If i break a bottle of alcohol at the market, can i pay for it if i am under 21?

Question

most market policies are "you break it you buy it". if i am under 21 and i break an alcohol bottle...do i buy it?

or do i just pay for "damages" instead of the alcohol.

Answer 1

You have to pay for the damages..which is usually the cost of the alcohol.

What would you be doing in the liquor isle in the first place?

Answer 2

It may depend on your state.  I worked at a 7 Eleven in Texas and if you were a minor touching alcohol at all, let alone breaking it, you'd probably get detained and have the TABC police liaison called on you.  I'd love to say that a reasonable clerk might just let you walk away, but down here the clerk is legally liable for any hint of alcohol consumed by a minor.  Even if it's just physically on your clothes he may lose his seller's license, get a heavy fine, and even do jail time.  

When I was in the military I traveled to a few states where you could buy a bottle of Jack right in the Kroger and in those instances you'd probably pay damages.  But even in Alaska, the last frontier, the liquor is kept in a separate portion of the store that is age restricted and it's against the law for a minor to be in there.

Your best course of action is to not even touch a bottle of alcohol if you are underage, regardless of who is with you or why you were doing it.  It seems like a minor offense, but depending on who catches you it could quickly become a huge deal.  The problem with underage drinking is that it's usually not the underage drinker that gets screwed over the most by the incident.  Everybody that a court can accuse of having had the opportunity to stop the drinking can be held and charged with criminal negligence.

Answer 3

The legal drinking age in Australia is 18... so yes.

But you pay for the damages... not for the product itself so I say yes again...

Answer 4

You most likely won't have to pay for it.

I worked in a grocery store and a customer had two large cases of beer in a cardboard tray. I didn't realize that they were not taped together so when I picked them up I grabbed one handle on each side. It caved in the middle and a bunch of beer bottles busted.

I just had to clean it up and it was not taken out of my check. I was 16 at the time.

As long as you go find someone and explain what happened then they most likely won't make you pay.

Answer 5

no u would not have 2 pay for it it would just be put in the wast and be claimed from the the business.

why would u want 2 know that my i ask ?????lol

Answer 6

I agree with the first guy.

Answer 7

yeah what he said

Answer 8

You pay for damages...you don't get to actually keep the product.

That's a really creative way to get alcohol actually. So, kudos to you.

Answer 9

Wow dude, this is like, such a totally deep philosophical topic.  

NOT!

Answer 10

Some stores will require you to pay if you break it. The alcohol is in the bottle so you are paying for breaking the bottle of alcohol.