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Costco will change your home state if you shop 3 times in an out of state store

samara64

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We were in Hawaii for the first 3 weeks in Nov and we shopped at Costco warehouse a few times.

My membership renews on Dec 1st. Normally it is $120 but I saw a charge of $125.xx so I got really curios about it. So when I called, they stated that my Warehouse during the renewal was in Hawaii and they charged me tax as they thought I moved there.

I explained that we were there on vacation and not permanently as they can see from other charges so they offered to adjust it. Also he stated that this is the way they charge tax when you purchase items online.

Really very unusual setup.

On the other hand, we miss Hawaii already and all the nice Tuggers we met and the really nice treats from @JanT
 

DaveNV

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Did you renew at a Hawaii warehouse, or after you got back home? If you renew inside a warehouse, and that warehouse charges tax, you'll be charged the tax.

Dave
 

klpca

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Did you renew at a Hawaii warehouse, or after you got back home? If you renew inside a warehouse, and that warehouse charges tax, you'll be charged the tax.

Dave
At our Costco there are signs that tell you that they renew your membership automatically at the register if you are up for renewal. Maybe that's what happened? Ours is on auto renew and is automatically charged to our Costco card. It's been years since the person at the register has mentioned the renewal to me so I am not sure if they mention it to you or not.
 

Passepartout

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I don't think the OP being charged tax had anything to do with how many times they shopped in any particular state, Costco (and other retailers) charge the tax that is applicable where the charge is made.

Jim
 

JanT

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That’s crazy!! Just because you shopped there doesn’t mean you moved there. Although, I am wondering if Marriott would give us all a reduced rate on weeks if several of us got together and told them we wanted to buy a bunch of weeks so we could hang out there with @frank808. LoL

I’ll have to watch our Costco membership to see if the rate changes. I think we’re up for renewal soon.

Along those lines, Ray ended up having to see a dentist towards the end of our stay there. He found a dentist that was in our network and went to the appointment. When he got there they tell him they’re not in our network even though the insurance website said they were. Long story made short, he called the insurance company and they verified that the dentist wasn’t in our network. He asked about why it was listed on the website and got some cock and bull story. He explained we were on vacation and mentioned we’d been there 7 weeks. The agent said, “Well you need to change plans because you’ve moved there.” Huh?? So, he had to explain again that we were on vacation and she kept arguing with him, saying that after that much time we had effectively moved there. It was crazy. We paid the bill and have submitted it to them for reimbursement. We’ll see what happens.

We were in Hawaii for the first 3 weeks in Nov and we shopped at Costco warehouse a few times.

My membership renews on Dec 1st. Normally it is $120 but I saw a charge of $125.xx so I got really curios about it. So when I called, they stated that my Warehouse during the renewal was in Hawaii and they charged me tax as they thought I moved there.

I explained that we were there on vacation and not permanently as they can see from other charges so they offered to adjust it. Also he stated that this is the way they charge tax when you purchase items online.

Really very unusual setup.

On the other hand, we miss Hawaii already and all the nice Tuggers we met and the really nice treats from @JanT
 

JanT

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And we are missing Hawaii and our TUGGER friends, too! It’s supposed to snow here tomorrow.
We were in Hawaii for the first 3 weeks in Nov and we shopped at Costco warehouse a few times.

My membership renews on Dec 1st. Normally it is $120 but I saw a charge of $125.xx so I got really curios about it. So when I called, they stated that my Warehouse during the renewal was in Hawaii and they charged me tax as they thought I moved there.

I explained that we were there on vacation and not permanently as they can see from other charges so they offered to adjust it. Also he stated that this is the way they charge tax when you purchase items online.

Really very unusual setup.

On the other hand, we miss Hawaii already and all the nice Tuggers we met and the really nice treats from @JanT
 

DaveNV

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My guess is during one of those shopping trips in Hawaii the cashier renewed your membership at the Hawaii rate.

