Ok, so CAN a store check my purchases on the way out?

Factual Questions
21

[rant]
Frankly I don’t mind if they want to check my purchases.
What I do mind is the fact that I stood in a checkout line for 30 minutes and now have to stand in another 30-minute line to get out the door!
[/rant]

I do wonder also if the line out the door is obstructed by a huge line (to the point people without purchases can’t get through) if it is a violation of fire code?

And if you allow people to go through without purchases, and only inconvenience those who do, aren’t you basically hurting your own customers?

22

A highlighter?!?! Good Lord, how clever! Well, clearly there is no way to get around that.

23

Okay, we all seem to be in agreement that at Sam’s/Costco kind of places, there is an agreement that they get to search the cart and check the receipt. Cool. They’re covered.

What are they looking for?

If they’re looking to make sure I wasn’t overcharged or double-charged, I always check that myself before I leave the register. Thanks, I’d like to leave now.

If they’re checking to make sure I’m not being UNDERcharged, think of the hours involved: They have two people on the door, sometimes 3-4, every day. That’s two or three full-time jobs for every store in the chain. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars a year are being spent making sure you got charged $5.99 for your pack of batteries rather than $4.99. Sounds like a training issue to me.

If they’re checking to see if I’m clever enough to hide a sack of frozen halibut in my pants whilst going through the checkout line but dumb enough to take it out and dump it in the cart before I get to the door where I KNOW my cart is going to be checked against the receipt, that’s just about the stupidest store policy I’ve ever heard of.

24

The day before my honeymoon my wife and I were hassled at a local Wal-mart. My memory is fuzzy, but what I think rose their suspicion was I spent some time in their dressing room trying on bathing suits.

After my wife and I make our purchases, a Wal-Mart asst mgr comes up to me and says “Did you find everything you were looking for, sir?”. She says that I was spotted going into the dressing room without getting a store associate to unlock the door (back to that later). She then orders the bag checker to go through all my bags and check the purchases against the receipt, basically humilating me in front of the entire store. Then the asst store mgr dissapears.

I was really pissed, and even the bag checker was shaking her head and saying the asst mgr should be doing this, and she owed me an apology.

I demanded to speak to the bitch, and I start bitching her out, she makes the mistake of telling me calm down. Oooohhh big fucking mistake. She explains that I was in the dressing room for 1/2 an hour.

First off, I said, which was it? I snuck into the dressing room or I was in there for 1/2 an hour.

#1 the dressing room door lock was BROKEN!!! So why would I need someone to UNLOCK it for me???
#2 I was in the dressing room 5 MINUTES TOPS. I offered to pay the woman $1000 on the spot if she could produce a videotape showing I was in the dressing room for longer than 5 minutes.

Then here’s the best part: when checking my receipt, **THEY FOUND AN ITEM I WAS CHARGED FOR THAT I DIDN’T EVEN BRING TO THE CHECKOUT!!! **My wife had the best line: “So, it looks like Wal-mart was stealing from US???” I thought the asst magr was going to punch us she looked so pissed! :slight_smile:

The bitch didn’t even bother to apologize, just took us to the return counter to get our money back for the phantom item.

I called a couple of lawyers, and they just told me a store in PA has the right to stop you if they think you are shoplifting. I actually think I had a case, but most attorneys are pussies- they’ll sue ordinary Joes like us on a dime, but when it comes to fighting a bully like Wal-mart, they hide like the cowards they really are.

I sent a letter to Wal-Mart threatening legal action. The store co-manager called me and was very nice, saying she was new, and was out of line, and apologized, and mailed me a $25 gift certificate, which I threw away.

That was 14 months ago, and I still refuse to set foot in Wal-Mart.

25

To: Vinnie

  1. Yes, Wal-Mart are mean SOBs. They also have a reputation for being real hard-asses when sued. Some lawyers aren’t willing or able to slug it out with them; those who can and will (our firm does) enjoy taking bites out of them because their arrogance usually is apparent to the jury.

  2. If it happened 14 months ago you may still be within the statute of limitations for bringing a claim. This is entirely dependent on PA law.

  3. Remember what I said about a lawyer always viewing a potential the case from the standpoint of “what will the jury think”? If you tone it down the right lawyer will probably sign you up. On the other hand, if the Vinnie who thinks that “most laywers are pussies” and tells the lawyer “I demanded to speak to the bitch, and started bitching her out” tries to hire a lawyer, he’s going to have a tough time. Us pussies have a way of figuring out what our potential client is going to act like on the witness stand.

I’m sure you were just venting and so I hope #3 didn’t come across too harsh. I’m writing it with a smile on my face . . . “Smile when you say that, pardner . . .”

26

Yes, those attorneys hate like hell to go after deep-pocket corporate defendants who will settle for nuisance value in a New York minute. Much better to sue the judgement-proof Vinnies of the world.

  • Rick
27

Well, the truth is actually somewhat inbetween Bricker and Vinnie regarding which Defendants us ambulance chasers like to sue and which we don’t.

One last comment before I run out for a minute:

Remember, folks, I’m no expert on any of this. I’m just giving my off-the-cuff feelings on the subject. “Legal/non-legal” in my mind just boils down to how far you want to push it. If they go too far you get to sue their butt. If you go too far you end up fading 10 times the heat and end up with no case.

