Amazon Accused of Selling Restricted Knives to Under 18s
Amazon has been accused of selling age-restricted knives without carrying out the appropriate safety checks, following a newspaper investigation.
Amazon has been accused of selling age-restricted knives without carrying out the appropriate safety checks, following a newspaper investigation.
The Guardian claims that the online retailer failed to verify the age of its customers when the paper ordered two 9.5cm folding knives, one of which was delivered to a family home and the other to its offices.
It is illegal to deliver a blade of more than three inches to anyone under 18.
The Guardian said it was able to circumvent age checks by posting a note on the door of the family home asking the delivery driver to leave the parcel without knocking.
Meanwhile, postroom staff at the Guardian's offices declined to sign for the other package, which was “delivered nevertheless”.
The note-on-door method is said to have been used by the 16-year-old killer of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne, an Aberdeen teenager who was fatally stabbed at his school following a row with a fellow pupil.
Gwynne's killer, who purchased an 8.5cm blade online for £40, was cleared of murder last week, but was found guilty of culpable homicide.
The court heard he bought a knife and knuckleduster online, paying for the weapons by card, and told police: “I ordered it on the internet because they don't check if you're 18 or not,” adding that it was possible to leave a note for the delivery person to leave items in the shed.
The knives ordered by the Guardian were delivered by Amazon Logistics, which does not employ its own drivers, instead contracting out to couriers.
Gwynne's death has led to calls for the tighter enforcement of age restrictions in online retail.
Home Secretary Theresa May met online and high street retailers including Amazon yesterday to discuss how better to enforce age restrictions on the sale of certain knives.
Meanwhile, backbench Conservative MP David Burrowes has called for an amendment to the policing and crime bill, proposing a “triple lock” that would force retailers to make tougher age checks.
He told the Sun newspaper: “The law against selling knives to children is barely enforced and largely ignored. However online sales to children are taking place with fatal and tragic consequences. It is time to bring the knife sales law up to date so we can catch reckless online retailers.
“Amazon and other retailers should not be able to hide behind an old law which is not fit for purpose.”
Amazon declined to comment on the Guardian's investigation.