You should let it go now especially if you value your costco membership.

This is my understanding of these issues (IANAL).
At a non-membership store there is nothing they can do. If they do detain you then you should call the cops and sue for unlawful detention. This is pretty rare though, as most employees are properly trained to let you go unless they have you on tape stealing something.
At membership stores they make checking receipts a condition of your membership. They still cannot unlawfully detain you, but if you do refuse to have your receipt checked they can cancel your membership.

The employee screwed up by grabbing your cart. That is why they are being very apologetic. But pushing the issue more is not likely to get you anything except a canceled membership.

AbbaZabba is correct. It is in the terms of your membership that you allow them to check the receipt. You were in the wrong and lucky they didn't cancel your membership on the spot.

Learn how to read ... your membership T&C

jetsfan92588 said:i didnt really know where else to put this, and i haven't really spent very much time in the other forums on fatwallet, so i thought i would try here first.
i was at costco today and there was a long line to get out of the door due to the guy checking receipts (i already paid for my items). i just walked right past the line and him, and he said, sir, i need to see your receipt. i said, no thanks. he said, i need to see it or you cant leave, and as i kept walking, he proceeded to follow me, and "grabbed" the shopping cart from me. i put grab in quotes because i could have hung on to it and kept going if i wanted to. then i was pissed off so i refused to show him my receipt, he put my cart back inside the store (with the items that i had PURCHASED still in it) and called a manager.

the manager came over, and i explained the situation to her, and she was very nice. i explained to her that without just cause, the lp rep could not force me to show him my bags, and definitely could not detain me, and she should make sure that he understands that before someone brings a lawsuit to costco. i told her that if the man had touched me, the police would be here to arrest him and would be writing up a full report.
she apologized for the situation, continued to say how they check the receipt for the CUSTOMER and she gave me her business card, and gave me the guys name as well as the name of the warehouse manager (i assume he is higher in the rankings than she was, otherwise his name would be worthless to me). i ended up showing her the receipt because she was being very polite, and i appreciated that.

anyway, i called him back a couple hours later, and he continued to say how sorry he was, and it wouldn't happen again, he said he will work on training. he also kept saying we are really sorry, we understand your concern, and when i told him that if this happened to someone else they may file a lawsuit as it is against the law for the employee to take control of property that was now under the customer's control. he kept saying that he would fix the situation, and he understands, and that he knows how bad this could be for them, especially press coverage, etc...

everything he said honestly felt canned, and not heartfelt, even some condescending.

should i just let this go, or should i press it further? maybe contact corporate?

Costco was right, you were wrong. It would cost more for them to defend themselves in court than to apologize to an idiot.

They can also probably get in trouble for physically detaining you, but you are supposed to show your receipt at Costco. They can revoke your membership and ban you from the store for being an asshat.

Now if you did that at BestBuy or Fry's, you would be in the right. We would applaud your efforts.

jetsfan92588 said:xoneinax said:Learn how to read ... your membership T&C
just because they put it in the t&c doesnt mean they can break the law.
What law did they break?

SS7Man said:Costco receipt checking is annoying.
Not really. They do it pretty fast.

SS7Man said: Costco prices are not that good as it used to be. I started shopping elsewhere for a lot of things. I only goto costco to stock up on tissues, bottled water, and maybe some can soups.
I agree, their prices aren't that special but for the products you mentioned, you can get much better pricing at the grocery store on sale.

Unless the employee actually "assaulted" you, you have nothing to sue over and the manager really has nothing to apologize for.

Costco is not a normal PUBLIC retail establishment, it is a warehouse CLUB limited to members. Not only did you pay a membership fee to join the club, by doing so you agreed to the membership agreement that specifically states they can inspect your goods and receipt as you leave the store. Too bad you didn't take the time to actually read the agreement.

Don't like it? Costco will gladly refund your membership fee in full anytime and you can shop wherever else you like.

So quit being a tool. 1) You don't accomplish anything, expect for the holding up the line. 2) You won't gain anything from causing a scene. You can't sue them for wrongful detainment, they are just enforcing the membership agreement you agreed to. 3) Believe it or not, most people don't think it is a big deal and you only make yourself look like a huge douche bag to your fellow shoppers.

I think it is time to move on.

That said, I myself do not understand why Costco does this. I think Sam's and BJ's does too. I can't speak to BJ's but they check to see if you are a member when you walk in elsewhere. Their items are larger than most stores (due to bulk packaging) and I would think it would be HARDER to steal from Costco.

Why warehouse stores think making people wait in line to check receipt is productive and why Target or Wal-Mart does not escapes me. Do people REALLY grab stuff and run for the doors if receipts are not being checked?

COBBCITY said:I myself do not understand why Costco does this.

Because theft is a huge problem at Costco, especially now. Getting past the check out stands without paying is fairly easy as hectic as things can get during the busy hours, the receipt checker is their only line of defense.

I work for the county court and we usually get 2-3 defendants per week just from getting caught shoplifting at Costco and the vast majority of them are caught as they are leaving the store. People have gotten so incredibly stupid or just plain desperate, even bold that they try to wheel carts of merchandise out the door. We had a defendant the other day who made it past the checkout stands with a LCD TV only to be busted by the receipt checker.

Wow, not only did they go above and beyond in customer service by apologizing for something that they had every right to do but apparently ordered the very employee who "offended" you to grovel on the phone while you issued law suit threats when you had no basis to do so. And now you want to further escalate this non-issue? This just gives me more reasons to shop at Costco.

I am sorry OP, but you kinda sound like an a-hole.