I.D. Questioned

Pazaz 21

Has anyone ever got their official Licence / Age Card not accepted when trying to get served ?

My mate was at Slane last year, just turned 18. He goes up to one of the beer tents, asks for a pint and shows the guy behind the bar his driving licence, prefectly legal and above board. The barman looks at it and tells him its a fake, something about the line not going directly through the letters telling you what kind of licence you have, what sort of car you can drive, etc. My mate obviously disputes this, so the barman said, "Go find me a garda and prove that its not a fake and then i'll serve ya".
So my mate goes out, finds a garda and explains his predicament to him, the garda, being very sound, goes up to the barman with my mate and tells him that the licence is perfectly legal and to serve my mate his pint. The barman then proceeds to tell the garda that the licence IS A FAKE !!! The garda told him to cop on and serve my mate his pint, which he did.

The pint was rubbish but the look on the barmans face was priceless !!!

Anybody else have to deal with this kind of rubbish ?

Ri_Nollaig

im surprised the garda did that fair play to him

Wertz

Never in this country but I had a guy in the US reaching for either his panic button or a gun after he refused to serve me a 12 pk of bottles, claiming my passport wasn't good enough for ID purposes.
I proceeded to show him my US visa, showing him the age (25) and asked him to serve me again.
"Step away from the counter please sir"
"Oh for f*ck sake....just serve me the beer"
*glances under the counter and starts reaching*

I went off outside to where my mate was in the car....give him the cash, he goes inside and buys the beer, showing his state ID which he acquired using an Irish passport.
I opened a bottle wound down the window and saluted the shop assistant...silly yanks.

plonk

A couple of times in galway my mates showed bounvers at places age cards and they told him theyn didnt take them and to bring his passport next time

afatbollix

in a offie in my local town they wont accept anything except the garda ID.. so in i went with my full drivers liance and my passport... and they wouldent serve me... said the gards told them not to take passports or drivers liances.. then even came out with you have to get the gards to sign your drivers liance to make it real or something... so off we went to the cop shop to bitch about the offie and they said that they are fine and they dont have to write on them.....

still wont serve me tho.... ****..

Rb

My old passport which I used up until I had to renew it recently used to get me questioned quite a bit, apparently I didn't look like the guy in the photo and got a few "That couldn't be you" etc. kind of comments from doormen. They never refused me though, if anything the passport created a bit of banter between myself and the club security which has always been a good thing.

Basq

I've an age card which was issued to me shortly before they started laminating them. I'm now almost 23 so almost 5 years in the wallet didn't do it any justice, it's been scratched very badly.

But i do look very young.. so whenever i do get asked for ID and show it - a couple of smart-arse bouncers say "no.. that's not you.." or "you look different" to which i'm replying in my mind .. "you think, the photo WAS taken 5 years ago dickhead!"

And then (no offence to any bouncers on Boards) but i'm convinced to be a bouncer.. one of the requirements is a wordly knowledge of starsigns. The first question asked if it's a suspicion of a fake is either: "What starsign are you?". Or the even trickier.. "what year were you born?" / "what age are you?"

Could get my age card re-issued but typically have my provisional license with me now on nights out.. easier!

Rb

That "what starsign are you" question caught a whole load of people out back in the day!Then people wised up and started learning the starsign of their fake IDs...
I'm sure it still catches some people off guard though.

aidan24326

Gone a bit past the need for id myself, but I've seen this kind of crap a few times. Most bouncers in Dublin seem to be of the neanderthal variety, and can't really be reasoned with. It's baffling that places are allowed to get away with refusing passport as a valid id. It is the number one form of id to carry anywhere in the world, and yet some d1ckhead nightclub guy thinks it's not good enough for his exclusive premises. When you get crap like this at a pub/club, you're best taking your custom elsewhere.

robinph

There are some advantages to being old and balding then I guess.

Pazaz 21

I have a Garda ID i got when i was 18 but looked like i was 16, had a short, tight hair cut. Now i am 21 and have long hair, still get away with it, but keep thinking that someone is going to refuse me with the old "This picture dosn't look anything like you", line.

jezza

Yeah they don't accept driving licences in a lot of places. There is lots and lots of great fake ones about (provisional) so they are pretty wary.
Thats the only form of I.D i have at the moment, as I'm waiting on my age card and on my passport renewal.. so in some places I need more proof of I.D (usually my birth cert).

