'Absolutely ludicrous': Delivery service refuses to hand over lager to 72-year-old Houghton Regis man - because he doesn't have ID
A 72-year-old man from Houghton Regis says he was repeatedly refused delivery of lager by a courier because he did not have any photo ID – despite clearly being over the legal drinking age.
Graham Osbourne, who has a lung condition, started ordering alcohol online from Freshfields Market during the Covid-19 lockdown when he had to shield. Since then, he has had deliveries of Oranjeboom without issue for years.
But he was left flabbergasted after multiple DPD delivery drivers in the past six weeks refused to hand over his parcel because he doesn’t have photo ID.
He said: "I'm 72 – you can see how old I am. I know people say I don’t look 72, but I don’t look bl--dy 25. It is absolutely ludicrous.
“I don’t get drunk – I just like a can while I’m reading a book. I've been doing it for five years with no problem.”
But DPD says its staff are just following the rules.
Graham told the Luton News: "I haven’t had a passport for about 10 or 15 years, and I don’t drive.
“I shouldn’t have to spend £15 or £20 on a citizen’s card just to receive something I’ve already paid for.”
The brand of lager is not sold in his local shops, so buying online is the only option for him.
A spokesperson for DPD claimed its staff are following the correct procedure: “We can’t hand over a parcel without ID if it is required by our customer. Whether or not proof of ID is required is down to the shipper, not DPD.
“If our customer has requested this option on their deliveries, our drivers can't compliantly deviate from this process.”
But Graham says there is no consistency: “When I’ve emailed Freshfields Market saying the same thing, they’ve always said they don’t require it.
“How could it be that for five years, it’s fine, and then all of a sudden, it’s not?
“One of them said DPD needed it, then the next one, it was okay that I didn’t have it. The driver didn’t even ask for my date of birth. He just put it in the house. And then the next one, he wanted ID again.”