walmart searches

newburyport53 · Jan 11, 2008

What is the name of your state? ALASKA

I PURCHASE LARGE QUANITIES OF PRODUCTS FROM
A WALMART STORE FOR YEARS. FOR BUSINESS & PER.
THEY OCCASIONALLY STOP ME AND WANT TO
SEE MY RECEIPT AND OPEN MY BAGS. BASICLLY
SEARCH ME. THE LAST WEEK BEFORE XMASS. I CAME
OUT OF WALMART WITH THREE CARTS FULL OF
GIFTS. SOME LARGE ITIEMS NOT IN BAGS.
I HAD 1.5 CARTS OF GIFTS ALREADY IN MY CAR
WHEN A WALMART ASST. MANAGER ASKED ME FOR MY
RECEIPT. I SAID NO I PAID FOR THESE ITIEMS THEY ARE
MY PROPERTY. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME CALL
THE POLICE. THEY SAID NO NO . WE CAN SEARCH YOUR PURCHASES
ANYTIME WE WANT. THE ASST. MANAGER STATED THE MERCHANDISE
IS STILL " THEIR PROPERTY UNTIL I LEAVE THEIR PROPERTY" THE PARKING AREA.
ITEMS WERE IN BAGS AND LARGER TOYS IN NO BAGS. AS THEY WERE OUT OF LARGER SIZE BAGS. THE ASST. MANAGER TOOK MY PROPERTY THE LAST SHOPPING
CART FULL OF GIFTS. SHE STARTED TO TAKE THE CART AWAY FROM ME.
AS I HELD ON TO IT.. SHE STARTED TO TAKE THE CART INSIDE THE STORE.
WHERE I FINNALLY GAVE UP AND GAVE HERE THE RECEIPT. WHICH SHE TOOK
FROM ME AND DID NOT EVEN LOOK AT. THEN GAVE BACK TO ME. IF SHE
HAD LOOKED AT IT SHE WOULD OF SEEN I WAS CHARGED FOR A MICROWAVE
2 TIMES WHEN I PURCHASED ONLY ONE. FEW DAYS LATER I DID GET A REFUND
FOR THE OVERCHARGED ONE.

QUESTION.. CAN THEY SEARCH MY PURCHASES ANY TIME THEY WANT.
WITHOUT JUSTIFULL CAUSE. TO ME ITS HARRASHMENT. IT IS MY PROPERTY

Zigner · Jan 11, 2008

newburyport53 said:
QUESTION.. CAN THEY SEARCH MY PURCHASES ANY TIME THEY WANT.
WITHOUT JUSTIFULL CAUSE. TO ME ITS HARRASHMENT. IT IS MY PROPERTY

You were walking out of the store with several unbagged items...OF COURSE they can verify that you did, in fact, pay for those items.

The only time I am EVER stopped leaving WM is when I have items that are not in bags.

It is a reasonable search and that's all it needs to be.

BL · Jan 11, 2008

If this is one of those employees that checks receipts on the way out , there's a story to be told about their rights to ask for a receipt and search your bags .

I believe I read it on ripoffreport site .

If you as a consumer buy your items , go through the check out , and there is nothing to be sold say within 50 feet of the checkout and the exit they have no right to stop and ask for your receipt or search your items , unless there is reasonable belief or suspicion you stole something .

This happened to a customer , where the employees were going to do it , the customer refused .They said they'd call the police . The customer called them on the cell phone .

The officer arrived , they each told there side , and the officer ask the employee if they had any reason to believe the customer stole anything . They said no , it's our policy .

They officer told them , what makes you think you have a right to see the receipt and search the bags then ? Even I don't have that right .

The customer ended up suing them .

Something about the 50 ft. rule , if nothing is sold in between the check out and exit .

So next time ask them if they have reason to believe you stole something .

If they say no , tell them to have a good day .

If they threaten to call the law , say I will be more that happy to call myself .

racer72 · Jan 11, 2008

Blonde Lebinese said:
If this is one of those employees that checks receipts on the way out , there's a story to be told about their rights to ask for a receipt and search your bags .

I believe I read it on ripoffreport site .

If you as a consumer buy your items , go through the check out , and there is nothing to be sold say within 50 feet of the checkout and the exit they have no right to stop and ask for your receipt or search your items , unless there is reasonable belief or suspicion you stole something .

This happened to a customer , where the employees were going to do it , the customer refused .They said they'd call the police . The customer called them on the cell phone .

The officer arrived , they each told there side , and the officer ask the employee if they had any reason to believe the customer stole anything . They said no , it's our policy .

They officer told them , what makes you think you have a right to see the receipt and search the bags then ? Even I don't have that right .

The customer ended up suing them .

Something about the 50 ft. rule , if nothing is sold in between the check out and exit .

So next time ask them if they have reason to believe you stole something .

If they say no , tell them to have a good day .

If they threaten to call the law , say I will be more that happy to call myself .

This is an urban legend. My daughter worked in loss prevention for Walmart for about 5 years and this story made the rounds many times. Also, as usual, your story does not include any legal proof such as specific state or local laws to back up this claim. These checks are to verify the reciept matches what is in the cart, it is not a search of you or your personal possessions.

BL · Jan 11, 2008

racer72 said:
This is an urban legend. My daughter worked in loss prevention for Walmart for about 5 years and this story made the rounds many times. Also, as usual, your story does not include any legal proof such as specific state or local laws to back up this claim. These checks are to verify the reciept matches what is in the cart, it is not a search of you or your personal possessions.

Well maybe the poster's State has such a law .

Feel better ?

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/291/RipOff0291040.htm#274172

How to make $10,000.00 in less than 10 seconds at Wal mart
Having been there and 'done that' let me tell you how the case started.

Having bought my merchandise, paid for same, I headed out the door. Door greeter stopped me and said 'sir, I need to see your receipt' i kept walking towards door and said ' no you don't', at which time she grabbed my arm ( mistake # 1) and started yelling 'security, security'. Next the manager appeared and told me I 'couldn't leave the store until I showed the receipt, and that if I didn't have anything to hide, why was I refusing?'. Next threat ( mistake # 2 ) was they would call Police on me. I CALLED THEM FOR THEM ON MY CELL PHONE !

When the officer arrived I told him what had happened, The officer asked the manager if they had reason to believe i had 'stolen anything', manager told him, 'no, it's just our policy to randomly check receipts against items in the bags', to which the officer replied 'I can't even check his bag or receipt without PROBABLE CAUSE, what makes you think YOU can?????'. After the manager was flustered being unable to answer the officer, The officer then advised him he was getting a summons to appear in court for 'UNLAWFUL DETENTION' for detaining me in the store without cause. The 'greeter' was summosed and charged with BATTERY for grabbing my arm and ' attempting' to hold on to me to keep me from leaving. The officer told me if I wanted to pursue it, They could both be charged with Kidnapping under Louisiana Statutes.

When I got home, i thought about it overnight and called me lawyer the next day.

With a smile on his face when I went to his office to relate the details fo the previous night to him, we decided to pursue the matter in court.

Wal Mart settled TWO DAYS before the trial was to begin for $10,000.00 !

I have written apologies from the Manager, and the Greeter ( who lost her job, by the way ).

Charges and summonses for unlawful detention and battery were dropped by the District Attorney as part of the settlement at my urging.

Was this the right way for me to approach this? mmmm Not Really.

Was it right for wal mart to 'place hands on me' and 'detain me'......Nope,

Was i within my rights to keep walking towards the door, with merchandise that I had legally paid for ? YUP... according to the law here, Once I have paid for my merchandise at any checkout which is located with 50 feet of the entrance or exit door and NO MERCHANDISE is being offered for sale between said check out and exit/entrance, UNLESS I AM BEING OUTRIGHT ACCUSED AND CHARGED WITH SHOPLIFTING...... The title to the merchandise passed to me upon my payment, and I can do with ot whatI see fit without harrassment from the store or it's employees.

In a nutshell...IT WAS MINE and didn't I'm not required to show anything to ANYONE once I paid for it.!

The laws in your state may vary, but here Wal Mart was WRONG, KNOWS THEY WERE WRONG, and by settling basically ADMITTED THEY WERE WRONG.

Haven't seen them checking ANYONES receipt in the past year or so...hmmmm

What this boils down to is:

This is still America, and we have the right from unreasonable searches, and wether Wal Mart likes it or not, They may be the biggest retailer in the world, BUT, they have to abide by the law of the land just like everyone else.