21 at the moment and I got my Garda ID when I was 18. Happened to have a mini-mohawk at the time I got pictures taken so that's in my Garda ID. Looks nothing like me now (bar somewhat similar glasses), but like someone else said it creates a bit of banter.

Never been refused with it to go on topic.

jezza

rb_ie wrote:

My old passport which I used up until I had to renew it recently used to get me questioned quite a bit, apparently I didn't look like the guy in the photo and got a few "That couldn't be you" etc. kind of comments from doormen. They never refused me though, if anything the passport created a bit of banter between myself and the club security which has always been a good thing.

Ah yes... when they cop on the photo and the person is different...
They ask to to get a signed thing in the garda station confirming its your id, if it is fake, go back to bouncer after about 10 minutes and tell the bouncer that the guards told you to stop wasting their time because you were under the influence.
Works down here anyway.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

robinph

jezza wrote:

Yeah they don't accept driving licences in a lot of places. There is lots and lots of great fake ones about (provisional) so they are pretty wary.
Thats the only form of I.D i have at the moment, as I'm waiting on my age card and on my passport renewal.. so in some places I need more proof of I.D (usually my birth cert).

The only thing that a birth cert proves is that your mother dropped a sprog x number of years ago. It proves absolutely nothing about you as far as getting a beer is concerned.

jezza

Well it matches the important bits of my provisional licence.

And it seems to suffice.

Ruu_Old

I used to have my age card as ID when flying and got stopped in Liverpool once and got asked what was my role in the Department of Justice.

Pazaz 21

Ruu wrote:

I used to have my age card as ID when flying and got stopped in Liverpool once and got asked what was my role in the Department of Justice.

You should have just said Minister, they wouldn't have known any better anyway !!

I would have thought you would have needed a driving licence or passport to travel to England/Uk

arybvtcw0eolkf

aidan24326 wrote:

Gone a bit past the need for id myself, but I've seen this kind of crap a few times. Most bouncers in Dublin seem to be of the neanderthal variety, and can't really be reasoned with. It's baffling that places are allowed to get away with refusing passport as a valid id. It is the number one form of id to carry anywhere in the world, and yet some d1ckhead nightclub guy thinks it's not good enough for his exclusive premises. When you get crap like this at a pub/club, you're best taking your custom elsewhere.

That usually happen's when the passport has been "Me 'ma washed the bleed'n thing in me jean's mister, I swear its me in the picture".

I've done alot of door work and thats the only time I've refused to take a passport as ID.

And here's a word of warning to the board!.

Recently (as in all jobs), there's been a huge increase in the number of foreign nationals working on the doors of clubs and pubs. Along with that there's been a huge increase in the number of passports being ceased by door staff with the excuse that he's keeping it to give to the cops.

Guys, NO ONE with the exception of a guard has the right to take your passport from you. Never, ever let your passport out of your sight or most likely your never going to see it again and someone has a valuable document!.

Sorry to bring this slightly off topic, but a few of us do infact that a professional approach to our jobs. But admittedly we're few and far between.

Alot of guys won't except the Guard ID card as its so easily faked, this is from instruction by the bar owner/manager and usually not the doorman.

Catari Jaguar

My friend was having a 21st in Katie's bar in Bray in function room. She has a kid and there were loads of lil kids in there. I went to go in with my boyf, we're both 22. Fuxn ape bouncer looks at my boyfs passport n says he can't go in. The passport was stil in date, photo n age details grand, but had been in the wash and the corners were peeling up a bit. I freaked out at him cos it was a private party and that my boyf is hardly a 17 year old with a doctered passport! But he still wouldn't let us in. :mad: My poor friend came out apologising n all.

arybvtcw0eolkf

aidan24326 wrote:

Gone a bit past the need for id myself, but I've seen this kind of crap a few times. Most bouncers in Dublin seem to be of the neanderthal variety, and can't really be reasoned with. It's baffling that places are allowed to get away with refusing passport as a valid id. It is the number one form of id to carry anywhere in the world, and yet some d1ckhead nightclub guy thinks it's not good enough for his exclusive premises. When you get crap like this at a pub/club, you're best taking your custom elsewhere.

No its not. Most countries have a national ID card.

Passports are a very valuable document, you shouldn't have to carry it here as ID/proof of age. But because of our (Irelands) fear of "oh big brother is watching" we probably won't have a proper national ID card for generations to come.

