Costco hit with class action over unexpected membership renewals

Costco class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: A Costco customer filed a class action lawsuit against the company.
• Why: The plaintiff claims Costco violates California law by sending untimely and deficient membership renewal notices.
• Where: The Costco class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

A new class action lawsuit accuses Costco of violating California law by sending untimely and deficient membership renewal notices.

Plaintiff Russel George’s class action lawsuit claims Costco sends its customers an email notice 60 days prior to automatically charging their credit cards for membership renewals, which he argues is untimely and outside the 45-day window set by California’s Automatic Renewal Law (ARL).

“Due to Costco’s untimely and deficient auto-renewal notice, the plaintiff was deprived of information he was statutorily entitled to that would have notified him of the upcoming auto-renewal and provided him with methods of cancellation,” the Costco class action lawsuit says.

George claims Costco’s membership renewal notices also fail to include statutorily required information, such as the length and terms of the renewal, the amount to be charged and any methods to cancel the automatic renewal.

Costco membership practices allegedly violate California law

George argues he was surprised to learn that Costco automatically renewed his Gold Star annual membership in January 2026, charging his payment card $65, after he began reconsidering whether he should maintain the membership due to the low frequency with which he shopped at the retailer.

“Had the plaintiff been provided this notice in a timely manner, he would have cancelled his membership and not gone forward with the auto-renewal,” the Costco class action lawsuit says.

George claims Costco is guilty of violating California’s ARL, False Advertising Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law.

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of damages for himself and all class members.

Last month, Costco faced a class action lawsuit alleging it sold chickens contaminated with Salmonella.

Have you received a membership renewal notice from Costco? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Matthew Smith of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.

The Costco class action lawsuit is George II v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. 3:26-cv-02369, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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