28

On the way out? Don’t they have to wait until you are out of the store first? I see it that way on tv a lot.

What state is this Lightnin’? Laws vary by state.

If a cop or store employee asks me if they can search, I just say that I do not consent to the search. I might write it down & ask them to sign it. Not consenting doesn’t imply guilt.

29

Best damn line I’ve read this week!

30

The way I figure it; if they are nice and polite and reasonable, I would be more than happy to cooperate.

I expect a safe and pleasant store with good prices in which to make my purchases, and I am willing to do my part and suffer some mild personal inconvenience in order to get it.

Shoplifters make items more expensive, and a store that is an easy mark is a store that may also be unsafe if it’s frequented by criminals.

We’re both on the side, the store and I.

If I found the store’s behavior unreasonable, I’d simply say “If you wish to arrest me, I will wait here for you to summon a policeman, but I will not permit any intrusions upon my property or person by you, and I will hold you, and your employer for any you attempt.”

31

Um, I don’t understand. She said she was new, was wrong, and was sorry – and gave you $25.00, and you threw the money in the trash? (While failing to carry through with your threat of legal action, I assume.)
Even if you weren’t willing to ever patronize Wal-Mart again, why didn’t you give it to the fellow with the “will work for food” sign outside Wal-Mart? Or, better yet, to a local Scout troop?
-Sue the rube

32

Oops. Vinnie, can I tack a p.s. on to my message above? (If I’m fast enough to beat the next poster, that is.)
p.s. I don’t mean to discount your bad experience by my question. I do agree that you and your soon-to-be-wife were treated badly. Had it happened to me, I would be furious, too. But I’d sure as heck spend the money, spread the word, and then never go there again.
-Small-town Sue

33

Wanna take my case? :smiley:

34

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Another Primate *
**

Obviously an uncharacteristic overreaction on my part. :wink:

Actually, we didn’t want someone else to get sucked into Wal-Mart’s tentacles of capitalistic and predatory evil.

35

At CompUSA here in NYC, they make you check your bags at the counter when you enter the store, then they look over your shopping bag just before you exit. So they are ONLY checking your new merchandise inside their own store, which, I think, is reasonable. They do not examine other, personal bags.

36

I also object to leaving my backpack at the door. I usually carry my address book, chequebook, cell phone, bag of sackies, etc. in it. I don’t like the idea of someone having the opportunity to delve into my personal stuff, nor the temptation of snagging 20 or so sackies. Locking it in the vehicle is not an option, because I only wear my backpack when I’m on the motorcycle.

I wonder what they’d do if I left my backpack with them, then looked through it when I was leaving, then yelled, “Hey! I had $136.00 in here! And now it’s gone! It was there when I left it with you! YOU were the only ones who had the opportunity to take it! I want it back NOW!!!”

37

Shoplifting is a mjow loss for businesses and those losses generally wind up in higher prices. I really don’t understand the moral indignation, assuming they aren’t patting you down, searching your purse, etc. They are just looking in your bag. Are people upset because they think they are being accused of shoplifitng? I find that hard to believe when they ask everybody.

38

Uh huh. “World’s Wildest Police Videotape,” much? You are aware that store security, just like any citizen, can make a citizen’s arrest and detain you? Yes, they can be sued for flase arrest. However, unless they are completely incompetent chuzzlewits, they won’t do so unless they are positive that you stole something. See my “five elements” post above.

Many, many times I let someone go because I lost sight of them even briefly, even though I “know” darn well they still have a VCR in their pants. Stores do not open themselves up to lawsuits readily.

If you are detained falsely, go with them. No department store is going to have a dungeon with arc lights and chains, for heaven’s sake.Prove to them that you have nothing on you. Then get the manager and police involved. Then, you have a strong case. I don’t see how causing a big scene is going to help matters.

39

Tretiak: The usual arguement is “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about. And after all, it only takes a minute of your time.” The “moral indignation”, as far as I’m concerned, is that submitting to an unwarranted search (and “if you’ve done nothing wrong”, the search is unwarranted) then it is an erosion of your right to privacy. It’s like the “frog in the pot” analogy: If you give up a little at a time, you don’t notice you’re being boiled. And as I’ve mentioned before, despotic regimes use the same arguement that only the guilty need worry. Sure it’s all fun and games, until somebody forms a Reich. (Not to seriously equate bag checks with Geheimestaatspolizei, but I like hyperbole.)

In addition to all of that, it’s dishonest. “Oh, we’re just checking to make sure you weren’t overcharged.” Yeah, right. And the implication is that everyone who enters the store is suspected of a crime. Many people resent that. There is a tradition in this country that a person is “innocent unless found guilty”. Bag checks assume a person is guilty unless proven innocent.

Dammit, exit checks are un-American!

40

We’re slipping into a GD here (not that there’s anything wrong with that) – and I’m going to be out for a while – but bear in mind:

  1. A store is a private actor, not a state actor. This is an important point legally and perhaps in the GD side as well.

  2. Common sense will go a long way in deciding how to react.