Costco locked my account after an employee made a huge mistake – they gave me two ‘irrational’ options and kept my money

A COSTCO shopper shared his bad experience with the store’s customer service department, which resulted in his membership being deactivated.

They were not refunded their annual membership despite no longer being able to shop at the club.

A former Costco member took to Reddit to share his fury after being banned from the store through no fault of his own.

Sharing your fiasco in the community r/Costcothe customer explained that the problem started when he purchased a JBL Bluetooth speaker.

“I took one of the item cards, continued registering, and paid for a JBL speaker,” they wrote.

“After paying for the item I received the receipt and went to the merchandise pickup area and the employee took my receipt and found the item stored and scanned the item and handed me the JBL box.”

At first, the Redditor thought the box looked too big for just one speaker, but assumed it was packaged well.

They intended to give the speaker as a gift, so they wrapped it at home and gave it to the recipient.

“What followed was shocking,” they said.

“Costco management called me and left me several voicemails, some very rude, threatening to block my account.”

The member did not answer calls or voicemails because he did not answer calls from unknown numbers.

However, they would soon discover that their Costco account had in fact been blocked.

It turns out that the customer received four JBL speakers in the box instead of just one.

“I only discovered the situation when trying to buy food for lunch and discovered that my account was blocked. I asked my local Costco and they gave me the number to call,” they explained.

“I called the location and they sent me to the manager who was very rude and gave me two options.”

To unlock the account, they could either bring back the three additional speakers or go back to the store and pay for them.

Membership and store cards offered by major retailers

Here’s a breakdown of the store cards offered to customers from various retailers and their benefits:

Costco:

• Gold Star Membership: $60 per year, shop at all Costco stores and online with two additional cards for your family.
• Executive Member: $120 per year, 2% annual rewards, discounts and additional benefits on Costco services, shop online and in-store and get two additional cards for home use.

Sam’s Club:

• Club membership: $50 Per Year, Bonus Offers, Same Day Delivery, Instant Savings, Sam’s Club Mastercard, Members Only Fuel Savings, Tire & Battery Center, Free Membership and Complimentary Memberships.
• More membership: $110 per year, all the benefits of Club membership plus Sam’s Cash, free shipping, free curbside pickup, advance purchases, and pharmacy and optical discounts.

Target:

• Target Circle: A free rewards program that allows users to earn 1% in Target Circle Earnings rewards when a qualifying purchase is made, access personalized deals and offers, receive a birthday gift, and earn a vote to help direct how Target helps your community .
• Target Circle Card: A credit, debit or reloadable card that offers users 5% off in-store and online, as well as exclusive offers, free two-day shipping and an additional 30-day return window. Formerly Target RedCard.

Walmart:

• Walmart+: $12.95 per month or $98 per year with 30-day free trial. It offers members free delivery, free shipping with no minimum spend, fuel savings, Paramount+ subscription, car, Walmart+ travel, home drop-off, mobile scan and store entry, and early access to offers and product launches.

The Reddit user said they called the person they gifted the speaker to, but the recipient said there was only one speaker in the box.

“How irrational and ununderstanding they were, especially since [it was] It’s not my fault, I tried calling Costco customer service but they said they couldn’t help me,” they wrote.

“I asked about my annual subscription. Would they refund me since I can’t use it? They said no.”

The US Sun has reached out to Costco for comment.

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