Catari Jaguar

Apparently all security staff in any form have to have these new ID cards made up. If a bouncer or security starts hassling you ask them if they have THEIR ID on them and if not you can make a formal complaint.

senordingdong

I have never, in my entire life, ever had a dispute with a bouncer. In fact, bouncers are always nice to me. It's really weird, and I feel worried that it might backfire some day. Oh well.

admiralofthefleet

it depends on the place doesnt it, im 25 and going grey around the sides and still get asked for id in some places, i laugh at it and thank the bouncers for making me feel 18 again and then usually walk in.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Lil Kitten wrote:

My friend was having a 21st in Katie's bar in Bray in function room. She has a kid and there were loads of lil kids in there. I went to go in with my boyf, we're both 22. Fuxn ape bouncer looks at my boyfs passport n says he can't go in. The passport was stil in date, photo n age details grand, but had been in the wash and the corners were peeling up a bit. I freaked out at him cos it was a private party and that my boyf is hardly a 17 year old with a doctered passport! But he still wouldn't let us in. :mad: My poor friend came out apologising n all.

Its beats the 'bejasus' out of me the amount of times I've heard that excuse

Seriously, its a valuably document why do they go ''through the wash'' so often?. I bet the same people never leave a tenner in their jean's to go "through the wash".

You also have to remember the position the bouncer is in. If your boyfriend had had his ID checked at the bar and the bar person/manager refused it the bouncer gets it in the neck!.

We should have a national identify card in this country in my opinion.

Captain Corelli

Mairt wrote:

We should have a national identify card in this country in my opinion.

I don't see why we should have a national Identity card. The problem is that the age card is not regarded as secure enough against imitation. Maybe if the security measures built into the age card were enhanced it would suffice.

The passport is a valuable document. Wouldn't a national identity card just replicate the functions of the passport? A reliable age card hsould solve teh problem.

If I was bouncing doors(and I don't), I probably wouldn't see why I should accept Driving Licences as proof as age. They are easily doctored.

Seth Brundle

The last time i was asked here for ID was in the Hairy Lemon about 10 years ago. I was about 23 or 24 at the time. A group of us went in and went straight for the snug. A few minutes later a barman came in and demanded ID from all of us. Sitting beside the door I looked up and asked if he was serious and he said he was. I then asked him how old did he think I was and he blurted out "about 30". He left us alone after that.

When I was on my honeymoon if France some years ago we cashed travellers cheques in Macon. The tellers in the bank were unsure of our passports. The teller who served me examined the passport thoroughly and asked me a number of times where I was from. The teller who was serving my wife doubted the existence of Ireland!

Mairt wrote:

Guys, NO ONE with the exception of a guard has the right to take your passport from you. Never, ever let your passport out of your sight or most likely your never going to see it again and someone has a valuable document!.

The gardai don't have the right to take it from you unless a court gives them permission.
However, from experience it is a common practice for the gardai working with GNIB to take foreign nationals passports without a decent reason!

Ruu_Old

Pazaz 21 wrote:

You should have just said Minister, they wouldn't have known any better anyway !!

I would have thought you would have needed a driving licence or passport to travel to England/Uk

"I'm the Prime Ministah!"
"Alricht, alricht, caum down, caum down!" *wavey hands motion*

Kold

Mairt wrote:

Its beats the 'bejasus' out of me the amount of times I've heard that excuse

Seriously, its a valuably document why do they go ''through the wash'' so often?. I bet the same people never leave a tenner in their jean's to go "through the wash".

You also have to remember the position the bouncer is in. If your boyfriend had had his ID checked at the bar and the bar person/manager refused it the bouncer gets it in the neck!.

We should have a national identify card in this country in my opinion.

It happens because some bouncers don't consider a garda card enough so we're forced to take it with us and we leave it in our jeans pockets.

Just a question though, have you ever let someone in with what you thought was real ID and then gotten in trouble for it being fake? I doubt you'd be held responsible. Is it really necessary to ruin so many people's evenings just because you're in a bad mood or whatever?

Blisterman

Tesco in the Merrion refused my friend, who had his passport with him, saying they only accept Garda ID.
What an idiot.

r3nu4l

I would hate to be a doorman, thankless job tbh. Damned if you don't let someone in, damned if you do, typecast as a no-neck, brainless halfwit...no thanks!

