Age verification requirement for buying from Washington Vapes
From 06/06/2023 it will become compulsory to go through an age verification check to be able to shop with Washington Vapes.
You only need to verify your age with us once. You will not be asked to do so every time you order.
In the UK it is illegal to buy vaping products if you are under 18, or to buy vaping products if you are under the age of 18 . We are therefore required to verify the age of customers before we can sell to them.
We have put together this guide to outline why we need to do this and how we go about verifying your age. More information can also be found on our terms of service and privacy policy pages.
If you’ve been sent to this page to fill in our age check form, you can skip straight to the form here.
Why do you need to verify my age?
We appreciate you may not like sharing your personal information. However, the law is in place to protect those below a minimum legal age. The following bodies are responsible for enforcing these rules in the UK:
Department of Health & Social Care
On 1 October 2015 it became illegal for adults to buy (or try to buy) tobacco products or e-cigarettes for someone under 18.
Trading Standards
It is the responsibility of all retailers to ensure they do not sell age-restricted products online to people who are under the minimum legal age.
How do we verify your age?
For age verification purposes we use 1account, which is an industry-recognised third-party system. The system runs checks against the most reliable data sources to verify you are 18 or over. These checks may include your credit record, mobile phone number, the UK electoral roll, and/or the UK birth register.
The 1Account system will carry out as few checks as possible and in the vast majority of cases, your age will be verified instantly, and your Washington Vapes order will be processed and shipped as normal, without delay.
What do I need to do?
After your order has been placed, you will see a pop-up window at the order confirmation page, which looks like the screenshot below.
Please follow the instructions seen here.
What information do you need?
To verify your age, we require your full name, current address and mobile phone number, when placing your order with us. The billing address you provide when purchasing from us will be used as your current home address. It’s important to ensure that the billing address on your account reflects your current home address. In some circumstances, we may also require your date of birth to assist with the verification process.
What if you can’t verify my age?
If we cannot verify your age via 1Account, we will need you to send us some proof, which you can do that via the form below:
ONLY complete this form if:
1. You have just placed an order
2. The 1Account verification has failed to verify you during the checkout process.
The email address you use on this form MUST be the same email address that is in your Washington Vapes account details.
We will get back to you once your identification has been verified by a member of our team. During business hours, that’s usually within an hour or two, but on evenings and weekends or if we’re having a particularly busy day, it can take a bit longer, so please bear with us.
We do not store copies of ID sent to us. Once we have completed your age verification, any ID/age verification documentation that you share with us, will be permanently deleted. Therefore, if for any reason you decided to close your account and at a later date decide to create a new account, you will have to go through the age verification checks again.
Once your age has been verified, you will not be asked to do so again on that account.
If we cannot verify your age within 3 business days, we will cancel your order and refund it in full.
We cannot be held responsible for any delays this may cause to your order being sent.
If one of the information sources you may run a check against is my credit report, will it affect my credit score?
If you are signed up to a credit reporting service, like Experian or Equifax, you may be notified that a check has been made against your credit record. Please be assured that this is a “soft check” for identification purposes only. It has no effect whatsoever on your credit score, will only be visible to you and will not show up on a report that a bank or lender would see if they ran a credit check on you.
