Debenhams fined for selling knife to child (From Croydon Guardian)

Croydon Debenhams fined for selling knife to child

8:00am Wednesday 6th February 2013 in News

Department store Debenhams has been fined for illegally selling a knife to a 15-year-old child.

The store, in Centrale Shopping Centre, was forced to pay out £5,644 after being snared in a Trading Standards sting last August. 

The teenager was sold a paring knife with a four-inch blade by a sales assistant who had not been  adequately trained and did not check the aged of the customer.

It is illegal to sell knives to under-18s.

It later transpired that Debenhams's till-prompt system to remind employees to verify customers' ages was faulty. 

The store was fined £3,750 at Croydon Magistrates Court on Tuesday and ordered to pay £1,879 costs and a victim surcharge of £15.

Councillor Simon Hoar, cabinet member for community safety, said: “The poor precautions taken mean that knives may have been sold, without a till-prompt warning, to young people at any of the company’s stores for some time.

"This case shows that even big companies have to be diligent when it comes to age-restricted sales, and to be sure that all staff receive proper training and refresher courses so that they’re aware of the law and their responsibilities."