SAM’S Club confirms they are investigating after a shopper slammed the retailer for forcing a membership upon them that they didn’t apply for.
Sam’s Club is a chain of membership-only warehouse club retail stores, governed by Walmart.
As of 2023, the retailer operated 599 membership warehouse clubs across 45 states in the US.
However, one shopper took to X, formerly known as Twitter to slam the retailer.
The shopper wrote: “They renewed my sam’s club membership and I don’t even go there.”
To which, a Sam’s Club representative replied: “Please join us in a PM, we will be happy to look into this for you.
“Thank you for choosing Sam’s Club!”
What is a Sam’s Club membership?
As stated on its website, having a Sam’s Club membership means you can receive “premium quality finds, exclusive savings and tons of perks”.
How much does it cost?
There are two tiers to the Sam’s Club membership: Plus and Club.
Plus includes:
- 2% Sam’s Cash
- Free Delivery from Club
- Free Shipping
- Early Shopping
- $0 prescriptions
- Extra optical savings
- 50% off tire installation
- Annual $60 Sam’s Club eGift Card with T-Mobile
- Second membership card
- Members-only fuel savings
- Free Curbside Pickup
- Sam’s Club Mastercard®
- Add-on memberships
- Bonus Offers
- Cost per year: $110
Club includes:
- Second membership card
- Members-only fuel savings
- Free Curbside Pickup
- Sam’s Club Mastercard®
- Add-on memberships
- Bonus Offers
- For $12, shoppers can attain free deliveries from Sam’s Club
- Cost per year: $50
To become a member, you need to be over the age of 18 and have a valid form of government-issued identification or other Sam’s approved identification.
Is there a chance Sam’s Club will automatically renew my membership?
In short, yes.
As stated on the retailers T’s and C’s webpage: “If the Primary Member or Complimentary Household Cardholder enrolls in the Auto-renew Program, Sam’s Club will automatically charge the Membership fee, plus the fee for any existing Add-On Memberships and any applicable taxes.
“By enrolling in the Auto-renew Program, the Primary and Complimentary Member authorizes Sam’s Club to charge the scheduled payments (or any adjustment thereof) to any card on file.
The retailer also states: “All authorizations under the auto-renew program remain in effect until the automatic renewal option of membership is cancelled.”
Sam’s Club membership tiers
Sam’s Club shoppers can pick between two membership levels.
Club Membership:
- $50 per year
- Bonus offers
- Same-day delivery
- Instant savings
- Sam’s Club Mastercard
- Members-only fuel savings
- Tire and battery center
Plus Membership:
- $110 per year
- All benefits of Club membership plus Sam’s Cash
- Free shipping on eligible orders
- Free curbside pickup
- Early shopping
- Pharmacy and optical savings.
While the reason the shopper was charged for membership renewal is unclear, we always recommend reading the T’s and C’s to understand what you’re signing up for.
To find out more, visit Sam Club’s website.
If you would like to read more about memberships and terms and conditions, click Join The Club and from there you can read the T’s and C’s.