Last time I was stopped by a doorman was three years ago...I was 28! I didn't actually realise he was talking to me so I walked straight past him and into the pub A friend told me afterwards that people in the queue were saying:

"Wow, your man is so cool, totally blanked him as if he wasn't there!":cool:

If only they'd known that had I realised the doorman was actually talking to me I would have apologised, shown him my ID and thanked him for stopping me and making me feel young again

A baby-faced friend of mine always gets stopped, every single time...but they never refuse his ID...An Garda Síochána.

Not all doormen are like that guy, before my friend was a Garda, he was trying to get into a 21st party of a friend of ours and he showed his USIT ID. The bouncer just looked at it and said 'thery're ten a penny'! We just said, 'yeah but this one is actually genuine, that's what makes it unusual!' He laughed and let my friend in after all (with a warning that if there was any trouble he'd be out on his ear'.

Dave!

Captain Corelli wrote:

The problem is that the age card is not regarded as secure enough against imitation.

Perhaps I'm strange, but I've never ever seen a fake Garda ID. I've seen fake passports, student ID's, and drivers' licences, but never Garda IDs.

Are they really that easy to fake? They appear to me to be harder than the other forms of ID.

dead air

I still get asked for ID every now again. Never been refused it even though my hair is very long and messy on it and now i sold out my hair is tight and clean.

Incidentally, the only time my ID was questioned was last week in a stationary shop where i was trying to blag a stupid student discount. The woman questioned my college ID and kept asking if i was the same person... all for a 10% discount

Kold

Lost my passport once just before one of my closest mate's 19th, I brought my birth cert out that night and matched the name to all my cards in my wallet. Everyone had a good laugh but they let me in. Who the crap would bring their birth cert out to a club?

Blow Me

Kold wrote:

Lost my passport once just before one of my closest mate's 19th, I brought my birth cert out that night and matched the name to all my cards in my wallet. Everyone had a good laugh but they let me in. Who the crap would bring their birth cert out to a club?

LOL SO FUNNY

NotMe

I haven't been refused but I do get asked for ID every single time and I'm 24... A few days ago I was buying drink in an off-license in town and I get asked for ID as usual - I hand over my age card and the woman looks amazed then has a good laugh and says "wow I thought you were 16!"... yeah real funny :rolleyes:

Dave!

dead air wrote:

Incidentally, the only time my ID was questioned was last week in a stationary shop where i was trying to blag a stupid student discount. The woman questioned my college ID and kept asking if i was the same person... all for a 10% discount

Ya musta felt like such a cheapo! I feel like a bum whenever I use my discount, so if someone started accusing me of using a fake I'd run out of the store! lol

Ruu

Ruu wrote:

I used to have my age card as ID when flying and got stopped in Liverpool once and got asked what was my role in the Department of Justice.

Pazaz 21 wrote:

You should have just said Minister, they wouldn't have known any better anyway !!

You even might have been able to be on the receiving end of a 'whip-around' while you were at it.

Note to self: Always pretend to be the Minister for something while abroad.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Kold wrote:

Just a question though, have you ever let someone in with what you thought was real ID and then gotten in trouble for it being fake? I doubt you'd be held responsible. Is it really necessary to ruin so many people's evenings just because you're in a bad mood or whatever?

No, thats never happened to me.

As regards your second question. I think its deplorable if a doorman takes his moods out on a client. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I've seen it happen. But I'd never condone it, and honestly I can say I've never done it.

Oh, and I've never used the "sorry regulars only" line either!. I hate it. It makes me stomach turn when I hear it used.

arybvtcw0eolkf

kbannon wrote:

The gardai don't have the right to take it from you unless a court gives them permission.
However, from experience it is a common practice for the gardai working with GNIB to take foreign nationals passports without a decent reason!

How likely is it that a Guard will sell your passport?. Please don't try pick holes in what I posted. Its a genuine warning of a scam which is happening country wide, I could careless about Guards and court order's, but I care for people having their passports robbed and sold on. So I thought I'd put that warning out.

Sad Professor

I'm 23 and usually bring my garda age card and passport out with me, never had any problems. I always take my ID out but they almost never look anymore even though I look very young for my age.

Sometimes you can just get bouncers on power trips who will question the ID just to see how you react; its a way of testing if you're a trouble maker. There's really no point arguing with them, there's no law saying they have to let you in. I have a friend who looks really rough and always gets pulled aside at the door but he never reacts or argues and after a moment they always let him in.

