A woman was left reeling when the contents of her shopping trolley was emptied out after allegedly being accused of stealing.
Heather Hookss, who goes by @user56537158 on TikTok, took to the video sharing platform back in 2022 to post a clip of her shopping trolley being emptied out in front of her.
Heather was left mortified by the ordeal and hit out at the Illinois-based Walmart as a result.
"So I stopped coming out of Walmart, walking out with my cart," she claimed in the video.
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"They pulled me back in and made me come to this room area and they're saying that I didn't pay for something.
"Everything in my cart was scanned for and paid for - I with the gun because there was 20,000 people in line.
"So they're saying I didn't pay for something."
Heather then claimed that they took her ID from her and took her into a room.
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In the clip, there are two members of Walmart staff; one going through Heather's receipt and another physically emptying and going through her groceries.
Asking if they treat everyone the same, one of the Walmart employees replied: "Ma'am, we have treated with you with the upmost respect."
The male employee says that while she is 'free to record', she 'did not need to sit here and give us commentary'.
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"This is the most embarrassing thing ever," Heather said. "I am not a thief. I'm a christian."
As time went on, the two store workers find that the items in her trolley and the items on her receipt match, sparking Heather to demand an apology - to which he said that he 'misunderstood'.
Following the ordeal, which Heather said 'affected' her life, she then alleged that she had contacted the police.
"The police failed me to try and protect Walmart," she claimed.
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Heather added that she'd 'never been so embarrassed and humiliated'.
She also said she would update with a 'part two', however, there has been no update.
UNILAD have reached out to Walmart for comment.
Now, a year on from Heather's experience, and shoppers have been urged to allow members of staff to conduct these searches as shops often go through the process in a bid to prevent thefts.
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According to Insider, the CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon, had previously warned back in December 2022 that stores would have to close if they didn't crack down on shoplifting.
McMillion also added theft was 'higher than what it has historically been'.
“We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location. I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it,” he said to CNBC.
And Walmart isn't the only store who have this policy - with Costco and Sam's Club also having a similar process, which also helps make sure the customer is walking away with exactly what they paid for.
However, while customers are not legally obligated to show their receipts, it could give the store a probable reason to detain them - which happened in June when one customer refused to show his receipts at Walmart.
The company was later found not liable of false detainment by a Colorado court - with a spokesperson telling Insider: "We believe our associates acted appropriately, and we will continue to defend the company in this litigation."
Niamh Shackleton