Was ‘banned’ from Costco for using her husband’s membership card

A Costco customer posted a TikTok video in which his mother said she was banned from the store for using her husband’s card.

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The move comes as Costco has recently cracked down on non-member shoppers, the New York Post reported.

Earlier in the month, the company also announced the end of sharing of its membership cards.

In his video, Mr. Castillo, who lives in California, explained that his father had a “Gold Star” membership card that cost 80 Canadian dollars.

This is Costco’s lowest membership level, allowing a total of two authorized users.

“When I went to university, my father let me be a user instead of my mother,” the teenager explained in his video, which has been viewed more than three million times.

Mr. Castillo said his mother has been able to shop at Costco for years without problems.

But two months ago, when her mother scanned the card at checkout, “employees rushed” to ask for her ID.

“After confirming it wasn’t her card, they told her she couldn’t go back to that store again,” he explained in his TikTok video.

Contacted by Fox Business, a Costco Wholesale spokesperson addressed the situation in a statement: “Costco is able to keep its prices as low as possible because membership dues help offset our operational costs.”

“Costco’s membership policy has not changed. We always ask for membership cards at our checkouts when checking out,” the press release continues.

“Our membership policy states that our membership cards are non-transferable, and since implementing our self-service checkouts, we have noticed non-member customers using membership cards that do not belong to them.”

The company believes that it is unfair for non-members to receive the same benefits and prices as members who pay an annual fee to access the benefits of their purchases.

“Just as we already ask for a membership card at checkout, we now ask to see their membership card with their photo at our self-service checkouts,” explained a Costco spokesperson.

If there is no photo on the membership card, we will ask for photo ID, he said.

Users of the TikTok platform are divided on the issue.

Some believe Costco should make it easier to add authorized users to the card, while others believe the company should expand membership to all residents of the same address.

Mr. Castillo told Fox Business that he and his family were not to blame for Costco’s implementation of the policy.

However, they believe the retailer could do more to clarify its membership terms.

“My husband is often on business trips and we only have to go to Costco once a month to buy our household goods, food and toiletries,” Mr. Castillo’s mother explained in a statement sent to Fox Business.

“We benefit from these products and we share the bills so we should be able to share this membership,” she pleaded.

However, her son admitted that “technically”, it was indeed his mother’s fault and that she had “already had a warning” in the past that she had “probably forgotten”.

“We have no animosity toward Costco,” he says.

Although Costco’s rules appear vague, the company’s website clearly states that the Gold Star membership card Mr. Castillo’s father allegedly uses allows a maximum of two users.