Lowe's suspends receipt checking practice amid racial profiling claims at West Philly store

WEST PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - The home improvement chain Lowe's has suspended their practice of checking customers' receipts as they exit their stores after racial profiling accusations.

Lowe's spokesperson Jackie Pardini Hartzwell says the practice was a loss-prevention tactic that was implemented at "high theft" stores only.

The company took action after Will Mega, a Philadelphia man, shared a series of videos to his Facebook page accusing the chain of racial profiling. Mega, who has appeared on 'Big Brother' and also run for public office, says he was required to produce his receipts upon exiting their store in West Philadelphia on multiple occasions over Memorial Day Weekend.

Mega noted that the cashier's stand where he purchased the items was only steps away from the exit.

In another video, Mega makes a purchase with the help of a cashier in the self-checkout lines of a Lowe's location in Haverford. In this video, Mega is not asked to produce a receipt upon exit and claims in his post that the cashier said, "You don't need to show your receipts here. This is the WHITE HOOD, we don't do that here."

Lowe's, which has 84 stores in Pennsylvania and 1,800 nationwide, says they have put an end to the practice of checking receipts, "until we can fully review our process."