Key Issues
WHSmith - continued vigilance needed on age restrictions
17 December 2012
Latest update
On 15th December a staff member in a WHSmith store in Melton Mowbray refused to sell Airgunner magazine to a ten-year-old who had recently won a shooting competition at his local shooting club. The incident was reported to BASC by the boy’s father who had accompanied his son during the purchase. BASC has contacted the store and has been informed that there are no age restrictions in place for this magazine. The purchase was prevented by an over-enthusiastic staff member and BASC has been assured that this won’t happen again.
While WHSmith appears to have lifted age restrictions from all UK shooting magazines in its stores BASC advises members to remain vigilant and to report any problems to us.
Background
WHSmith had been stopping under-14s from buying shooting magazines from its stores by using a till prompt to check the age of its customers.
However, after a lobbying campaign by people who shoot, magazine publishers and organisations including BASC, reports are coming in from people visiting WHSmith stores and other sources that till prompts have been lifted for all the UK shooting magazines previously affected.
WHSmith has refused to confirm whether till prompts have been removed in all of its stores but has said that they do not apply to the “majority of shooting titles which we sell”.
Age restrictions appear to have been lifted from all UK shooting magazines that were previously affected including Airgun Shooter, Clay Shooter, Fieldsports, Gun Mart, Shooting Sports, Shooting Times, Sporting Gun and Sporting Shooter.
However, recent reports from store visits indicate that two shooting magazines imported from the USA still require 'store approval' at self-service tills. These are the Guns & Ammo monthly magazine and the Guns & Ammo Annual 2013. BASC has made the publishers aware of the problem.
Recent reports of a '13pa' message appearing on self-service tills for Airgun Shooter and Airsoft Action (see comments below) were thought to have been a new type of age restriction but BASC has been informed that this stands for 13 issues per annum and this message should not trigger a till prompt at self-service tills.
If people encounter any type of age restriction when buying a shooting magazine in any newsagent, supermarket or shop, whether it’s a till prompt or staff imposing an age restriction, please let BASC know immediately.
To report your findings to BASC use the comments box below or click here to send us an email.
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Displaying 44 of 44 comments
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Comments published
Maidstone - Guns & Ammo - store approval needed
Bought copies of gun mart and guns & ammo, no age restriction on gun mart, but guns & ammo had an age restriction on the auto till, seems the American titles must be more harmful!
Posted by James at 25 December 2012 08:56PM
London (Orpington) - no age restrictions on magazines tested
Visited WHSmith in Orpington at the weekend. My ten year old daughter purchased Shooting Times, Gun Mart and Pokemon magazine at the manned till with no problems, the lady that served her never even blinked, just took her money and gave her the change.
Posted by Malcolm at 3 December 2012 03:12PM
Brighton (Churchill Square) - Guns & Ammo - store approval needed
I attempted to buy Guns & Ammo again on Friday (30th Nov) at the Churchill Square branch of WHSmith, using one of the self service terminals. It again required approval before the purchase. The assistant came over quickly with a slightly disapproving comment "What are you trying to buy, oh Guns"!
Posted by Neil at 2 December 2012 05:29PM
Chester - Guns & Ammo - store approval needed
Today I tested the December issue of Guns & Ammo magazine which the Chester store had just stocked and the self service till came up with an alert that the magazine required store approval.
Posted by Conor at 1 December 2012 10:00PM
Llandudno - no age restrictions on magazines tested
Visited the Llandudno branch today. No till prompts in place and staff were unaware of any age restrictions on under 14s buying shooting magazines having previously been in place in the store.
Posted by Medwyn at 29 November 2012 06:58PM
Sheffield (Meadowhall) - no age restrictions on magazines tested
Was in WHSmiths in Sheffield Meadowhall on Sunday, glad to report all shooting magazines back on the lower shelves again and didn't see any age check stuff come up on the till display - people power at work!
