Earlier this year, a lawyer went viral after warning users against using self-checkout machines. In her video, she argues that damage prevention units in stores broke down, causing serious consequences for people who forgot to scan an item. In some cases, she says, the person may not have stolen anything at all; yet these people may inadvertently face the full extent of the company's legal power.
Well, it seems her warning was a valid one. A TikTok user recently went viral after claiming she sued her and received a lifetime ban from Walmart for forgetting to scan one of five Lunchables at a self-checkout machine. According to user Barb (@fleegus159_barb), each of these Lunchables costs just $1.98. That price matches the price listed on Walmart's site.
Barb's video currently has over 950,000 views.
@fleegus159_barb #walmart #honestmistake #lunchables #PostitAffirmations #AmazonMusicProudHeroes #PrimeDayDreamDeals #MickeyFriendsStayTrue #CVSPaperlessChallenge ♬ original sound – Janx_Littlefoot
This is not the first documented case of its nature. In May of this year, Tucson, Arizona-based ABC affiliate KGUN9 published a story about several people claiming they were being cited for errors on self-checkout machines.
KGUN9 interviewed a woman who claimed she simply forgot to scan some items at a self-checkout.
"Out of the shadows, two women just jumped up to me, grabbed the cart and took me all the way back through the store, to a tiny interrogation room...and told me I was being arrested for shoplifting," she recalls. "They held me there. For about an hour and a half. They called the sheriff. They said they had to arrest me because it was over $30. I've never been arrested in my life. I'm in my 60s and they were just really bad rude and inconsiderate and I kept asking them to explain things because I didn't understand what was going on.”
Local accompanist Sandra Barger was also interviewed for the piece. Barger claimed she learned of the trend after observing a large number of petty theft complaints filed against people who "were not her typical petty theft customers," according to the article.
“It's the same story. You know, I'm standing there scanning, I've got my kids with me. I have a client who had his kids with him… And it was just the simple item that he was missing, what can happen, you know, anyone can do that,” she described. “I have another client who is a business owner who has bought over $2,000 worth of items and one item is what he has been missing and for that he has been quoted."
On TikTok, users used Barb's video as a warning against using self-checkout machines.
“So never use self checkout again. I get it," wrote one user.
"This is exactly why I won't be using self-checkout," added a second. "way too much liability."
We reached out to Walmart through the contact form in the media and Barb through TikTok comments.
*First Release: September 7, 2022, 8:16 a.m. CDT
Braden Bjella
Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found in Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schön! magazine and more.
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