Store scans booze buyers' licences

Customers at a Tauranga liquor store are having their driver licences scanned when buying alcohol -- prompting concerns their privacy is being breached.

But Liquorland denies it is recording personal details from the barcode and says the procedure is aimed at stopping underage drinking and helping police.

The firm is one of several shops and supermarkets fighting underage drinking with new in-house policies.

Liquorland general manager Brett Wilson said recording the driver licence number against a sale was an administrative practice, so if staff were ever questioned by police, they could provide evidence of having sighted identification when selling alcohol.

"It's part of our policy to make sure staff are not selling to minors or letting people sell to minors," he said.

By scanning the barcode on the back of a licence, information on the card such as a person's age, birthday, signature -- and in some instances, their address -- can be obtained.

Mr Wilson said, however, that only the driver licence number was recorded and said handing over the card in the first place revealed more personal details to staff than the process of actually scanning it.

Tauranga police were unaware of Liquorland's policy and the Privacy Commission is concerned about how photo driver licences could be used.

Sergeant Dave Thompson acknowledged that underage drinking was a big problem in Bay of Plenty and commended any business that was trying to tackle the issue.

He said liquor outlets had no legal right to demand identification, "but then they don't have to sell you alcohol if they are not satisfied".

But the officer said he could not see the point of scanning driver licences.

Assistant privacy commissioner Katrine Evans said that when driver licences were used by retailers, other businesses or government departments, it did raise privacy concerns.

"When the new licences were proposed, the then Privacy Commissioner, Bruce Slane, said that it would be problematic if the card was used for purposes unrelated to driving or road safety" she said.

"This is still a real concern in practice. People do get worried about their licences being used by businesses or even occasionally by government bodies, particularly for identification, or other instances which have nothing to do with driving," Ms Evans said.

The Privacy Act generally required information about people to be used for the purpose for which it was obtained.

A Land Transport spokesman confirmed that a driver licence was not supposed to be used for anything other than driving but would not comment further.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES