What’s the legality on this at a grocery store?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is what causes you outrage - an employee doing his minimum wage paying job and causing you 30 seconds of inconvenience - you could not survive for a single day as a Black person.

Seriously. Thank you for being reasonable. Stores lose a lot to theft. It saves you money overall o comply with shoplifting protocols.

Stop demanding that you receive deference because you are a white lady.

Just because black people have it bad doesn't mean that this cashier can break the law.

Virginia Code

§ 18.2-105.1. Detention of suspected shoplifter.
A merchant, agent or employee of the merchant, who has probable cause to believe that a person has shoplifted in violation of § 18.2-95 or § 18.2-96 or § 18.2-103, on the premises of the merchant, may detain such person for a period not to exceed one hour pending arrival of a law-enforcement officer.


Maryland law also recognizes the "Shopkeeper's Privilege," which allows merchants to reasonably detain a shopper where there is probable cause to believe that a theft took place.

DC:
It's legal for a merchant, employee, or security guard/officer to detain a person until law enforcement officers arrive to make an arrest or until the store releases them. A business will not be held liable for the detention, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, or false arrest, if:

They have probable cause to believe that the person has shoplifted in their presence;
The manner of the detention was reasonable;
Law enforcement authorities were notified in a reasonable time; and
The person detained was released within a reasonable time by the store or when law enforcement arrived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless they are stopping everyone, they are breaking the law.

Two of the places I shop have removed checker stands and it is all self check. If you can trust me to check myself, I am never stopping.

The membership clubs have that stated in their membership agreements that you agree to a receipt scan and search as part of membership!

A lot of places are removing self-checkout, because the theft is absolutely rampant, so...

Also, UMC white women are actually a known class of shoplifter. Y'all just aren't used to being under suspicion.

Asking seriously, not snarkily -- what stores or chains are doing this? I'd give my business to a store that employed actual, human checkout workers. Our Giant grocery store has about 18 checkouts, and often none is open, with only self checkout available. I'm able to do that just fine, but wonder: What happened to all those employees? They sure as heck aren't stocking the aisles or working in the produce section since one can never find an employee....This same Giant used to employ several developmentally disabled young adults to bag groceries and they're all long gone as far as I can see. So much for the cry that stores are desperate for employees.

Who under 60 is complaining about the absence of human checkers? Mom is that you? At Giant use the self scanner and check out is a breeze. So much better than loading and unloading groceries only to load them again. Scan, bag, check out with an occasional random audit. Boom, done!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was grocery shopping. Spent $200 on groceries, had them bagged and was making my way out the store when the greeter shouted for me to stop. I didn’t make the correlation that he was speaking to me, so he ran and followed me into the vestibule of the store where he demanded to see my receipt, said he had to see my receipt to prove I paid for the soda at the bottom of my cart. I couldn’t remember in which bad I stuffed the receipt, but he made me stand there until I found it, then scanned the receipt for the sodas. It was so bizarre. I had a $30lb roast and a weeks worth of other meats in my cart valuing so much more, yet I was accosted over $16 worth of soda.

I had to run to pick up my kids, but I so badly wanted to speak to a manager (I’m not a Karen, but this was a little humiliating.) I’m over it now but I’m wondering the legalities of forcing me to stand there and search my bags for a receipt? It seems like an odd practice.

Did you pay for the sodas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can talk to the manager but, other than losing a customer, there's nothing wrong from legal standpoint.

If the employee is forcibly detaining someone, then they are committing a crime. If this is in VA, OP could got to a police station and swear out a warrant today

OP was "forcibly detained"? LOL. You sound unhinged.

Forcibly (hand on cart) detained (blocked exit)

NP. You are wrong. She was not forcibly detained. She was free to leave at any time.

She was not welcome to take the store's cart with items inside until they determined that all items in the cart were paid for. The employee stopped the cart to inspect and asked for proof of purchase. Stores are allowed to inspect bags and items being taken from the store. And items that are in the bottom of the shopping cart are frequently missed by shoppers, so that is a common thing to check. It's a simple human error when you leave an item on the bottom of the cart and if you are caught, they usually just direct you to go back and pay for the item. If you are a Karen or a**hole about it (like OP), they may take stronger measures. Stopping merchandise from leaving the store without proof of purchase has nothing to do with unlawful inprisonment or being forcibly detained.

Frankly, this happens in many stores and it is why usually you should keep the receipt in hand or convenient between the cash register and leaving the premises.

[Anonymous]

Is this thread real? Hand on card "forcibly" (it's store property! It does not belong to you!), forcibly detained?! lolololol

Is it annoying, sure, but just show the guy the receipt. Some of you all who find this alarming are probably secret shoplifters. But no one would suspect you, because you don't fit the stereotype.

This is really no big deal.

[Anonymous]

^^^ *cart, not "card"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Walmart in my area usually has no or very few cashiers on duty so people have to wait in a huge line to check themselves out. They do however, have a person at the door checking receipts where there's another long line. This is on top of all the stuff that's locked up (soap, cosmetics, underwear, socks, etc.) that require customers to spend time finding an employee to unlock.

Yeah, no I won't be spending a second longer than necessary in there. I'm not rude to the person checking receipts, but I'm not stopping, either.

Walmart would rather inconvenience its customers than hire and pay adequate and honest staff.

These are actually the reasons I refuse to shop at Walmart (no staff, all self-check out, checking receipts) - its a huge pain. The clientele doesn't bother me, the corporate policies don't bother me, its just such a darn hassle to shop there so I don't. I go to Target and don't care if I'm paying more, its a much nicer experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Walmart in my area usually has no or very few cashiers on duty so people have to wait in a huge line to check themselves out. They do however, have a person at the door checking receipts where there's another long line. This is on top of all the stuff that's locked up (soap, cosmetics, underwear, socks, etc.) that require customers to spend time finding an employee to unlock.