Posted by Bloke at 27 November 2012 04:35PM
Chester - no age restrictions on magazines tested
Visited the Chester branch today. They had no Guns & Ammo titles in stock. I tested Airgun Shooter on the self service till and there was no till prompt. A few weeks ago this magazine and others were age restricted in this store. I also tested Airgunner, a title that hasnt been tested before and it went through fine as well
Posted by Conor at 25 November 2012 10:00PM
Dundee - no age restrictions on magazines tested
Went into WH Smith in Dundee this morning and spoke with manager. This is a large store on two floors. I got him to test, Shooting Times, Sporting Gun and Clay shooting both on the till and on self service scan, no restrictions re age on any of them.
I spoke with him three weeks ago, and all those mags had restrictions on them then.
He was aware of the controversy from our last talk, but no one in HQ had informed him that the restrictions had been lifted, they just reprogrammed the tills software centrally.
Posted by David at 17 November 2012 02:13PM
Ripon, North Yorkshire - Airgun Shooter - no age restrictions
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
Ripon outlet OK!
Posted by James at 16 November 2012 11:46AM
Enfield - Airgun Shooter - no age restrictions
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Enfield - all tested OK. No till prompts in operation
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 16 November 2012 08:59AM
Lincoln - Airgun Shooter - no age restrictions
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Lincoln centre. Both cashier and self-service points A-OK. No age-restrictions or till prompts in place.
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 16 November 2012 08:59AM
Bristol (Cribbs Causeway) - Airgun Shooter - problem
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page
On 15 November - Self-service 'purchase' went through okay (without any assistant being called), but there was still a "13PA" message flagged up on the screen.
On 14 Novembert - No longer age-restrictions at Bristol Cribbs Causeway WHS.
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 15 November 2012 07:00PM
Boston - Airgun Shooter - no age restrictions
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Boston - No age restrictions at the cashier tills
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 15 November 2012 08:22AM
Warwick - Airgun Shooter - no age restrictions
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
No restrictions at the Warwick branch.
Posted by Jim at 14 November 2012 11:38PM
Manchester (West 1) - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
Manchester West 1 advises "till prompt is an error. Restriction is now lifted.
Follow-up information:
The store checked with the buyers at WHS Head Office who apparently confirmed that there should be "no restrictions in place on shooting titles, other than Guns & Ammo". The store rang Airgun Shooter back with this info... which was passed to BASC.
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 03:06PM
Leamington Spa - Airgun Shooter - problem
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Leamington Spa (just down the road from the AS office!) - DOES HAVE RESTRICTIONS (13PA) to restrict sales to over-13s only
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 01:52PM
Manchester (Trafford Centre) - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
Manchester Trafford Centre - No age restrictions in place.
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 01:45PM
Marlborough - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Marlborough Town Centre - Age restriction "lifted by Head Office"
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 01:25PM
Honiton, Devon - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Facebook page:
WHS Honiton - Age restriction "was imposed on Airgun Shooter recently" but has "since been removed". Under-14s can buy AS.
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 01:24PM
Swindon (Central) - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Swindon (Central) - Airgun Shooter has no age-restriction or till prompt .
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 01:24PM
Newton Abbot - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Newton Abbot town - no age restriction.
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 01:23PM
Exeter - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page:
WHS Exeter - age restriction now lifted .
Posted by Airgun Shooter at 14 November 2012 01:23PM
Grantham - Airgun Shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page
No restrictions at the Grantham store either.
Posted by Harry at 14 November 2012 07:13AM
Loughborough - Airgun shooter - no age restriction
From the Airgun Shooter Facebook page
No restriction at the Loughborough store .
Posted by Hardknocks Mma at 13 November 2012 10:09PM
Bicester - staff aware of restriction
I asked the question in Bicester and was told they knew about not selling shooting magazines to anyone under 14.
Posted by Ian at 13 November 2012 03:35PM
Chester - age restrictions
Following recent age restriction reports for Airsoft, Airgun Shooter and Guns & Ammo 2013 I visited the Chester branch of WHSmith today to investigate.
