Question about showing receipts in Texas

[Snap E Tom]

Sorry for this being not a gun-related post, but it is a civil liberties post.

I know the state laws governing whether you must show a receipt to receipt checkers at say, Fry's and Costco, varies wildly from state to state. What's it like here in Texas? Can I ignore the receipt checkers without them calling the police?

[McKnife]

Ignore them. You don't have to prove anything. -- I typically walk by and say "I don't show receipts. Thank you, though."

If they detain you, they are committing a crime -- Unlawful Restraint, a Class A Misdemeanor-- which usually results in the arrest of the person that detained you, leading to a civil lawsuit against the retailer, and typically followed by a settlement.

The only "gotcha" here is they can ask you to not come back. For example, Sams Club is a membership and they expect you to verify receipts at the exit. If you don't, they can cancel your membership.

[A-R]

there are actually laws on such things? why?

edited to add: was responding to OP - McKnife's post came in just before mine. I understand they can't detain you; was wondering why some states feel it necessary to enact laws regulating whether or not a store can ask such things? As long as they don't detain you, who cares if they ask, if they revoke your membership, etc - it's a private business transaction at that point

[McKnife]

there are actually laws on such things? why?

Texas has "Shopkeepers Privilege" -- the right to detain anyone they think could be stealing and whatnot. But, can you imagine being held against your will and utterly embarrassed when a retailer decides to detain you by handcuffing and walking you to the security office? What if their suspicions are wrong and you have committed no crime. Oopsy -- can't just say sorry. You were unlawfully restrained and falsely accused. There can be a whole slew of other criminal and civil charges depending on the specifics.

This is why most stores in Texas fire employees for pursing a robber/thief. They would rather take the loss than get slapped with a lawsuit.

[jordanmills]

I just say "No, thank you" and keep walking. Them detaining you (assuming you weren't actually trying to steal something) would be a winning ticket in the lawsuit lottery.

[jimlongley]

Costco and Sam's are membership "clubs" and their rules require you to show a receipt, they will happily tell you that, and that you will lose your membership, when you walk past the checker.

[PappaGun]

When I leave Fry's, I just nod politely if the guy is even looking at me.

It seems he is usually preoccupied with some thing else.

But I've never been stopped even if I do make eye contact.

In order for any store to tell you that you are not welcome, they would have to tell you that and that means getting your name
and that means detaining you to get your info which I would not allow them to do unless they were prepared to call the police
and accuse me of something I did not do.

So, the whole thing is a charade.

I am not speaking of the club stores, as others are correct in that they clearly set the rules for membership.

[bigred90gt]

I've never understood the disdain for these people. They are merely doing their jobs, and that job is to ask to see your receipt. What, may I ask, is the problem with showing them your receipt? What harm to you is it to show them when they request it?

[McKnife]

I've never understood the disdain for these people. They are merely doing their jobs, and that job is to ask to see your receipt. What, may I ask, is the problem with showing them your receipt? What harm to you is it to show them when they request it?

What harm comes from allowing police to search you vehicle/property? They are just doing their jobs.

[A-R]

At Sam's & Costco, I agree membership is their stick. But I always figured at Fry's and a few others that do these door receipt checks that if you leave without getting that special color mark on your receipt that they may or may not accept a return. Not sure if this is true; just something I infered.

[A-R]

I've never understood the disdain for these people. They are merely doing their jobs, and that job is to ask to see your receipt. What, may I ask, is the problem with showing them your receipt? What harm to you is it to show them when they request it?

What harm comes from allowing police to search you vehicle/property? They are just doing their jobs.

That's a heck of a leap from showing a receipt to searching vehicle/property. I would NEVER allow a retail store to "search" me. But if they're just checking my receipt against the items in THEIR shopping cart, I don't really see the problem either. If they DID try to stop/detain me, we'd have a BIG problem. But just showing the receipt doesn't bother me and certainly doesn't rise to the level of a "search" of my vehicle/property.

[jordanmills]

I've never understood the disdain for these people. They are merely doing their jobs, and that job is to ask to see your receipt. What, may I ask, is the problem with showing them your receipt? What harm to you is it to show them when they request it?

What harm comes from allowing police to search you vehicle/property? They are just doing their jobs.

That's a heck of a leap from showing a receipt to searching vehicle/property. I would NEVER allow a retail store to "search" me. But if they're just checking my receipt against the items in THEIR shopping cart, I don't really see the problem either. If they DID try to stop/detain me, we'd have a BIG problem. But just showing the receipt doesn't bother me and certainly doesn't rise to the level of a "search" of my vehicle/property.

Not a leap at all. And they often paw through MY items in MY bags. Would you mind them searching your purse too?

[karl]

I've never had a receipt checker paw through my bags. And I believe it is quite a leap from this policy to a full search of a vehicle or person. They're asking you to prove you purchased the goods you have, and in my experience it doesn't happen that often (Sam's etc. are exceptions).

[A-R]

What harm comes from allowing police to search you vehicle/property? They are just doing their jobs.

That's a heck of a leap from showing a receipt to searching vehicle/property. I would NEVER allow a retail store to "search" me. But if they're just checking my receipt against the items in THEIR shopping cart, I don't really see the problem either. If they DID try to stop/detain me, we'd have a BIG problem. But just showing the receipt doesn't bother me and certainly doesn't rise to the level of a "search" of my vehicle/property.

Not a leap at all. And they often paw through MY items in MY bags. Would you mind them searching your purse too?

No, I absolutely would not allow them to search through my personal bags. But I don't have a problem with them looking inside the shopping bags and shopping carts that THEY provide in THEIR store while simply checking that I have the items I paid for. If they tried to look into my bag or my wife's purse, I'd tell them NO in no uncertain terms and threaten to call the police if their harassment didn't cease immediately. But that's never happened to me.

I've never had a receipt checker paw through my bags. And I believe it is quite a leap from this policy to a full search of a vehicle or person. They're asking you to prove you purchased the goods you have, and in my experience it doesn't happen that often (Sam's etc. are exceptions).

[BrianSW99]

From my retail experience way back when, just having someone stand at the exit checking receipts significantly reduces shoplifting. It's not because they actually catch that many people, it's psychological. I guess it makes people think twice before attempting it. They are generally instructed at most places I'm aware of to not attempt to detain or argue with a customer who refuses to stop.

Brian