Yeah, no I won't be spending a second longer than necessary in there. I'm not rude to the person checking receipts, but I'm not stopping, either.

Walmart would rather inconvenience its customers than hire and pay adequate and honest staff.

These are actually the reasons I refuse to shop at Walmart (no staff, all self-check out, checking receipts) - its a huge pain. The clientele doesn't bother me, the corporate policies don't bother me, its just such a darn hassle to shop there so I don't. I go to Target and don't care if I'm paying more, its a much nicer experience.

Unfortunately, there aren't Targets everywhere or in as many places a Walmarts.

[Anonymous]

The store should put a paid sticker on items too large to be bagged.

[Anonymous]

Adding another twist to this.

If it's OK to stop a customer and check the receipt for purchases then it should also be OK for the customer to use that same opportunity to double-check the prices they were charged for all those purchases.

I have on many many occasions gotten home and found out I was overcharged or double-charged for items.

I'd be happy to show my receipt at the exit if the store will likewise be obliging and let me open up all my bags and double-check every item against the receipt and what I was charged!

[Anonymous]

He was probably slipping an AirTag into her bag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adding another twist to this.

If it's OK to stop a customer and check the receipt for purchases then it should also be OK for the customer to use that same opportunity to double-check the prices they were charged for all those purchases.

I have on many many occasions gotten home and found out I was overcharged or double-charged for items.

I'd be happy to show my receipt at the exit if the store will likewise be obliging and let me open up all my bags and double-check every item against the receipt and what I was charged!

Aren’t you paying attention when your items are being rung up or you are checking out? You should be catching these sorts of errors when they happen, not when you get home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adding another twist to this.

If it's OK to stop a customer and check the receipt for purchases then it should also be OK for the customer to use that same opportunity to double-check the prices they were charged for all those purchases.

I have on many many occasions gotten home and found out I was overcharged or double-charged for items.

I'd be happy to show my receipt at the exit if the store will likewise be obliging and let me open up all my bags and double-check every item against the receipt and what I was charged!

Hint. Most stores now have a little screen that faces towards the customer (e.g. YOU) while a cashier is checking your purchases. If you actually pay attention instead of checking your makeup or talking on your cell, you can catch them, right there while they are doing it. I stand there and watch and if there is some issue, I mention it when it happens, not when I get to the door. By the time I get to the door, I am ready to show the receipt and walk out the door and get going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adding another twist to this.

If it's OK to stop a customer and check the receipt for purchases then it should also be OK for the customer to use that same opportunity to double-check the prices they were charged for all those purchases.

I have on many many occasions gotten home and found out I was overcharged or double-charged for items.

I'd be happy to show my receipt at the exit if the store will likewise be obliging and let me open up all my bags and double-check every item against the receipt and what I was charged!

Aren’t you paying attention when your items are being rung up or you are checking out? You should be catching these sorts of errors when they happen, not when you get home.

Have you never seen how fast they scan things? Have you never been putting things from your cart to the moving belt while they are ringing up? The point is they ring you up and spit you out as quickly as possible, give you a receipt with perhaps dozens of items on it, and are already ringing up the next customer before you've even moved your cart away.

The point here is that it should cut both wasy. If the store can be concerned about theft and stop people on the way out then shoppers should use that time to double-check every item before they leave the premises. Once you are out of the store or on your way home it's hard to go back and challenge them.

I was purchasing a small $10 fan and the Walmart clerk accidently charged me $3 for a "maintenance plan." I noticed it when I looked at the receipt and the clerk told me I had to go to customer service to get it removed. I then had to go and stand in line again to fix THEIR mistake and get MY money back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is what causes you outrage - an employee doing his minimum wage paying job and causing you 30 seconds of inconvenience - you could not survive for a single day as a Black person.

Seriously. Thank you for being reasonable. Stores lose a lot to theft. It saves you money overall o comply with shoplifting protocols.

Stop demanding that you receive deference because you are a white lady.

Just because black people have it bad doesn't mean that this cashier can break the law.

Virginia Code

§ 18.2-105.1. Detention of suspected shoplifter.
A merchant, agent or employee of the merchant, who has probable cause to believe that a person has shoplifted in violation of § 18.2-95 or § 18.2-96 or § 18.2-103, on the premises of the merchant, may detain such person for a period not to exceed one hour pending arrival of a law-enforcement officer.


Maryland law also recognizes the "Shopkeeper's Privilege," which allows merchants to reasonably detain a shopper where there is probable cause to believe that a theft took place.

DC:
It's legal for a merchant, employee, or security guard/officer to detain a person until law enforcement officers arrive to make an arrest or until the store releases them. A business will not be held liable for the detention, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, or false arrest, if:

They have probable cause to believe that the person has shoplifted in their presence;
The manner of the detention was reasonable;
Law enforcement authorities were notified in a reasonable time; and
The person detained was released within a reasonable time by the store or when law enforcement arrived.

Could you — or someone— say more about “probable cause”?
I was startled when I realized that white people often open packages and sample food or let their kids eat food that hasn’t been paid for yet. I was brought up with : It’s not mine until I’ve paid for it AND have the receipt. What kinds of things are considered adequate probable cause to detain someone?

If someone asked to search my backpack, I refused, and asked that police be called, and the police found nothing — is there anything that the store could say that would be reasonable probable cause?