They didnt have Airgun Shooter in stock so I scanned Airsoft and Guns and Ammo 2013 on the self service till.
Guns and Ammo 2013 flagged a till prompt requiring assistance and Airsoft came up with the 13pa symbol.
I queried the 13pa symbol with staff and they didn't know what it meant and that there had been no memo from head office to explain things.
I also tested Sporting Gun, a magazine previously age restricted in this store, and it was fine.
Posted by Conor at 11 November 2012 09:32PM
Birmingham (Fort shopping centre) - no till prompts
I asked one of the cashiers last week at the Fort shopping centre in Birmingham and he knew noting of a age restriction on sales of shooting magazines, so by the sound of it bit it wasn't in force there.
Posted by at 10 November 2012 09:57PM
Cambridge, Leeds & Newcastle stations - no till prompts
From the Facebook campaign site:
Confirm shooting mags on bottom shelf and not 'age restricted' for tests on Shooting Times and Sporting Shooter at Cambridge rail station, Leeds rail station and Newcastle station - testing done this week
Posted by Richard at 10 November 2012 03:28PM
Birkenhead - age restrictions
Visited the store on 8th November and had the following magazines checked for a till prompt.....
Airgun Shooter (13pa)
Shooting Times (no)
Shooting Gazette (no)
Airgunner (no)
Sporting Gun (no)
Shooting Sports (no)
Sporting Rifle (no)
Clay Shooting (no)
Airsoft (13pa)
Bushcraft (no)
Sporting Shooter (no)
The girl on the checkout was unsure what the till prompt "13pa" meant. I explained I was a shooter and a member of BASC and how it encourages, like all the magazines, safe shooting practice.
I asked to see the duty Manager .... Politely told him of my concerns and he indicated "13pa" possibly meant "allowed for someone aged 13 with parental assent"
I indicated I was as a customer unhappy with that and would like to complain .. he said I could not do that via himself .... and directed me to email WH Smiths direct ............ I thanked him and said I would.
Posted by Tom at 10 November 2012 10:03AM
Berwick Upon Tweed and Kelso - no till prompts
From the Facebook campaign site:
I went in to my local whsmiths and asked if they knew of any ban on age sales , the guy on the till looked at me like i had 2 heads and said we know nothing of this...... Also a store 20 miles away said the same.
further information provided that the stores were in Berwick Upon Tweed and Kelso and that Sporting Rifle was tested.
Posted by Cal at 9 November 2012 06:53PM
Preston (Deepdale retail park - no till prompts
Went to WH Smiths in Preston today (deepdale retail park), tried to buy a copy of sporting rifle - no age check came up on the till.
Posted by Jack at 9 November 2012 05:53PM
London (Euston station) - no till prompts
I tested Sporting Rifle and Shooting Times in one of the WHSmith stores in Euston station, these being the only shooting magazines available. Neither magazine triggered an age restriction till prompt on the self service till.
Posted by Christopher at 8 November 2012 10:00PM
London (Putney High Street) - no till prompts
From the Facebook campaign site:
The Shooting mags are still in the same place middle shelf waist height in Putney High Street SW15. I asked the cashier if there was a Till prompt for any shooting magazine, he said No there was not.
Posted by Mike at 8 November 2012 07:33PM
Luton - no till prompts
From the Pigeonwatch website:
I brought a shooting mag in Luton's WH Smiths at the self service till to see what happened, nothing, price came up paid and went
Posted by onefulham at 8 November 2012 06:51PM
Southend-on-Sea - no till prompts
I have just visited the large Southend-on-Sea store and scanned c15 publications through the self-service till. They were all the usual titles plus anything more loosely connected with guns, fieldsports or shooting. None flagged up and, amusingly, when I selected 'cancel all items' the speaking till drew attention from the young male supervisor whereupon he wandered over, avoided all eye contact and entered his supervisor's code to complete the non-sale. He asked in a very resigned and mystified tone 'is there some kind of campaign or something going on?'. When I asked him why he was asking he replied that a few people had done what I had and then not bought anything! I explained the position, he offered no opinion, personal or professional, and I left.
