Late Night Alcohol Delivery

[mcgovern]

When delivering to a house or flat, what do you do when an underage person opens the door? Even if they say, its OK my dad ordered the booze, you are still running the risk that the dad ordered the booze for consumption of the underage person.

What if there is a party going on there and the kids want re-supply? Would you really refuse to hand over the booze to a bunch of drunk kids, who presumably have already paid for it in advance???

In an off-licence, it is your premises. You are more in control. It is much easier to ask for proof of age, and much easier to refuse to supply.

I am not saying its a bad business idea, just that is is likely to be more problematic that at first assumed. There is a gap in the market for a reason.

The licensing laws are the same regardless how you are selling alcohol, the licensing objectives need to be promoted in the exact same way

"NO I.D NO SALE"

Alcohol delivery is a viable business, and there are dozens and dozens operating in England

 

[mcgovern]

Oh dear!!,
Just read the thread, it appears no-one knows what to do. Please do not listen to members who are not experienced in these matters, and I am surprised at the writer when he says he runs a pub!.
The law is the law! You cannot ask the customer to pay on delivery! Remember your van is not licensed! You need to vary your existing Premises Licence to cover the deliveries. You need to put due diligence measures into place to prevent young persons from obtaining alcohol. Many business all over the country have tried home delivery, most have failed some have been successful. Do your sums first. If you need your Premises Licence organising, please contact me via this site through a private message. I have years of experience in this field and no I am not a solicitor. Please do not listen to the comments and opinions on this site, most of which is misleading and dangerous for you to take on board as advice. Good luck!

If you see my thread in the legal section, then you will see that even the people issuing the licenses, don't know what they are doing:|

 

[IanG]

There was one operating near me, not sure if they still are. But I would be very surprised if they were not operating at a profit - the stuff was extortionately priced.

 

[kulture]

Oh dear!!,
Just read the thread, it appears no-one knows what to do. Please do not listen to members who are not experienced in these matters, and I am surprised at the writer when he says he runs a pub!.

You really know how to make friends don't you. Your first posts on here and you insult everyone saying that we are all wrong, and then tout for business as you are the only person who knows.

Like all forums, some posts are incorrect and others are correct. The OP then reads the advice and sees where people have corrected others and makes a judgement.

 

[aimiez_30]

I think the best way to inform prospective customers is to advertise through fliers and billboards. It will depend on your budget.

 

[jmc12345]

Dear Kulture
Please do not try to insult me, I have been involved in licensing laws for quite a few years. And... I have only lost one case.

First I do not intend to insult anyone. Facts are facts, the law is law. if you are so arrogant to be offended when told that the information you and others present is incorrect then that's your problem. I am trying to help someone who needs lots of advice.

Second, I am not touting for business, I am prepared to give moderate amount of advice to anyone FOR FREE on this site.
Third the licensing laws are complicated and it is not up to me to site verse and chapter. People need to take responsibility for themselves and investigate and research matters before they make comments.

It is not illegal for an under 18 to accept alcohol on behalf of an adult 'at his home or workplace' as long as the adult has paid for it. So, if you questioned by the police you need to prove the adult has actually paid for it. Payment cannot be taken outside the licensed premises (in this case it would be the pub). The pub may have the facility for off sales inside his Premises Licence for off sales but the payment still needs to be taken on the premises. This is where due diligence comes in. how do you know the young person actually lives there? So, the delivery man must see id of the young person accepting the delivery to verify that he lives there. All orders must be pre-paid using a debit or credit card (or via an account). However, it is the responsibility of the delivery person to decide whether to leave the alcohol delivery with the young person (in the scenario where a party of young persons is taking place). A responsible company would not and should not leave alcohol there if the actual purchaser was not there i.e 'just nipped out'. As I said it's a sticky area and the company must have lots of due diligence measures in place. I understand your comment about forums, however with law people must not make assumptions and judgements as it can have severe repercussions.
McGovern, The 'no id no sale' only refers to when the actual sale takes place!!! If the payment is made via the internet or telephone using a debit/credit card, then the proof of id is the card itself, because you need to be 18 to hold a card. The problems then can be the deliveries (see my comment above). also, a Premises licence can only be refused by the Licensing Authority under the cumulative impact policy (or if the owners behind the scenes are known criminals). so if 10 people all submit applications for home delivery business then there's not really alot the authorities can do to prevent the licenses from being granted. It is a good business, I have successfully dealt with around 15 of these licenses. however, only 2 of them survived for various reasons.

