-year-old volunteer last year.
A shop in Walsall has been fined after selling alcohol to a person under the age of 18 during a test purchasing exercise carried out by Trading Standards.
Staff at Bagi Convenience UK Ltd, trading as Bagi Convenience Store, in Churchill Road, Bentley, sold four cans of Strongbow cider to a 16-year-old volunteer on February 8, last year.
Under the Licensing Act 2003, it is an offence to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.
The case was heard at Dudley Magistrates Court on May 20 where both the company and Amitpal Singh Bagi pleaded guilty to offences under Section 146 of the Licensing Act 2003. This resulted in combined fines totalling more than £6,000.
The company was fined £1,920, ordered to pay costs of £1,250 and a victim surcharge of £768, totalling £3,938.
Bagi was fined £768, ordered to pay costs of £1,250 and a victim surcharge of £307, totalling £2,325.
The sale was made by a young member of staff and overseen by the company director Bagi, who asked the volunteers if they were 18 but failed to request proof of age before the sale took place.
The incident took place after the shop had received comprehensive advice on preventing underage sales just one month earlier. This included written guidance, Challenge 25 posters and a refusals register.
During a formal interview, Bagi stated that the volunteers looked young but said he had only briefly entered the shop and was not prepared to serve at that time.
Officers also found there was no clear staff training policy in place and no evidence that a refusals register was being properly used.
Councillor Ian Benton, Portfolio Holder for Street Scene and Enforcement, said, “Retailers selling alcohol have a responsibility to ensure age verification checks are carried out properly.
“This case shows the type of action that can follow where advice is ignored and the law is broken.
“Trading Standards will continue carrying operations such as this to protect the health of young people and keep the residents of Walsall safe from alcohol fuelled ASB that often occurs when young people have access to alcohol.”
Under the Licensing Act 2003, it is an offence to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.