Warwick woman asked for ID...for buying two bottles of Coke!

Phillipa Davison thought she must be hearing things when a shop assistant told her she couldn’t buy two bottles of a popular fizzy drink unless she could produce some proof of her age.



The 22-year-old former care worker, who lives in Linen Street, Warwick, picked up two bottles of Coca Cola in WH Smith in the town centre last Thursday afternoon.

But when she walked up to the counter to pay the assistant told her she would need to produce an identity card as the drink was not available for children as it contained caffeine.

Phillipa, who used to attend Campion and Aylesford Schoos, said: “I told her I was 22 but she obviously didn’t believe me. she just asked for my ID and refused to serve me.

“I must admit I was rather annoyed - I wonder now whether she was new and didn’t understand that Coke was not alcoholic. It was ridiculous but there seemed to be nobody else around in the store - they must have all been in the back.

“I’m afraid in the end I got annoyed and put both the bottles back and walked out. I won’t be going there again.”

Phillipa’s father, Ian Davison, said: “Can this be the policy of a chain store like WH Smith? And if so does Coca Cola know?”

On Tuesday a spokeswoman for WH Smith investigated the incident and then apologised for any “confusion” caused by the non-sale.

The spokeswoman added: “I can confirm that we don’t have a policy that requires identification for selling this product and we are sorry for any confusion.”

Licensed shops are required to check proof of age of they sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 and in some cases 21.

But there are no controls on fizzy drinks, even if they do contain caffeine.