 

[deniser]

Going back to the original post and on the demand side alone, apart from students, there must also be some demand from older people like myself.

I've been to parties where the champagne or wine has run out (or you're left with all the red because everyone chose the white) and the hosts have been forced to open either the vintage stuff they were saving up or the bottles of Liebfraumilch they won at the school raffle.

 

[James Greg]

Yep keep the cigarettes on your menu too. I think start distributing postcards and put up a huge banner in your bar. The idea is good and it will be quite helpful coz when students are jam packed they don't want to go out anywhere and miss the fun.

 

[Mustaka]

@JMC12345

because you need to be 18 to hold a card

You do not need to be 18 to hold a card. There are two types of cards (basically). Debit and credit. You must be 18 to apply for credit. For a debit card you do not. There are even what are knows as pre paid debit cards that parents can get for their kids to use in case of an emergency and or pay their allowance onto.

 

[Mustaka]

@OP

I think this is a good idea. I only discovered the ability to order late night booze recently and have used it on a number of occasions. I don't think you need to be competitive with the super markets. The company that does it in my area have a heavy mark up which I have been more than willing to pay if the lady I have just pulled must have more white wine and I am out.

Also as you are running it from a pub this is just another income stream. Just like any income stream if it does not work you just switch it off.

 

[BoozeManchester]

Oh dear!!,
Just read the thread, it appears no-one knows what to do. Please do not listen to members who are not experienced in these matters, and I am surprised at the writer when he says he runs a pub!.
The law is the law! You cannot ask the customer to pay on delivery! Remember your van is not licensed!

I set up Booze Manchester 2 years ago with nothing, people doubted it would work for many months. The best bit was proving people wrong.

I can assure you that you CAN deliver drinks and accept payment on delivery, the authorizing of the sale is when the person makes the order over the phone or internet, paying for it when delivered is absolutely within the law, we confirmed this with the council and police when we started trading.

The alcohol does have to be at the premises when ordered however there is noting stopping you getting the premises licence on your van, it has been done (Drink Doctor, Stockport Council Licence No: 11140).

Just be warned that it is not as simple as people may think, the hours involved are allot more than you worked out, costs are higher and a driver can't do 25 drops in a night. You will get trouble on a weekly basis and yes you do get fake orders, we have been robbed before and it wont be the last.

Any hours we have left over are took up on advertising, you cant do enough of it!! Its a profitable business for anyone with the motivation to do it, don't expect a social life and you wont be rich over night, we put every penny and hour we had into setting up the business and it was hard times.

I get people email asking question on a weekly basis, i give them a bit of advice and wish them luck, only a few ever set-up and only one just about stayed open, and they are struggling because they don't advertise enough.

Now we are open in Birmingham as well and a few more places are in our sights. Good luck to anyone who has a go, the odds are stacked against you, many have tried, few do well.

Feel free to email me, details are on the Booze Manchester site, forum wont let me link to it.

 

[mcgovern]

Thanks for the post BOOZEMACHESTER, i have been having so many problems getting my alcohol delivery service off the ground due to the incompetence of the police and the council.

 

[Digital Investments]

For the OP, Flyers 100% and also use FB everyway you can - the idea will spread FAST amongst students!!!

 

[chris.quinn89]

For the OP, Flyers 100% and also use FB everyway you can - the idea will spread FAST amongst students!!!

I can't believe I just read six pages before seeing anyone even mentioning facebook.

Facebook is a no brainer in my opinion as your targeting that age group and you could use the page to promote different offers.

It's also free and once they accept your invitation to join you have them forever.

Best of luck!

 

[Digital Investments]

I can't believe I just read six pages before seeing anyone even mentioning facebook.

Facebook is a no brainer in my opinion as your targeting that age group and you could use the page to promote different offers.

It's also free and once they accept your invitation to join you have them forever.

Best of luck!

FB is an absolute MUST for ANY products/services that are student targeted!!! You guys MUST do this!! Do you know how often students are on FB a day? As soon as they wake up, all day long, all evening and even at night to share with the world that they cant sleep!

If you are offering a service like delivering alcohol, which is a viral service amongst students, and you start promoting that viral service on a viral platform like FB - you will see massive results!