Cigarettes and vapes have been sold by Sainsbury’s via the Deliveroo app and delivered without any age verification checks, The Grocer can reveal.
The supermarket blamed a technical issue which meant tobacco and vaping products were placed in orders, but without the usual prompt for Deliveroo couriers to check the recipient’s age at the doorstep. The Grocer understands this had been occurring for around two weeks.
Retailers are responsible for uploading and updating catalogue data to the Deliveroo platform, but it is understood Sainsbury’s failed to share the correct item-level information on various nicotine-containing products. This meant the products were not tagged correctly, so the platform’s age verification checks were not triggered.
“As a responsible retailer, we have processes in place for the sale of age-restricted items, whether customers collect them in store or have products delivered to their homes,” a Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said.
“Our On Demand Deliveroo system prompt for vape and tobacco products was temporarily affected by a technical issue, which has already been fixed. In the meantime, deliveries with age-restricted items continued to have Think25 stickers on the bag to prompt ID checks with Deliveroo’s Think25 trained teams,” she added.
Deliveroo apologised for the issue, which it said had now been fixed.
“We take compliance with the law and our responsibilities to customer welfare very seriously, and we sincerely apologise that this issue has occurred,” a Deliveroo spokeswoman said.
“This was a temporary technical issue connected to one partner on our platform,” she added. “We can confirm that the age verification checks for tobacco and vape products are working as normal.”
Couriers are typically warned when orders contain an age-restricted product like tobacco or alcohol before they accept the job, and again at the point of pick-up from store. Those delivering age-restricted goods are also prompted to request a passport, driving licence or other suitable ID showing the recipient is aged over 18 years, and must enter their date of birth into the app. Deliveroo tells its riders that “it’s against the law to sell age-restricted items to anyone under the age of 18” and that it is “your responsibility to make sure you don’t deliver age-restricted items to anyone under 18”.
However, couriers claim they received no communication from Deliveroo about the issue, leaving them at risk of falling foul of their contractual agreement.
GMB union yesterday issued its own warning to its Deliveroo rider members. The issue, it said, “means riders are potentially vulnerable to mistakenly breaking Deliveroo age-restricted product policy and possibly wider ramifications”.
“We would advise all members to check Sainsbury’s orders in the app thoroughly to see if unmarked tobacco products are present. If there are unmarked products it is our advice that you follow the usual steps by both asking for ID and checking sobriety at the customer’s address,” it said.
On his YouTube channel Gig Economy Unpacked, courier Martin Wills posted a video recommending riders check all orders from Sainsbury’s one by one on collection. “I know it’s a time-consuming process but you’re covering your own back,” he said.
“It’s really important to make sure to not get a fine, or get a warning, or get deactivated,” he said.
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