A WALMART shopper claimed she had to go through three receipt checks when trying to buy items for her home.
The furious customer fumed at the fact she was being quizzed by a supposed worker, who wasn’t wearing a uniform.
A Walmart shopper was left fuming after being asked for her receipt (stock)[/caption]
The TikToker claimed she was asked for a receipt despite the slip being attached to a box[/caption]
The TikToker (@flygirl333) filmed inside the supermarket and had a television in her shopping cart.
She was stunned that the worker wasn’t sporting a traditional Walmart uniform.
The supposed worker started to inspect the box and the receipt attached to it, while the shopper continued to hurl expletives.
The TikToker was incandescent with rage as she had reportedly been asked for her receipt two previous times.
Her shopping cart didn’t just contain the huge orange TV box but other items as well.
“This is a shame,” she said.
The TikToker pleaded to shoppers to help her put the items in her car.
She accused Walmart of not helping her when she had two TVs.
It’s not known why the shopper was asked to show her receipt.
Other TikTokers claimed in the comments that it is the chain’s policy to ask shoppers to provide evidence of receipts when items have not been bagged.
The U.S. Sun has approached Walmart for comment.
Walmart does not have an official policy when it comes to receipt checks across its stores.
The supermarket’s approach is different from that of Costco and Sam’s Club.
Receipt checks are part of the contract shoppers sign when they become a members at wholesalers.
Legality of receipt checks and detention
In an effort to curtail retail crime, stores are increasingly turning to receipt checks as shoppers exit.
Legally, stores can ask to see a customer’s receipts, and membership-only stores have the right to demand such checks if shoppers agreed to terms and conditions that authorize it.
Many legal professionals have weighed in and come to similar conclusions, caveating that all states do have specific laws.
Generally speaking, stores have Shopkeeper’s Privilege laws that allow them to detain a person until authorities arrive when they have reasonable suspicion that a crime, like theft, has been committed.
Declining to provide a receipt is not a reason in itself for a store to detain a customer, they must have further reason to suspect a shopper of criminal activity.
Due to the recent nature of the receipt checks, there is little concrete law on the legality of the practice, as it takes time for law to catch up with technology.
Setliff Law, P.C. claims that “there is no definitive case law specifically relating to refusal to produce a receipt for purchases.”
For stores that improperly use their Shopkeeper’s Privilege, they could face claims of false imprisonment.
“The primary law that applies to these types of wrongful detention cases is called ‘False Imprisonment’,” explained Hudson Valley local attorney Alex Mainetti.
“Of course, you’re not literally imprisoned, but you’re detained by a person who has no lawful authority to detain you and/or wrongfully detains a customer.”
It is likely that as altercations in stores over receipt checks continue, more court cases will occur giving clearer definitions and boundaries to the legality of receipt checks.
The purpose of receipt checks has been explained on the Costco website.
Costco says the inspections are a “standard practice” to ensure items have been verified correctly.
“We do this to double-check that the items purchased have been correctly processed by our cashiers,” the chain says.
“It’s our most effective method of maintaining accuracy in inventory control, and it’s also a good way to ensure that our members have been charged properly for their purchases.”
The inspections are also carried out at Sam’s Club but have caused division.
Some have compared the checks to security theater.
But technology eliminating the need for a physical receipt check is being rolled out across hundreds of the chain’s warehouses.
Scanners verify the items that have been paid for in shopping carts.
Chiefs unveiled the technology at the CES 2024 Las Vegas event and bosses hope to roll out the technology in all 600 warehouses by the end of the year.
