A woman in her fifties branded Amazon ‘absolutely ridiculous’ after a courier refused to hand over alcohol she had ordered because she did not have ID.
Natasha Bain, 51, fears she will never be able to buy booze again after being refused her order because she doesn’t own a passport and has no driving licence because she is disabled.
The woman, who is spending the festive period on her own in Tier 4, in Gillingham, Kent, had decided to treat herself to a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey and vanilla vodka last week.
But when the courier insisted to see her ID, she was left scrapping for her birth certificate and was refused delivery when she couldn’t find it.
Natasha Bain, 51, pictured, from Gillingham, Kent, was not handed the festive tipple she had ordered on Amazon when the courier refused to give her the parcel when she failed to show ID, in spite of her being almost these times older than the legal drinking age
Natasha’s order of Jack Daniel’s, Vodka and bitters. She had ordered the booze after hearing she would be spending Christmas alone in Tier 4
She’s had to re-order her festive tipple under another name in hopes to receive them, but is afraid she won’t see a drop of it before Christmas.
When she answered her door to receive her delivery, Natasha claims the delivery driver did a ‘challenge 21’ and refused to hand over her parcel, asking to see photographic ID to prove she was 18.
The former administrator, who does not drive due to epilepsy, then explained that she didn’t have photo ID, but pleaded with the driver to ‘use common sense’ – pointing out her mature age.
Ms Bain was told she could use her birth certificate but after failing to find it, she faced the night without her festive tipple.
In a bid to circumvent the rules, which she claims fail to allow for ‘common sense’, she was forced to reorder in her neighbour’s name and address yet the drinks have still not turned up.
The disgruntled customer said she was asked for her birth certificate when she failed to show ID but could not find it
Amazon’s website (pictured) claims customers must provide ID to prove they are over 18. However, Natasha doesn’t have a driving licence because she is epileptic, and doesn’t have a passport either
Natasha, said: ‘I was really annoyed. It’s left me worrying I won’t be able to receive parcels in the future.
‘I’d ordered a bottle of vanilla vodka, a bottle of Gentleman Jack Jack Daniels whiskey and two bottles of Angostura bitters for Christmas. I don’t drink very often but I thought I’d treat myself.
‘I thought that’d be nice for over the Christmas and New Year period so I can make myself some cocktails.
‘I opened the door and the Amazon driver just stood there and looked at me. I said ‘that’s for me’ and he held on to it and said ‘no, I need to see ID’.
‘I went to get my bank card and he said ‘no, I’ve got to see photographic ID’.
‘Fuming’ Natasha shared her experience and frustration on Facebook, when she explained the ‘ridiculous’ situation
‘I said ‘are you joking? He was shouting in the street ‘this is age restricted and I’ve got to see you’re over 21’.
‘You can see I’m over 21.
‘I haven’t got a passport or driving licence. I can’t drive because of my epilepsy.
‘I have had jokes from friends saying that I should take it as compliment that he didn’t believe I was over 21 years old and I am obviously getting younger-looking as I get older.
‘In 10 years if I want to go to the cinema, I will only be able to go to PG films.’
Frustrated Natasha then called Amazon’s customer service team and claims she was told to use a birth certificate – though later claims she was informed this wouldn’t be enough either.
Natasha said: ‘I got a person from Amazon on the phone who had a word with the driver. They said the birth certificate would be okay.
‘I said ‘right, I’ve got to see if I can find my birth certificate’ and he said he’d be back at 2pm.
‘I called just before 2pm and said ‘I can’t find my birth certificate – it’s put away somewhere’. I asked if a neighbour who had ID could take it for me and the woman said that’s fine.
‘My neighbours agreed to take in the parcel for me because they had a driving licence. It got to 4pm and no one came.
‘When I called Amazon back, they said ‘a birth certificate won’t do – it has to be photographic’.
‘I said I hadn’t got photographic ID and they said ‘well what about a driving licence?’.
‘They then asked if I had a provisional. I asked ‘are you not listening?’.
‘I asked to speak to the manager and he was talking over me. He just said ‘well what about a driving licence’ and I said I haven’t got those. I was absolutely livid.
The Amazon customer said she had a bad experience with their customer service, who did not understand that she did not have a licence
‘He threatened at one point to cut my call off because I said “can you please shut up and let me speak?” He was not listening at all.
‘You can see I’m over the age of 21 – why can’t drivers use common sense and discretion?
‘I explained not everyone had photographic ID and he said “well they should get it then”.’
After sharing her problem online, Natasha claims she has spoken to others with ‘similar problems’.
She has now called on Amazon drivers to ‘use common sense’ in the future.
Natasha said: ‘I just think it’s absolutely ridiculous that they don’t use common sense.
‘The funny thing is a couple of weeks ago I got some vanilla gin and that was delivered perfectly okay. It’s been fine before and this driver didn’t seem to have any common sense. From listening to others, they’ve had similar problems as well.
‘I think it’s really good that they’re being very cautious, but there is a limit where you can just use your own brains.’
An Amazon spokesperson said: ‘We take our responsibility in relation to the sale of age-restricted items extremely seriously.
‘To confirm the recipient is over 18 years, valid photographic ID with a date of birth is required upon delivery for all age-restricted products. We are working directly with the customer on matters related to their package delivery.’