Can Walmart Stop you to see your receipt? I do not pay for membership what is up with this?

Question

I went shopping at walmart and when i was leaving a lady came running at me from behind the register really really snotty and said.. I NEED To SEE YOUR RECIPT..
I said its in my purse sorry.
I need to see your recipt..
I said I do not pay for a membership here. You can not legally look into my purse or my bags. What is your cause for stopping me. Odviously the way she approched me really off set me and I left her area and walked out the door.

In Califronia can they legally stop you to ask you to produce your receipt. Walmart told me that they have every right to ask you to produce your recipt so they can look into your bags. I am sooo angry. I will not be shopping here again unless I know my rights. Please help.

Answer 1

To all the idiots out there. If I do not want to show my recipe then it is my right to say fuc_ off.



I did however work in retail in loss prevention for 3 years. When a customer came to exit the store I always ASKED politely. If they said no I was not offended and made no attempt to stop them. If you do not show your recipe what is their legal way to stop you. Nothing at all. Of course you have to be right and not have stolen anything. If they detain you and have to proof, or evidence then they will have a legal matter to settle.



This is of course if nothing was taken- actions for stopping theft that was witnessed or filmed is a different matter.

Answer 2

at warehouse clubs like Costco or Sam's, the membership agreement allows the store to stop you for a receipt check. at other stores like Walmart or Best Buy, the employees can ask for a receipt, but if you decline, they cannot legally detain you without probable cause. i have never refused b/c i don't want to find out what happens. BTW, today I went to Walmart and bought my usual assorted stuff. I noticed that the girl did not scan an item costing about $15 but just put it on top of that rotating thing with all the bags. call me dishonest, but I didn't say anything. when I got to the door, i was wondering what I would say when the receipt-checker discovered what happened but he took about a half-second to look at my cart and my receipt and waived me through.

Answer 3

If it s mine, it s mine. What s next? Will they demand a receipt for my shoes, underwear, etc.? It s simple. Put the registers at the door and when you walk out there is no reason for them to insinuate theft that has not occurred. I suppose Freedom of Speech allows them to ask for a receipt, and usually the normally honest people feel intimidated enough to show it even though there is no legal requirement. However, all citizens need to stand up to this aggressive big box store intimidation. No one in America should be denied their civil rights. Sure, it s simple enough to show the receipt you just were handed a few feet away and were videoed the entire time while paying. But the whole idea is; if we allow this violation of our rights every-time we walk out of one these big box stores, what are we telling our children about American rights and liberties. It s very simple for the stores to adjust the way their cash registers are located so as to make sure all citizens don t feel they have just shopped in a 3rd world Country. I think the Federal Government should step in and demand that all stores respect the Rights of all. They certainly have enough money to build and set up the stores. These stores should be required to be Honorable to our Constitutional Rights, and by using proper architecture, these Civil Rights violations would never occur. The Government should allow the store to be heavily fined every time they falsely accuse someone. I suspect that would cause some actual thinking in the corporation rooms when their money is being needlessly given to the Government.

Answer 4

Yes they can. It's called shopkeepers privilege.



Here's how it works. Stopping you and detaining you would normally be coercion or false imprisonment. You could sue. However, the store has an affirmative defense they can assert called shopkeepers privilege, which allows a business owner (or their agent or security) to detain a person for a reasonable amount of time to a reasonable degree to find out if the person stole anything from the store.



Stopping and asking for your receipt is a reasonable request, so is allowed.



If you walked out and they physically detained you, then it becomes a trickier question of whether they had probable cause, and then whether the force they used was reasonable given their grounds. In that case, they probably wouldn't actually stop you if you just walked out, unless there was evidence that you had shop-lifted. See California Penal Code 490.5 et seq.



But yes, they can stop and ask to see the receipt.

Answer 5

That wal mart wanting to see my reciept bit has turned me away from shopping there before. It's usually some really old woman with thick glasses on that can't even read my receipt. But what I love is that they only stop me when I'm leaving with a 20 lb bad of cat food that I spent a whole $8 on. Like i'm going to spend the effort of shop lifting a huge bag of cat food. Just, consider the source.

In the state I live in you cannot stop someone to ask to see their receipt unless you witnessed them stealing something. If you did not witness them stealing something, you can be held accountable for some kind of action.