Some may say I was 'showing my ass' but I strongly beleive in individual rights and do not easily give them up because 'it's company policy'

seniorjudge · Jan 11, 2008

Blonde Lebinese said:
Well maybe the poster's State has such a law .

Feel better ?

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/291/RipOff0291040.htm#274172

How to make $10,000.00 in less than 10 seconds at Wal mart
Having been there and 'done that' let me tell you how the case started.

Having bought my merchandise, paid for same, I headed out the door. Door greeter stopped me and said 'sir, I need to see your receipt' i kept walking towards door and said ' no you don't', at which time she grabbed my arm ( mistake # 1) and started yelling 'security, security'. Next the manager appeared and told me I 'couldn't leave the store until I showed the receipt, and that if I didn't have anything to hide, why was I refusing?'. Next threat ( mistake # 2 ) was they would call Police on me. I CALLED THEM FOR THEM ON MY CELL PHONE !

When the officer arrived I told him what had happened, The officer asked the manager if they had reason to believe i had 'stolen anything', manager told him, 'no, it's just our policy to randomly check receipts against items in the bags', to which the officer replied 'I can't even check his bag or receipt without PROBABLE CAUSE, what makes you think YOU can?????'. After the manager was flustered being unable to answer the officer, The officer then advised him he was getting a summons to appear in court for 'UNLAWFUL DETENTION' for detaining me in the store without cause. The 'greeter' was summosed and charged with BATTERY for grabbing my arm and ' attempting' to hold on to me to keep me from leaving. The officer told me if I wanted to pursue it, They could both be charged with Kidnapping under Louisiana Statutes.

When I got home, i thought about it overnight and called me lawyer the next day.

With a smile on his face when I went to his office to relate the details fo the previous night to him, we decided to pursue the matter in court.

Wal Mart settled TWO DAYS before the trial was to begin for $10,000.00 !

I have written apologies from the Manager, and the Greeter ( who lost her job, by the way ).

Charges and summonses for unlawful detention and battery were dropped by the District Attorney as part of the settlement at my urging.

Was this the right way for me to approach this? mmmm Not Really.

Was it right for wal mart to 'place hands on me' and 'detain me'......Nope,

Was i within my rights to keep walking towards the door, with merchandise that I had legally paid for ? YUP... according to the law here, Once I have paid for my merchandise at any checkout which is located with 50 feet of the entrance or exit door and NO MERCHANDISE is being offered for sale between said check out and exit/entrance, UNLESS I AM BEING OUTRIGHT ACCUSED AND CHARGED WITH SHOPLIFTING...... The title to the merchandise passed to me upon my payment, and I can do with ot whatI see fit without harrassment from the store or it's employees.

In a nutshell...IT WAS MINE and didn't I'm not required to show anything to ANYONE once I paid for it.!

The laws in your state may vary, but here Wal Mart was WRONG, KNOWS THEY WERE WRONG, and by settling basically ADMITTED THEY WERE WRONG.

Haven't seen them checking ANYONES receipt in the past year or so...hmmmm

What this boils down to is:

This is still America, and we have the right from unreasonable searches, and wether Wal Mart likes it or not, They may be the biggest retailer in the world, BUT, they have to abide by the law of the land just like everyone else.

Some may say I was 'showing my ass' but I strongly beleive in individual rights and do not easily give them up because 'it's company policy'

What a crock.

Wal-Mart is a private business so the flap about "unreasonable searches" is totally irrelevant.

justalayman · Jan 11, 2008

first, rip off report allows anybody to post unconfirmed tales of woe so unless the poster linked or otherwise directed the reader to official support, I would view it with suspicion.

Now, we have been through this many many times on this site. In many states, the store has absolutely no right to check anything unless the want to consider the person a shoplifter and act as allowed by law. I do not know if that applies in all states but most that I have researched did not allow the merchant to detain the shopper or force a customers to allow a review of the receipt and/or merchandise.

Stores such as Costco and Sam's Club are different because of the membership agreement which one signs when obtaining membership.

tranquility · Jan 11, 2008

Wal-Mart is a private business so the flap about "unreasonable searches" is totally irrelevant.

