Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia
Wal-Mart Treatment
Purchased grill at Wal-Mart. Seconds after paying I was physically blocked by employee that said, ''I need to see your receipt!'' All around stopped to look and listen. I was embarrassed and humiliated at being treated as a suspected shoplifter. Showed receipt and allowed to continue. I later called to complain to the store Mgr. Spoke with Asst Mgr. He had no apology and said what occurred was their policy. I asked what if I refused to show receipt. He said that I would be followed out into the parking lot and someone would stay with me until the receipt was seen. When I returned my purchased, I counted 7 steps from where I paid to where I was stopped. I experienced a similiar scenario at another Wal-Mart about a year ago. I complained to the home office and was told this was the policy in some stores. It seems Wal-Mart is acting very irresponsibly toward the public. It also makes sense to me that once I pay for an item it's mine, and what occurred is no different than them telling me to empty my pockets to show what's in them. Wal-Mart's responsibility and liability should be the same in either case. I'd like to refuse showing receipt just to see how far they'd go. Can they just do this to people? Is there any consumer protection?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Wal-Mart Treatment
Yes, the prevoius answers are correct in that many stores require ALL shoppers to show receipts at the store. The only issue I have is if they let 20 people pass by the same person without showing a receipt and they targeted you (for ex. racial profiling). There are laws against racial discrimination. For instance, in another state, a store targeted blacks and required them to show additional identification before completing certain transactions. That was illegal. Nobody who believes in a color blind society would argue that blacks should simply go to another store or pay cash. In fact, the black customer who sued won.
Re: Wal-Mart Treatment
Sure they can ask too see the receipt. Several stores do this, and it is unlikely anyone around you thought it was anything more than the usual check. Your "consumer protection" is if you do not like this or any other policy, the solution is simple - don't shop there. I would prefer that the Legislature not spend time enacting laws to cover receipt checks in stores, and suspect relatively few people see it as an issue to spend two seconds thinking about. I simply don't shop at stores if I do not like their policies or service. You can certainly refuse to show them the receipt next time. If they think you stole something, they will call the police. Chances are not too great they will detain you.
Re: Wal-Mart Treatment
Scott's answer to you is on the money, and your posting is completely unreasonable. Wal-Mart acted properly. Only by being vigilant for shoplifters can stores keep prices low, and having to take a couple seconds to show a receipt is normal practice at many stores. If you don't like it, consider shopping online.
Re: Wal-Mart Treatment
Not that it will make any difference to you, but I'll add that a receipt check is as much a check on their employees as the customer.
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