By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-06 21:05:42 | Updated at 2025-01-10 21:02:52
4 days ago
A shopper claims they were sent to 'Costco jail' after a cashier's mistake led to accusations of theft.
Ethan Pearl was forced to explain himself after a Costco worker failed to scan one of his items shen she helped him at the self-checkout. It lead other staff to accuse him of stealing when they checked his receipt as he left the store.
'Currently traumatized because the Costco cashier at self-checkout scanned all my items for me but missed one,' Pearl said in a TikTok video that has been viewed more than three million times.
'I ended up in Costco jail with security for 20 minutes.'
Pearl explained that security reviewed his credit cards and surveillance footage to confirm the missing item wasn't intentionally stolen.
Pearl used a self-checkout, but the scanning was done by a member of staff - as often happens at Costco. Staff increasingly do this in a bid to curb theft.
Fellow Costco customers shared their own experiences at the Costco self-checkouts.
'I quit Costco when they told me I was using someone else’s card. (I wasn’t) I was bald from chemo and sick as hell,' one TikTok user commented.
Ethan Pearl said he was left 'traumatized' after being held by security at Costco
He posted a form he was given after staff confirmed he had not stolen anything
'I just walked out and never went back. So humiliating.'
Another recalled: 'One time the lady at the door swore that an item in my cart wasn’t scanned and held me for about 20 mins and low and behold it was on the receipt the whole time.'
Pearl said he did not receive any compensation for the incident.
'A box orange dye 70-year-old did a quick “I’m sorry” and then I said “you’re good” and she says “it’s not good!! This is not good! This is why our prices go up! Someone’s not good!”' he wrote in the comments.
'It was Kirkland paper towels,' he added.
Since introducing self-checkouts, the warehouse-based retailer has also seen a rise of non-members sneaking in with member cards that don't belong to them.
To limit this loophole Costco staff now ask to see a form of photo ID alongside a member card at the self-checkout aisles.
Costco raised its fees last year for the first time since 2017.
Costco raised its fees last year for the first time since 2017
In September, standard membership rose by $5 a year, taking it from $60 to $65.
The Executive level - which offers a 2 percent rebate on all Costco purchases made that year up to a total of $750 - increased by $10 to $130 a year.
Costco generates around $4 billion a year from fees alone, and this figure will likely increase following the latest price hike.
Meanwhile, Costco shoppers have just seen an entire section disappear from all stores.
From January, the wholesale retailer has stopped stocking books all year round.
The company announced the change in June, throwing in the towel in its long-running battle with Amazon over book selling.
It means that after the holidays, shoppers will see the layout off stores redesigned without a dedicated book section.
The retailer will now only stock books during the holiday period from September to December, with occasional sales in the remainder of the year.