Actually, the tort is usually battery or false imprisonment.

In law school, the "shopkeeper's privilege" SCREAMS reasonable. Reasonable suspicion, reasonable time, reasonable force. Reasonable. It is up to a jury to determine if the store's actions are reasonable.

Zigner · Jan 11, 2008

tranquility said:
Actually, the tort is usually battery or false imprisonment.

In law school, the "shopkeeper's privilege" SCREAMS reasonable. Reasonable suspicion, reasonable time, reasonable force. Reasonable. It is up to a jury to determine if the store's actions are reasonable.

AGAIN.....
The poster was walking out with UNBAGGED MERCHANDISE. I feel it is totally reasonable that it be confirmed that the items were actually paid for.
Also, just to cover all the bases...if the alarm goes off, it's ok to search too!

acmb05 · Jan 11, 2008

Zigner said:
AGAIN.....
The poster was walking out with UNBAGGED MERCHANDISE. I feel it is totally reasonable that it be confirmed that the items were actually paid for.
Also, just to cover all the bases...if the alarm goes off, it's ok to search too!

I have actually had them stop me and ask me to open the bag and check my receipt. Every thing I bought was in bags, nothing was even sticking out of them.

I think they profile people. If you look a certain way they will stop you, especially young people. How many of you have seen them stop a 50 or 60 year old walking out of the store? I never have.

As a matter of fact the lady who was in front of me was wheeling a bike out and they never asked her to prove she bought it.

tranquility · Jan 12, 2008

AGAIN.....
The poster was walking out with UNBAGGED MERCHANDISE. I feel it is totally reasonable that it be confirmed that the items were actually paid for.
Also, just to cover all the bases...if the alarm goes off, it's ok to search too!

I don't disagree. I also agree that, if you were on the OP's jury, you would decide against her. I was merely responding to SJs invocation of the government in all this. Just because the precise language is used in the fourth amendment (hence would only limit government) does not mean that like behavior wouldn't be a crime or a tort against the non-governmental actor.

RuGa · Jan 12, 2008

Searches..

This past holiday season while at Wal-mart in my area (Maryland) several young women 'walked' out of the local Wal-Mart with carts full of un-bagged merchandise. When approached in the parking lot next to their vehicle, they threw several items at the Wal-mart people and left ALL their carts in the parking lot and left....
It is a very common strategy of shoplifters to do this type of thing at a large retailer during busy seasons.
So what they did is reasonable as long as they did not 'unlawfully' restrain you..

seniorjudge · Jan 12, 2008

acmb05 said:
I have actually had them stop me and ask me to open the bag and check my receipt. Every thing I bought was in bags, nothing was even sticking out of them.

I think they profile people. If you look a certain way they will stop you, especially young people. How many of you have seen them stop a 50 or 60 year old walking out of the store? I never have.

As a matter of fact the lady who was in front of me was wheeling a bike out and they never asked her to prove she bought it.

Sure they profile people; they profile the people who belong to a group who have shoplifted before.

Right, wrong, or indifferent...it happens.

Patrol Post 5 · Jul 8, 2008

May I see your receipt?

Just like Best Buy's search policy. Walmart have every legal right to ask you for the receipt and check your merchandise against it. YOU have every legal right to say NO. The worst they can do to you is to ban you from the store. If they try to stop you, you can ask them if they suspect you of shoplifting. If the answer is no, then you can continue on your way. If they say they are going to call the Police, YOU call the Police. If they say that they suspect you of shoplifting, they have to prove to the arresting officer (the one that responds at the store's request, to process security's arrest) that a crime was committed, I.E. stolen merchandise, video, witnesses etc. NO self respecting LEO will ever take the word of either the complainant or accused without seeing some iota of evidence to support the allegations.

Silverplum · Jul 8, 2008

What that was, was a "necropost," Patrol Post 5.

We generally leave old threads alone.

walmart searches

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newburyport53

Junior Member

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney

BL

Senior Member

racer72

Senior Member

BL

Senior Member

seniorjudge

Senior Member

justalayman

Senior Member

tranquility

Senior Member

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney

acmb05

Senior Member

tranquility

Senior Member

RuGa

Member

seniorjudge

Senior Member

Patrol Post 5

Junior Member

Silverplum

Senior Member

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