‘I dare them’ warns Kroger shopper with furious response at receipt checks – store policy is ‘absolutely no deterrent’

A FUMING Kroger customer has criticized the retailer for one of its anti-theft measures, arguing that the checks do not make any sense.

The customer was stopped for a receipt check on their way out, but felt that the measure was entirely unnecessary.

Getty

Getty

They expressed their anger in a post on social media , questioning whether these checks were really preventing shoplifting from happening in-store.

Roy Tyler explained on Facebook that security guards at his local Kroger had been carrying out frequent receipt checks in recent weeks.

“All they do is take your receipt and mark it with a sharpie,” he said.

“They don’t check your bags to make sure it matches your purchases, so it is absolutely no deterrent or solution to shoplifting.

“All it does is delay and aggravate customers (especially if it’s a busy time which makes people wait in a line after they’ve already checked out), so WHAT IS THE F**king POINT????

Tyler is not the only one to get annoyed at these measures.

Many shoppers across the US have flocked to social media to vent about receipt checks in stores across the country.

While the checks are designed to crack down on shoplifting and ensure customers have been charged the correct amount for their items, many argue that it does little to help.

Customers believe that the step simply slows down their shopping trip.

“I wrote to the store to complain about it this afternoon, and await a reply,” Tyler wrote.

“I think I’m going to just start walking past them, and dare them do something,” he declared.

The U.S. Sun has approached Kroger for a comment.

People have begun to question the legality of these receipt checks and some customers now appear to ignore the step altogether.

“There is not a law I have to show my receipt,” a customer wrote on Facebook .

Comments under Tyler’s post appeared to agree with this argument.

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.

“I always walk past the receipt checkers. They can not physically stop you,” one user said.

“Legally can they stop you?” another comment read.

Shoppers complained that they have experienced similar checks at Costco and Walmart stores as well.

“U soft if you let them check your receipt at Walmart,” a shopper wrote on social media.

“I literally throw the receipt away after I check out,” another said.

“I keep walking because if you trust me to check my own self out you better all the way trust me,” a frustrated customer said.

AFP