A BJ’s customer has fumed after using mobile checkout to pay but was still stopped by employees to rescan items.
Major retailers have been receiving countless complaints about self-checkout and receipt checks.
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Customers argue they create long lines and wait times and ultimately, an unpleasant shopping experience.
In response to receipt checks, some shoppers say because companies trust customers to scan their items, they should believe they did it correctly.
One customer slammed the company on X after using mobile checkout at the retailer.
“Hey @BJsWholesale if you feel the need to have the person re-scan every item when leaving the store if using mobile checkout, what is the point of using it?” they asked in a tweet.
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“Either trust me or don’t but don’t make me wait while every item is re-scanned!!!”
The company heard the shoppers loud and clear and responded to their post.
“Hi, we apologize for any difficulty this may have caused you. Our Team Member checks the receipt and items to ensure that the number of items in your cart matches those on the receipt to confirm that all items purchased have been placed in your cart. Please DM us if you need help,” BJ’s Wholesale wrote.
However, the shopper wasn’t pleased with the response and wrote back to them.
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“But the people who use the self-checkout lane can just get a quick line drawn on their receipt,” they argued.
“I need to wait for the person to scan every item that I already scanned. That makes no sense.
“Like I said, either trust me or don’t, but don’t waste my time.”
BJ’s Wholesale responded again to the angry customer.
“Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We greatly appreciate your feedback and comments,” they wrote.
“Rest assured, they will not go unnoticed and will be carefully reviewed by our team.”
Legality of receipt checks and detention
In an effort to curtail retail crime, stores are increasingly turning to receipt checks as shoppers exit.
Legally, stores can ask to see a customer’s receipts, and membership-only stores have the right to demand such checks if shoppers agreed to terms and conditions that authorize it.
Many legal professionals have weighed in and come to similar conclusions, caveating that all states do have specific laws.
Generally speaking, stores have Shopkeeper’s Privilege laws that allow them to detain a person until authorities arrive when they have reasonable suspicion that a crime, like theft, has been committed.
Declining to provide a receipt is not a reason in itself for a store to detain a customer, they must have further reason to suspect a shopper of criminal activity.
Due to the recent nature of the receipt checks, there is little concrete law on the legality of the practice, as it takes time for law to catch up with technology.
Setliff Law, P.C. claims that “there is no definitive case law specifically relating to refusal to produce a receipt for purchases.”
For stores that improperly use their Shopkeeper’s Privilege, they could face claims of false imprisonment.
“The primary law that applies to these types of wrongful detention cases is called ‘False Imprisonment’,” explained Hudson Valley local attorney Alex Mainetti.
“Of course, you’re not literally imprisoned, but you’re detained by a person who has no lawful authority to detain you and/or wrongfully detains a customer.”
It is likely that as altercations in stores over receipt checks continue, more court cases will occur giving clearer definitions and boundaries to the legality of receipt checks.
‘SIMPLE THING TO DO’
Receipt check complaints continue to run rapidly for stores including Target and Costco.
The anti-theft method has gone as far as to push customers away and start shopping at different stores.
Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles attorney and a founding partner at Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, spoke to The U.S. Sun about a customer’s rights and options when it comes to the anti-theft policy.
“You can say no, but maybe it creates an unnecessary hassle for yourself,” Dowlatshahi said.
“But now you may have the police come to your house and follow up.”
Police could come to your home if the store had reason to believe you were stealing, but couldn’t check your receipt to be sure.
He also gave his advice to fully prevent a police encounter.
“I would say, show your receipt. It’s just a really simple thing to do,” he affirms.
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“If you didn’t steal anything, it’s relatively simple to do.”
The U.S. Sun has contacted BJ’s for comment.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/11767075/bjs-receipt-check-rescanned-items-angry-shopper/