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About 3 years ago, August 04, 2004, I posted an entry entitled: No, You CANNOT Check My Receipt. And They Shouldn’t Check Yours discussing why you should not show your receipt at the door when you leave a store. . .
Unless you signed a contract (CostCo, Sam’s Club, etc) you do not have to nor should you show your receipt to the door monkeys. Why? Once you have purchased the item it is your property. The bag it is in is your property. To allow an “official” of the store to check your bag and receipt is consenting to a search of your property.
Why? Why are you giving up a civil liberty? You are consenting to a search without probable cause. Sure there are all sorts of excuses the store manager will give you. “We are looking out for employee theft” – Great, I’m not your employee. “We are ensuring you weren’t overcharged” – Bullshit. “We are . . . ” – Lying?
Yesterday, Michael Amor Righi, was arrested for standing up for his rights.
Papers Please: Arrested At Circuit City
I understand that my day would have gone a lot smoother if I had agreed to let loss prevention inspect my bag. I understand that my day would have gone a lot smoother if I had agreed to hand over my driver’s license when asked by Officer Arroyo. However, I am not interested in living my life smoothly. I am interested in living my life on strong principles and standing up for my rights as a consumer, a U.S. citizen and a human being. Allowing stores to inspect our bags at will might seem like a trivial matter, but it creates an atmosphere of obedience which is a dangerous thing. Allowing police officers to see our papers at will might seem like a trivial matter, but it creates a fear-of-authority atmosphere which can be all too easily abused.
I can reluctantly understand having to show a permit to fish, a permit to drive and a permit to carry a weapon. Having to show a permit to exist is a scary idea which I got a strong taste of today.
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Good for him.
I can reluctantly understand having to show a permit to fish, a permit to drive and a permit to carry a weapon.
That last one though… no. If that were, in fact, reasonable, then one would also be required to show one’s permit to photocopy flyers to distribute. If you need a permit to exercise the 2nd Amendment, it follows that you should need one to exercise the 1st, and 5th, 6th, 10th…
September 19th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
The average person, including me, is probably not quite ready to go as far as Michael Righi. While donating to his legal defense supports the cause, I advocate sending a message to receipt checking retailers.
First, decline the receipt check. Then ask for the manager and tell them you don’t appreciate their accusatory behavior. Don’t forget to let the corporate office know how dissatisfied you are, too. Finally, don’t shop at stores that harass you! Defeats the purpose if you keep giving them your money, doesn’t it?