Checking Receipts

[Pedersen]

Nor have you violated any law, at least not here in the US.

The legalities are pretty simple: If you sign something stating that you will allow receipts to be checked (such as Sam's Club, Costco, etc), you have to let them do it.

If you have not, then the next scenario: If they have posted a sign at the entryway stating that you must allow it to occur, then you have to let them do it (they did tell you up front, and you had the option to leave).

Final scenario: If they station someone at the exit, but don't post signs visible on entry, and that someone demands to do a check, saying "No thank you" and walking away is perfectly within your rights, and is extremely far from being an "entitlement whore" maneuver.

Consider this: No posting of a policy, no chance to say no before everything was done, and now they want to add conditions after the sale. "Oh, you want to leave the building? Prove you're not a thief, and we'll let you do so."

I will leave. And if they try to stop me, I will call the police for unlawful detainment. My property, and my bags, are mine. I am a private individual, and do not allow others to randomly search my stuff. If someone wants to think of me as a thief, that's their problem. Yes, it is, since they are now under obligation to prove it or deal with the slander (or libel) lawsuit that will come.

All of this is avoidable: Don't demand to check my receipt. If you're going to, then post a notice at the entry way, and I'll shop elsewhere. Pretty simple, really.

Another way to view the problem: You're walking down the street, carrying a bag/wearing a backpack/lugging a rolling suitcase/whatever. You take the same route to work daily, carrying the same bags. Some person (that you've seen on the route daily) walks up to you and says "Let me search your bags to prove you don't have a bomb in them." You refuse to do so (quite rightly). So, the person calls the police to claim you're a terrorist.

This is very similar to what the stores are doing. In the eyes of the law, the corporation is a person (see Santa Clara County vs Southern Pacific Railroad Company). The familiar person is the store, and is demanding that you prove you are not a thief, or it will call the police on you. And yet, since it's in the guise of "helping to stop theft", people willingly give up their rights.

You wouldn't let some random person on the streets search your bags. You wouldn't let some random person on the streets get away with accusing you of a crime. Why do you let the stores you shop at do the same?

ETA: I forgot to mention the old saw "If you have nothing to hide, why not let them search?" This is an argument that not even the Supreme Court of the United States accepts. See the FBI, and do a text search for "refusal to consent". Saying "No" does not automatically let someone say "Well, why not? What are you hiding?" There has to be an actual reason.

[guywithashovel]

Are you talking about checking receipts as you leave the store? If so, it might just be something that the store's management gets fussy about every so often. Back when I worked at Wal-Mart, sometimes management would get a hair up their butts and demand that all the people greeters check people's receipts as they left the store. It would never last long, though.

Apparently this makes me a hypocritical entitlement whore.

Did someone actually say this to you?

[katie kaboom]

Bottom line is, unless they suspect you of theft they shouldn't be demanding that you hand over your receipt for inspection before you leave. Plus if they did that to everyone all day long and actually bothered to check the stuff against the receipt it would slow down everyone.

I'm sure the majority of customers don't enjoy being treated like thieves anyway.

[anriana]

There's a Meijer near my house. I go there fairly often. Approximately 10% of the time someone will ask to check my receipt. I always say "No thank you" and continue walking. Apparently this makes me a hypocritical entitlement whore.

They don't seem to have a clear policy on whether or not receipts should be checked, and they certainly don't have one stating that all receipts must be checked if the cust is asked so I'm not violating any policy.