In cognito ex-shoplifter in Costco ok?

September 10, 2009 10:12 PM

What is Costco's statutes of limitation for shoplifting? Do they really keep track of previous shoplifters?

(Asking for a friend)

He was caught for shoplifting, charged with a misdemeanor, had his picture taken via Polaroid and had his membership revoked. The items came to a total of $500. He was told that he was no longer welcomed @ the store, but was not given a time limit and does not, due to the state of shock (he was 20 at the time), remember if they said he was banned for life.

He does not plan on applying for a membership in order to avoid being flagged, but his wife would like to apply for one under her name. His wife will be purchasing everything off her card, so it is just a concern for his presence, he would like to avoid getting charged with trespassing. My question is: will it be ok for him to at least show up at the store and shop with his wife and family? (Note: the Costco he will be going to will NOT be the same store he was charged at. And the shoplifting incident was a year ago.)

posted by penguingrl to shopping (11 comments total)

After only a year, I would probably let my wife do the shopping there, purely out of shame.
posted by lottie at 10:18 PM on September 10 [3 favorites]

When I was a kid, I got caught shoplifting at Price Club, which was eventually bought out and turned into Costco. They told me I was pretty much banned for life. I continued to go (not to the same location) with my parents for many years and now that I'm an adult, I'm a member there! So that's my story, but perhaps things have changed.

What did I take? Choose your own adventure books and floppy disks. I regret nothing!
posted by bertrandom at 10:29 PM on September 10 [21 favorites]

I cannot imagine that Costco has some sort of database containing a photo of everyone ever caught shoplifting there that all employees are required to memorize. Maybe, just maybe, if he returned to the same store and the same blowhard of a security guard that caught him the first time happens to be on duty, he could get asked to leave. As far as going to a different Costco is concerned, I don't see how it could realistically be a problem.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 10:42 PM on September 10

If it's just a polaroid, I'm guessing it was put up at the store he shoplifted at as a visual warning for staff and not distributed across all the branches. It was only a year ago - they had digital cameras back in 2008.

Has he tried contacting the HQ and issuing a written apology? If he actually IS on some database somewhere and banned for life, it might go a long way to repairing his reputation.
posted by saturnine at 11:15 PM on September 10

He never issued a written apology since it was his first charge and with it being a misdemeanor, the judge dropped the charges against him. The case is still on his record, but it shows up that both the judge and prosecutor dropped the charges. And it was definitely a polaroid, no digital camera shots. He just had to give over her driver's license that they photocopied, I am assuming for records purposes to prevent him from applying for membership again.
posted by penguingrl at 11:17 PM on September 10

Different Costco with a different name? It's incredibly unlikely that this will be an issue.
posted by spiderskull at 11:25 PM on September 10

He just had to give over her driver's license

???
posted by allkindsoftime at 12:38 AM on September 11 [2 favorites]

My understanding is that shoplifters get banned from one particular store for big chains like that, but other branches of the chain would be fine. I couldn be wrong, though - this is based on the teenage exploits I've been told about.
posted by mippy at 6:14 AM on September 11

You know who would know the answer to this? A lawyer Costco. Call up the branch and ask the appropriate person (assistant store manager/human resources, etc.) I suppose the worst thing that could happen is they instruct the friend never to come there. But that's what he's worried about now anyway. So call the store.
posted by Happydaz at 6:57 AM on September 11

Funny enough, my bro-in-law tried to apply at Walmart for a job at one of their kiosks after shoplifting around 7 yrs ago. He had not even finished his app when he looked up and several large male employees escorted him from the store telling him he was not welcome in the store, much less to apply there. And no this was not even the same store location where he shoplifted. It's not such a far-fetched concern you have. But I don't see why it would be a problem if your wife got a membership.
posted by CwgrlUp at 8:34 AM on September 11

His local police station might also be able to tell him whether certain big stores have a "pin up the Polaroids and look out for these guys" policy. You could ask anonymously, I'm sure.

When I worked at Safeway (admittedly, many moons ago), we had lists of dubious credit cards but not photos of shoplifters.
posted by vickyverky at 11:16 AM on September 11