Answer 6

Radio consumer advocate Clark Howard has addressed this one. They cannot legally stop you to see your receipt.



The exception is membership stores, like Costco, because you've signed a membership agreement.



However, it's not necessarily a bad idea to have them check it. Sometimes they spot errors.

Answer 7

If it's a membership-based store, the membership agreement generally includes that provision for members and their guests. It is pretty obnoxious. They always say it's to make sure the checkers didn't overcharge you, but to put it baldly, that's a lie. They want to catch shoplifters. At non-membership stores, they have no right at all. They can always arrest you, but very few will risk that unless they're damn sure. I find it insulting, and I'd support you if you want to start a noncompliance movement.

Answer 8

I'm not sure what the laws are, but they've asked me for my receipt every time I've made an expensive purchase. I think it's fine. I'm sure they have a sign posted in the store with their rules regarding shoplifting and searching of your person and belongings, like many stores do.



The employee should have been more discreet and friendly, though. Perhaps she was having a bad day.

Answer 9

You obvously have never shopped at walmart before. The people greeters at the door are their to make sure no have a recipt. If the alarm goes off you have to show a recipt so they know you paid. If they don't think you paid they have every right to ask you to prove it. I'm not sure why someone from a register ran after you but you probably over reacted and that just made it worse. They already know what you bought when you checked out so why it would it matter if they looked in your bag.

Answer 10

This is done as a security measure and not meant to be intrusive by any means. With thousands of people going in and out of the store daily, this allows them the ability to be aware of what was purchased and verify that what you are leaving the store with is what you should be leaving the store with. In the State of North Carolina, just as in your State of California, this practice is done as well. While I can understand your anger, you must also understand shoplifiting impacts retail to the tune of billions of dollars a year. A retailer has every right to use any risk management safeguard to protect them from further loss of goods and services.

Answer 11

Ah, finally a good question. I NEVER stop. I walk straight out the door. I have yet to be challenged.



If I was, it had better be a police officer conducting an investigative detention. And someone from Wal mart needs to articulate to that cop why they think I "may" have shoplifted.



Wal mart is a private company employing private citizens, they have no authority whatsoever to stop you.



A private citizen (their loss prevention people) can make a detention to prevent the consequences of a theft, but they better be able to articulate that someone stole something before making such a detention.



Not showing a receipt upon demand is not such a reasonable suspicion that would warrant their employees stopping you.

Answer 12

Yes, California law gives them the legal privilege to ask you for your receipt. It is a perfectly reasonable way of preventing shoplifting. If they are doing it to all their customers (or using a set pattern, like every fifth customer) then they do not need any cause or suspicion. If they are doing it randomly, then they need a cause to stop you.



I don't understand why you're being such a crybaby and making a big deal out of this. What's so hard about showing them your receipt? What are you so paranoid about... did you grow up in communist Russia? If they didn't do it, there would be more shoplifting and the prices would go up. But anyway, Wal-mart is a big company and they have plenty of customers. If you don't want to shop there, don't. They could care less.

Answer 13

As shop lifting increases so do security measures. I don't shop lift and never will. I don't mind if they look at my receipt in a store. If I have nothing to hide what do I care? By the way I never shop at Wal Mart.

Answer 14

The "BIG DEAL" is it's intrusive so once you pay for something it is yours and you can do with it as you wish! I don't buy into the "if you have nothing to hide " theory. Many abusive policies including government began with those same words

Answer 15

If they have reason to believe you may have shoplifted, of course they can. She did not search you or anything, all she did was ask for a receipt. Would it have been so hard to get it out of your purse?

Answer 16

Most states will have statutes governing this kind of thing.



IMHO, in most locations, asking for your receipt before you leave with goods is going to be legal.

Answer 17

This happened to me. I opened my purse and said you find it (I have, at any given time, upwards of 50 receipts in my purse) they let me go.

Answer 18

Yes, Wal-Mart has a great deal of burglaary going on in their stores by clever thieves. Althought they do not have a right to go through your purse, they have every right to inspect your package & see your receipt. Unless you have something to hide, what's the big deal?

Answer 19

Yes they can ask for your reciept and many stores do ask for receipt if you are leaving with large items.

Answer 20

Unless you have stolen something what is the big deal with showing your receipt?