If you purchase an item, is the store legally granted the right to check your receipt?

Question

http://www.die.net/musings/bestbuy/

If they do not have the right to check your receipt and do detain you for the police, do the police have a right to check it? And should they detain you and it is shown that you did purchase the item, what will the store employees be guilty of for preventing you from leaving? The reason I'm asking is with the holiday season coming up, I would rather not wait in these pointless and time consuming receipt check lines and I'll admit it, this story does sound like it would be fun.

Answer 1

Just as stores have the right to monitor their premises, stores have the legal right to ask to see your receipt when leaving as a shoplifting control measure.



The police would certainly have the right to check your receipt against the items in your bag if they were conducting an investigation.



Store employees should never physically detain a person suspected of shoplifting. If they do, they put the store at risk of a civil lawsuit for physical injuries. They wouldn't be charged with a crime unless they broke a law.



If you don't want to have your receipt checked, the best thing to do is take your money elsewhere.

Answer 2

here is the legal scoop. your under no obligation to allow them to check your receipt once you pay for it it is your merchandise. they may not hold you if they attempt to hold you and you have not committed a crime it is false imprisonment under the law. when they stop You to check the receipt just say I am not taking the time for this today so unless your actually accusing me of a theft I am not stopping. have a good day. most have been trained not to bother you past this point. if they do hold you up and you want to push it ask for a police officer to be summoned or that you be released, if they hold you against your will with no proof you committed a theft and they are just pissed you do not give up the receipt they are committing false arrest and can be sued. under no circumstances allow a private merchant to take you out of public view. There have been several cases where a retailer has held a Consumer against there will for several hours where the Consumer has not committed a crime. one incident in particular the stored paid several million in damages.IDIOTS! All the merchants want to answer and say they have a right to detain you for this reason or that. For this amount of time or that limited amount. THAT IS NOT THE LAW!!!! ONCE THE CONSUMER HAS PAID THEY ARE FREE TO LEAVE. I have a BS in Criminal justice and have completed the first two yrs of law school. I found this topic to be of personal interest and have researched the law. If you detain a customer for any reason other than as a shoplifter it is false imprisonment, you will pay if you do it!

Answer 3

Here's the answer you want.



Based on shopkeeper laws the store has every right to detain you if they're suspicious you're shoplifting (failure to provide receipt would qualify).



They have the right to detain you at most by a means of standing in front of you. If they used a physical force to detain you, BING BONG, you just hit a pay day and have civil recourse.



Since you have a receipt there's no way to get in trouble. In any situation the store does not have the right to use physical force to detain you.

Answer 4

The alternative would be not to check receipts, thus making it much easier for people to steal items from the store. And, of course, with this also comes higher prices to compensate for the loss.



So the question now becomes if you would rather wait for them to check the receipt, or pay higher prices than you do now?

Answer 5

Usually, no one has the right to inspect your property. They have to go through the same legal means everyone else would have to...a search warrant. If they suspected you had something in your bag, chances are they have either video footage or the alarm went off when you left. They probably have a security staff. That staff would probably approach you and ask for the merchandise. They cant look thru your bag, they can only attempt to detain you while a cop comes to arrest you, then your property WILL be searched. You dont have to stay and wait (if you can outrun them).

Answer 6

As long as you are in the store or on store property, they can legally check your bags and confirm that you have legally purchased any items you are carrying. If you have any item in a bag for which you do NOT have a receipt, you will be held and charged with shoplifting.



Note that: any item in a bag is per se evidence of shoplifting, even if you haven't left the store yet.

Answer 7

yes they have the right to check your receipt but in most states it would be unlawful for them to detain you if you choose not to show it. If a person decides to sue the company for lets say descrimination, the store would have to prove that they ramdomly check people or they do it to everyone.

ie: if they are only stopping black of minority 20 year olds but not checking 45 year old white women



They can be charged with unlawful imprisonment, disturbing the peace, etc

Answer 8

Membership stores like Costco and Sam's Club build the inspection into the agreement you sign - they have the right.



Unless a loss prevention officer has proof [ and follows the rules] they may not detain you .

Answer 9

In California, membership stores like Costco and Sam's Club can check your receipt. If no membership is required, walk on by.

Answer 10

Shopkeeper's rights laws in pretty much every state permit them to check your reciepts and purchases as well as hold you for the police under a ton of different suspicions.



Just go with the flow.



Who needs the aggrivation?

Answer 11

Till you leave the store and parking lot they can

Answer 12

Yes.



If you don't like it - order on line and have it delivered to your door.