Anyway I don't envy a bouncer's job, they have to put up with a lot of crap.

Seth Brundle

Mairt wrote:

How likely is it that a Guard will sell your passport?. Please don't try pick holes in what I posted. Its a genuine warning of a scam which is happening country wide, I could careless about Guards and court order's, but I care for people having their passports robbed and sold on. So I thought I'd put that warning out.

You are right to put out a warning but in my experience of working with overseas (non-EU) students, the staff within GNIB (both civil servant and garda) take passports off people frequently with no plausable excuse and with no indication as to when it will be returned.

me and the biz

Sad Professor wrote:

I'm 23 and usually bring my garda age card and passport out with me, never had any problems. I always take my ID out but they almost never look anymore even though I look very young for my age.

Sometimes you can just get bouncers on power trips who will question the ID just to see how you react; its a way of testing if you're a trouble maker. There's really no point arguing with them, there's no law saying they have to let you in. I have a friend who looks really rough and always gets pulled aside at the door but he never reacts or argues and after a moment they always let him in.

Anyway I don't envy a bouncer's job, they have to put up with a lot of crap.

Exactly, alot of people who get refused or have trouble getting in are usually bolloxed drunk, acting the maggot or go up with an attitude, then have the nerve to say he's on a power trip. :rolleyes:

Kold

I think it's just bad form to ask for 2 forms of ID when you have a driving license, passport or garda card on you.
Went to my college halloween party, I got in fine with just my garda card but later on they were turning people away for not having 2 forms, then when we all got (quite rightly) annoyed by this, there was some sort of siege mentality. Some people just can't admit when they're wrong. People were after putting a lot of effort into their costumes.


One line that annoys me is "Over-23s". Can you shed some light on this? Is that just some bull**** line? I didn't think that over-23s was allowed. It's especially annoying because you know that 19 year old girls are getting in.

Caliden

Kold wrote:

One line that annoys me is "Over-23s". Can you shed some light on this? Is that just some bull**** line? I didn't think that over-23s was allowed. It's especially annoying because you know that 19 year old girls are getting in.

I'd take that as not dressed suitably (happened me a few times before) or they suspect you've had a few drinks on you coming in.

Ro: maaan!

Ordered a drink the other day in the Legal Eagle. Barmaid didn't even ask me for ID or my age. She just looked at me like I was mad to be even trying to get alcohol. I'm 23. But I do look young. It's always funny.


Wasn't allowed into the Hub a few months back because they thought it wasn't me on my ID. Argued for ages. Then had to leave it because my mate told the bouncer to **** off. Not much chance of getting in after that no matter how old I was. The week after that though I walked straight in past the same bouncer with no problem. Maddness!

mloc

22 now, never been refused because of ID related issues. Was questioned once, suprisingly, although I suspect it was to establish how ****faced i was at the time.

I remember when I was 17 I got into a members only over 21 club with no ID, the week before my 18th birthday. Getting the ID a week later bit of anticlimax after that.

I rarely have trouble getting into places since I started college (ie was 16) and the only time I was underage and asked for id, I said I didn't have it on me... bouncer was very nice about letting me in >.<
mostly only started being asked for id ever since I turned 18 though... I'm 21 now but apparently I look 18 or younger
I went in to the shop to buy cigs the other day for my mother and the woman gave me an odd look and asked how old I was !

as for id being questioned, my passport is fairly new and never "been through the wash" so when I do have to produce it, it's ok

One line that annoys me is "Over-23s". Can you shed some light on this? Is that just some bull**** line? I didn't think that over-23s was allowed. It's especially annoying because you know that 19 year old girls are getting in.

I've only come across over-21s, they still let me in at 19-20 (not that I wanted to go anyway but friends dragged me in, they were over 21) but they wouldn't let lads in unless they were at least 20

Hail 2 Da Chimp

The establishment i frequent on the weekends is over 23's. although they will let the over 21 rapscallions in aswell.
Not too sure what its all about I thought it was over 18's only

arybvtcw0eolkf

kbannon wrote:

You are right to put out a warning but in my experience of working with overseas (non-EU) students, the staff within GNIB (both civil servant and garda) take passports off people frequently with no plausable excuse and with no indication as to when it will be returned.

I understand where your coming from, and I'm not doubting your word. But again there is a mechanism for getting their passports returned (I hope). The thing is their not being robbed of their passports by someone who'll sell it onwards.