It would appear the Southend BASC contingent is having the desired effect on at least our local store. They are now very well aware of the issues.
Posted by Adrian at 8 November 2012 12:38PM
Heswall (Wirral) - no till prompts
From the Facebook campaign site:
I have just been into the WH Smith store in Heswall, Wirral and there was no prompt on the till for all of the gun magazines they sold there. Needless to say I still did not buy them! I just left a very puzzled sales lady.
Posted by Mary at 8 November 2012 12:32PM
Brighton (Churchill Square) - age restiction in place
I visited the Churchill Square branch and attempted to purchase the Guns and Ammo 2013 Annual Magazine and again it showed a restricted item block. It is possible that these terminals haven't been updated yet?
Posted by Neil at 8 November 2012 12:00AM
Walsall - no till prompts
From the Facebook campaign page:
Shooting Times in WHS Walsall today on the bottom shelf (as they always have been in Walsall) and no age restriction.
Posted by Nick at 7 November 2012 12:00AM
Leeds (Railway Station) - no till prompts
The Facebook campaign site has receievd a report from a visit to the Leeds Railway Station WHSmith store on 6 November that there were no age restriction till prompts on the shooting magazines they stocked.
Posted by Richard at 6 November 2012 12:00AM
Ripon, North Yorkshire - no till prompts
Results of my store visit. WHsmiths, Ripon outlet: I spoke to a very nice man on the till, and waited for the que to clear so as not to inconvenience him too much, I told him why i was there and what i wanted to find out and he happily obliged. I took a selection of shooting magazines, ( some names may be partially incorrect as this is from memory ) Airgunner, The shooting times, The shooting Gazette, Sporting Shooter, Sporting rifle and gun mart, and asked for the information on each magazine and weather or not any magazine had an age prompt, They did not. The till workers explaination is that either A) till prompts may be broken, or just not working in their store, or B) that till prompts may have been removed. I thanked him for his help and put the magazines back where i found them, on the bottom shelf! Excellent,
Posted by James at 5 November 2012 12:00AM
Kelso, Scottish borders - no till prompts
The Facebook campaign site has receievd a report from a visit to the Kelso WHSmith store on 5 November that there were no age restriction till prompts on the shooting magazines they stocked.
Posted by Debbie at 5 November 2012 12:00AM
Liverpool - no till prompts
Tested a couple of possible titles that could give a till prompt ... no prompt .. Had a chat with the duty manager ... not aware of till prompts for Gun magazines ... Thanked her politely for her help. Will check another store and ALL its titles on Thursday 8th November.
Posted by Tom at 4 November 2012 06:56PM
Cheltenham and Gloucester - no till prompts
I contacted W. H Smith at Cheltenham and Gloucester branches today and was told by very helpful and polite supervisory staff that the said ban had been lifted. Looks like a victory for commonsense and above all, sensible campaigning. All credit to the instigators of the campaign.
Posted by Chris at 4 November 2012 01:39PM
Chester - no till prompts
I visited the Chester store last weekend to check a few more magazine titles to help with our updates. Today I went a third time to test The Field and Shooting Gazette on the self service till and both were fine. I hadn't expected that so I tested Sporting Gun and Airgun Shooter, these being titles that have previously triggered the till prompt. This time they cleared, much to my surprise. I tested lots more shooting magazines and they all cleared too. I checked with the staff on the manned till and the magazines were fine on their till too. Have age restriction till prompts been lifted nationally on the shooting magazines previously affected or is Chester an anomaly? We need people to visit WHSmith stores tomorrow to find out.
Posted by Conor at 3 November 2012 09:23PM