Irony and Costco

On Friday I had posted a comment on a great blog entry (whose addy I can't remember). The author had commented on how important it was not to forget the once a year fees that come up such as AAA(CAA in Canada), insurance etc. I had added Costco to the list as one I set aside.

I went there Sunday when I was away for conference and was surprised to find the man at the register tell me that my yearly fee needed to be paid. I KNOW I paid this in July when I was in the city and stopped there. Sadly with no way to prove that at this juncture, I sucked up the $55 and had it added to my bill.

It bugged me the whole way home. I can distinctly recall going in and heading to the customer service line up to renew, telling my boys I'd be right there. I remember the door person saying "oh you can just have that added on at the till now so no need to stand in this line", and I can remember them adding that to my bill when I checked out.

When I got home I checked my bank accounts records (thank god I keep these now) and sure enough there was Costco on my account for the date in July but just a number that included the fee and the groceries I bought. NO way to prove from that, that I paid for membership.

sigh

I am pretty sure I did not keep the receipt though I will look when I go home today. It probably never occurred to me to keep it when the bulk of it was for peanut butter, cheese, cereal etc.

I will try phoning there this week and give them the date I was there and ask them to check their records to see if my account was paid up that day, but I have a sinking feeling about it.

Sigh

So a powerful lesson has been learned. When visiting places where the yearly fee is not a separate paper and is just added on to all the stuff you are buying, KEEP the stupid receipt, even if it is for just groceries and Toilet paper.