Greater responsibility
Our new Age Verification service will be available for customers to use from 1 November.
Customers can use the age verification service in confidence that any product posted using the service will only be delivered to individuals aged 18 or over.
The benefits of Age Verification service - (‘Is the customer aged 18 or over?’)
- Will help generate new revenue streams by creating an ‘Age Verification’ service for RM Tracked T24/48 with signature and Special Delivery Guaranteed 9am and 1pm
- Will aid in the retention and growth of volumes from e-tailers who are looking to use this service for carriage of age-restricted items such as alcohol, e-cigarettes etc
- Will improve the customer experience by providing an offering that allows sellers to comply with the Offensive Weapons Act (OWA), which is forecast to become enforceable from early 2020.
Royal Mail will be using Challenge 25 principles for all items that require Age Verification, in line with other leading retailers. Challenge 25 means we will ask to see proof of age identification for anyone who looks under 25 years old, and we will examine the ID to verify that they are aged 18 or over before handing the item over.
On the doorstep:
- If the customer is clearly over 25, the item will be handed over with a declaration and signature
- If they are not clearly over 25, then they will be asked to validate their ID using their passport or driving licence
- Customer service point / Post Office branches:
- If the customer is clearly over 25, they can collect the item in the same way as they collect any item today
- If they are not clearly over 25, then they can only use a valid passport or driving licence to collect their item.
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (OWA)
The Government is introducing The Offensive Weapons Act (2019) having consulted in 2017 on changes to legislation to restrict the sale of knives and corrosive substances.
Once the Act is enforced, it will make it a criminal offence for retailers to sell bladed items to a person under the age of 18. Importantly for Royal Mail, there are new offences in relation to the delivery of bladed items by delivery companies. In general terms, it makes it a criminal offence to sell or deliver bladed items to those under the age of 18.
As stated, Royal Mail is supportive of the Government’s attempts to reduce knife crime and this service provides an offering for sellers to comply with the Act.
