Age Verification Help

This page outlines our policy and approach to Age Verification checks that are used to ensure age-restricted items are not available to purchase on our website by under 18s. 

As a responsible retailer, and as part of the nationwide effort to reduce knife crime, we comply with all the necessary legislation regarding the sale of age-restricted items. It is against the law to sell knives to persons who are under the age of 18. In physical store premises this is managed through the Challenge 25 policy, but this cannot be used online.

It is therefore necessary for us to take steps to ensure that customers are over the age of 18 when they are purchasing an age-restricted item.

We have a two step process for managing this, detailed below.

We use Age Verification software at checkout for any orders that contain age restricted products. This complies with our legal obligation to ensure that we are not allowing minors to initiate a transaction on our website for age restricted items.

To make this process as simple as possible, we carry out the initial check on the information that you enter at checkout. If we are unable to verify your age then you will be presented with a popup which will give you a number of different options for completing an Age Check successfully.

• Driving License; If you have a driving license, enter your details, including your driving license number.

• Credit Card; if you have a credit card, simply enter the details requested. Please note that this is not used as a method of payment, nor are any funds taken as part of this process. Your card details are used to confirm your age only.

Our lawful basis under GDPR for processing your information for Age Verification is our legal obligation to ensure that persons purchasing age-restricted items are of the minimum legal age to do so. All data is handled sensitively and securely. Checks are carried out by third party software from which all personal information is removed after the check is carried out. More information can be found in our privacy policy

All orders which contain age-restricted items will be sent via an Age Verified Delivery (AVD) service. All items on these orders will be sent via AVD, regardless of whether they are age-restricted or not.

Age Verified Delivery will require a signature, which can only be from the recipient who is named on the parcel. The recipient may be required to show ID to prove that they are over 18 years of age.

Your age verification may be unsuccessful if you are under 18, or if the information you provide is not correct.

You may also be unable to complete an Age Verification on our website if all of these statements apply;

• You do not hold a current UK driving license

• You do not own a current credit card

There are three options available if age checks fail.

Start by checking that the details you have entered during the Age Verification process is correct. Some common issues are;

• The Credit Card check does require a credit card. A debit card will not work. The credit card should be Visa Credit or Mastercard. 
• The driving licence must be a valid UK driving licence (provisional or full will work). 
• The details on the driving licence must be entered as indicated in the image below.
  • Don't enter the two digits separated by a space from the rest of the licence number. 
  • In the 'Building Name/No' field, enter only the house number or name and not the street. (e.g '8' or 'Primrose Cottage') 

If all of the above statements apply, then removing any age-restricted items from your basket will enable you to checkout without an age verification being required.

We understand that it may be frustrating to not be able to order all items that you would like to, but unfortunately our legal obligations must come first. If we cannot verify that you are aged over 18 then we cannot let you purchase age-restricted items.

Removing age-restricted items from your basket will enable you to progress through our checkout as normal, with no age check required.

If you are experiencing issues with an age check and want some assistance, please contact us via [email protected] or on 0800 371 355 and we will be happy to help.