Underage Tatoos

Bald-Eagle22

Bald-Eagle22

Bald-Eagle22

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Essex
Ok guys before I get hold of my solicitor in the morning my mind is doing cartwheels and need anybody's experience of this to let me know what happened with them.

My 16.5 year old boy who I have not seen since June ( keeps saying he is busy with his mates ) and I saw today has had a large tattoo on the inside of his arm from his elbow to his wrist in length , explains why he has not seen me. He lives with his Mother he lets him do as he pleases to have a pop at me .

Now I understand this has been done no use crying over spilt milk ect but the tattoo shop need to answer for this for future incidents ect ( how younger kids have they been doing this to ) - my understanding is it's illegal to tattoo a minor under 18 and constitutes a possible ABH charge ?

Advice please ?
 
First you need to find out if a shop actually did this and which one..then you need to approach them to find out how this was done..if they are licensed then they should have asked for identification and if such identification was supplied then the shop is as much a victim as you are. If not, then you need to report them to the authorities, as unlicensed or under-age tattooing is illegal.
 
mrbell1984 said:
Under 18's need parents consent if I remember correctly... Kids will be kids though.
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It is illegal to tattoo anyone under the age of 18, parental consent or not.

Prohibition of tattooing of minors.

It shall be an offence to tattoo a person under the age of eighteen except when the tattoo is performed for medical reasons by a duly qualified medical practioner or by a person working under his direction, but it shall be a defence for a person charged to show that at the time the tattoo was performed he had reasonable cause to believe that the person tattooed was of or over the age of eighteen and did in fact so believe.
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http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1969/24

although the penalties for doing so are pretty lame. (unless they are licensed and may lose that licence to practice as well)

At Holey Skin Studios we are frequently asked to tattoo underage persons. Unfortunately there are a lot of grey areas in the law and tattooing. A lot of people assume that the law is the same as it is with piercing and that you can receive a tattoo if under 18 with parental consent. This is incorrect. Tattooing is illegal on anyone under the age of 18 YEARS.
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http://www.holeyskin.com/under-age-policy/
 
mattyprice4004 said:
Fine is £50 maximum - what's the point if involving a solicitor?
Yes it's illegal to tattoo an under 18 year old regardless of parental consent.
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You could also sue the tattooist through the civil courts for damages, particularly if they have already been convicted for the offence you would have significant grounds for such.
 
mattyprice4004 said:
Fine is £50 maximum - what's the point if involving a solicitor?
Yes it's illegal to tattoo an under 18 year old regardless of parental consent.
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Can they not get their license taken away?

I feel for you, OP. Frankly, though, your son evidently wanted it and probably lied to the tattooist. I don't think it's really their fault, although they should obviously be very wary of stuff like this!
 
I'd no idea it was illegal under 18, is that an England only rule, or was that changed over the past number of years?
I always thought it was 16.
Most bring an older siblings ID to evade said law. Has your boy an older sibling with an ID?
 
Does he look 16.5?, or could be pass as an adult (therefore it could have been an honest mistake).

Also, are you targeting the tattooist as they are the only people you 'can get at'?, as really it sounds like you are annoyed with your son/his mother but can't do anything about them so are going for the tattooist (who may be innocent of malice).

I've never seen anybody asked for ID in a tattooist (many friends had them when around 18 to 20) except when the person looked under 18 (which the OP's son may or may not) & in that case they tell them no (Regardless as to if they have ID or not).
 
Bald-Eagle22 said:
Ok guys before I get hold of my solicitor in the morning my mind is doing cartwheels and need anybody's experience of this to let me know what happened with them.

My 16.5 year old boy who I have not seen since June ( keeps saying he is busy with his mates ) and I saw today has had a large tattoo on the inside of his arm from his elbow to his wrist in length , explains why he has not seen me. He lives with his Mother he lets him do as he pleases to have a pop at me .

Now I understand this has been done no use crying over spilt milk ect but the tattoo shop need to answer for this for future incidents ect ( how younger kids have they been doing this to ) - my understanding is it's illegal to tattoo a minor under 18 and constitutes a possible ABH charge ?

Advice please ?
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Your ex... you don't know whether she's as stunned by the situation as you are or not, so rather than presuming just be calm and casual, keep things relaxed and talk to each other... I suggest about anything but the tattoo at this stage, weather, any holidays.. you'll know what you can talk about without arguing by now I'm sure.


So you're intent on 'fighting the good fight' not for your own Son, as such, but for the public good? I would forget it if I were you It sounds to me as though your Son wanted to do something for him, but knowing you would hit the roof decided to put some distance between the two of you as he knew you would blame him, his Mother and probably whip out your solicitor.

Your Son obviously thinks he's an adult, if you think back you'll likely be able to remember a time when you did too. So meet him on that level. Rather than going ballistic take it calm, nexttime you sit down explain your first sight of him was one of shock, but now you've had the opportunity to think about it you realise it doesn't look bad, if he thought you were going to go berserk or that you would be upset by it just explain that back in your day kids used to go about getting the same kind of thing, you too thought of having one but wanted to be unique. You wanted to stand-out from the crowd instead of being considered one of the .... well you know... but times have changed so perhaps peoples opinions on tattoos have too.

How did your Mother take it? ... he might say she wasn't too happy about it either, then you'll know that she wasn't having a pop at you at all. Chances are she's just as stunned by it but is worried of you taking it the wrong way and misjudging the situation. You both share the upbringing of the teenager at least until he's 18/21 right? So for the sake of family harmony I would forget about Solicitors, unless you're going through divorce proceedings and do whatever it takes to get talking to each other, days out or whatever it takes to bring your son and yourself back talking to each other. At this point of life you can only really nudge him in the right direction, you really ought to be promoting communication as opposed to placing blame otherwise he may decide to cut all ties.

Oh and one more thing, tattoos are no longer permanent at they once were. You could goto www.youtube.com and search for 'UK Tattoo Removal' note the laser removals, or the cream you can apply to remove tatoos.

HTH
 
Right, i'm very good friends with a highly respected tattoo shop/also im heavily tattooed myself, i'm in every day pretty much so i know the ins and outs heres how it is..

1. Doesn't matter how old you look.. you should be ID'd most professional places ID anyone looking under 25

2. You HAVE to be 18, parent consent makes no difference.

3. Ignore the fine, he can potentially have his/her shop closed, as it was illegal to do so. and as for license, tattooists don't HAVE licenses.. or they never use to?. its a difficult industry, thats why you get people tattooing from home, i think most would happen could be legal proceedings for compensation..

MY BAD:

They do need a license.. but anyone can have one, great!

You will need to provide details about yourself and your premises, as well as pay a one-off registration fee. These are set by the council and vary from area to area.

If approved, you will get a certificate of registration (or licence).

Registration lasts as long as you intend to work in the area. In London, however, you need to renew your licence regularly. This varies from area to area and can be every 18 months. You will have to pay a renewal fee.
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Also if you WANT to do something about it, see about having laser treatment, is it black/grey or color? it'd take around 3 years of treatment to remove a tattoo of that size fully.
 
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