Dave
 

frank808

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Disney Vacation Club (Aulani,SSR,VGC,VGF) Hilton Grand Vacation Club(Bay Club, Kohala Suites, The District) Marriott Vacation Club (Aruba Surf Club, Grand Residence, Grand Chateau, Grand Vista,Harbour Lake, KoOlina,Willow Ridge & DC points)
That’s crazy!! Just because you shopped there doesn’t mean you moved there. Although, I am wondering if Marriott would give us all a reduced rate on weeks if several of us got together and told them we wanted to buy a bunch of weeks so we could hang out there with @frank808. LoL

I’ll have to watch our Costco membership to see if the rate changes. I think we’re up for renewal soon.

Along those lines, Ray ended up having to see a dentist towards the end of our stay there. He found a dentist that was in our network and went to the appointment. When he got there they tell him they’re not in our network even though the insurance website said they were. Long story made short, he called the insurance company and they verified that the dentist wasn’t in our network. He asked about why it was listed on the website and got some cock and bull story. He explained we were on vacation and mentioned we’d been there 7 weeks. The agent said, “Well you need to change plans because you’ve moved there.” Huh?? So, he had to explain again that we were on vacation and she kept arguing with him, saying that after that much time we had effectively moved there. It was crazy. We paid the bill and have submitted it to them for reimbursement. We’ll see what happens.
Insurance won't cover the 4.712% tax for the dentist. You will have to pay that tax out of pocket. Welcome to being taxed like every local resident

It is a very nice and almost cloudless day today. PM me when any of you get back here and we can meet up again.

Happy Holidays all and stay safe

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

samara64

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My Costco membership renews automatically on my Citi visa card and it did on Dec 3rd. I left Hawaii on Nov 21. We made 2 charges on Dec 1 in Seattle. As per membership team, if we did another one in WA state, it would have not charged us tax.

So I did not renew my membership in Hawaii else it would have been expected to charge tax as per state law.

They stated that this is done only if we do auto renewals ONLY. Else it does not charge tax.
 

DaveNV

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My Costco membership renews automatically on my Citi visa card and it did on Dec 3rd. I left Hawaii on Nov 21. We made 2 charges on Dec 1 in Seattle. As per membership team, if we did another one in WA state, it would have not charged us tax.

So I did not renew my membership in Hawaii else it would have been expected to charge tax as per state law.

They stated that this is done only if we do auto renewals ONLY. Else it does not charge tax.

Seems very strange they would do that, since your mailing address would still be at your mainland home. Randomly charging you after the fact just because you had shopped there seems rather cavalier. What if you'd been on vacation in Canada or Mexico, and had shopped there? Very, very odd.

Dave
 

samara64

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Seems very strange they would do that, since your mailing address would still be at your mainland home. Randomly charging you after the fact just because you had shopped there seems rather cavalier. What if you'd been on vacation in Canada or Mexico, and had shopped there? Very, very odd.

Dave

Yes, that is why I did the post on TUG.

I run a company and am very familiar with the sales tax code in WA and CA and that is why I called as the charge was odd. I first called the membership team in my local store and they confirmed the fee of $120 for executive membership then I called the main Costco membership number as I got really curious.

I thought it may be a proration as the fee may go up next year so this will adjust for that but no it was a Hawaii sales tax.

When they tried to refund me, the computer has changed me back to WA so it will only refund $120. The rep had to get a supervisor to override.
 

DaveNV

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Yes, that is why I did the post on TUG.

I run a company and am very familiar with the sales tax code in WA and CA and that is why I called as the charge was odd. I first called the membership team in my local store and they confirmed the fee of $120 for executive membership then I called the main Costco membership number as I got really curious.

I thought it may be a proration as the fee may go up next year so this will adjust for that but no it was a Hawaii sales tax.

When they tried to refund me, the computer has changed me back to WA so it will only refund $120. The rep had to get a supervisor to override.

I'm glad you got it sorted out. I'm just surprised it happened the way it did. Getting a Supervisor to override things is common in Refunds. Refunds for things done at Costco.com are handled differently than things you buy in the local warehouse. I'm sure this membership thing had a similar need.

Dave
 
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