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I was hoping it would show up fast, but of course it will be slow this time.
Now is probably a good time to mention that issues are handled differently based in the actual cause and resolution of the issue.
First, if your debit card has a Visa or MasterCard logo, your issuing financial entity has agreed to abide by certain policies mostly to your benefit. It would be in your best interest to understand what protections that specific logo provides to you and how to access those protections.
Second, issues over an overcharge where you did have a transaction but the amount is wrong is handled differently from an outright charge with no actual transaction between you and them. Mistakes happens and financial institutions don't want to be heavy handed over a mistake. But when when you had no dealing with a merchant and they are charging you, things tend to be less cordial and more immediate making it right for you. Again, knowing how those are handled can save you a lot of worrying.
Lastly, you need to know when you don't say anything. I bet if you said it was a gross overcharge with nothing else, it would have been handled one way versus if you told them you spoke to the merchant and they said they will refund the excess back. When you provide the resolution, the financial institution may decide to let your solution play out.
I guess lesson learned (or should be) - READ the tab before signing
They can play that game if they want. But due to the nature of you serving an establishment that serves a drug which is a well known ubiquitously consumed deleriant which can blur vision it would not hold up in court of law. The plaintiff would be reasonably expected to make this mistake and for such a large amount that is not a large party you should not be expected to expect to look out for a $1,000 bill for 4 drinks.
Now if the bill was $80 and not $40 and he signed it he may have had a tougher time.
This same thing happened with Uber. They charged a guy $1000 the Uber driver deliberately drove around knowing the guy was drunk and drove up the tab as much as he could. At the end of the day Uber had to refund the money because it was not reasonably expected that the passenger had the presence of mind to know he was committing to such a large purchase amount. It would not hold up in court of law and the PR fallout would not be worth the battle.
If any bar or service knowingly takes advantage of intoxicated customers you know this is a business with a limited life span. So you have a choice as a business owner. Eat the cost and don't be evil next time or go out of business. People in the neighborhood will find out which bar that is (he can easily write a Yelp review mentioning it along with BBB etc.) and they will feel a hit.
To OP's point about cash at bars I would say either Cash or AMX. AMX takes the customer's side most times but of course to limit costs depending on the fallout the merchant will probably no longer take AMX after that incident. Of course AMX doesn't care unless that merchant does a lot of business with them. It depends on how much money they make off that individual customer as well (Platinum members will fare better) vs. that business.
oh wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllll...... i know i'm an old fuddy-duddy. i am. you will say so too. but all this 'MODERN' technology, that supposedly makes our lives easy or at least easier to handle, organize, expedite....well, they never figured out all the scenarios that it could go wrong and be exploited.
and i have lived a long time, and at least i have some modicum of wisdom accrued. this i can say. though you might not say it too. but a certain wisdom does come with having lived a long life, a life of continuous openness to learning, watching, assimilating....
and i do believe (my opinion now) that this "brave? new world" is more dangerous than ever. and technology and the misuse of it is at the root of much of that. and somehow as we look to the past history of mankind, where many things that seemed great, good and beneficial, like a simple thing.... or even a complex one like religion - need i mention swaggert? jim bakker- ...... often in our history of man, has been corrupted by what? that bad angel on our left shoulder? our inner demons of greed, avarice, gluttony, power? There are bad people who will take a good thing, like a belief in a higher power or like this world wide web that could have such a powerful benefit to mankind, and they will warp it and twist it to service their need for power, greed. We don't fully understand what we are unleashing from Pandora's box. yes. simplicity. give me simplicity. UNTIL: every little detail of a new thing has been thought out and uncorruptable protections put in place..... but knowing mankind like i do now? what is uncorruptable when it comes to mankind?
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"Mistress of finance and foods."
(set 11 days ago)
Location: Coastal Georgia
49,954 posts, read 63,265,686 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sundaydrive00
I also use a debit card. I've never had any questionable charges show up on my card. My bank did stop a fraudulent charge once, but no money was ever taken from my acccount.
Some people just seem paranoid about all the "what Ifs" that could happen.
The only problem I’ve had with my debit card is the bank froze my card because they thought an order I placed with “Hotter†(an English shoe store) was some sort of foreign porn.
It could have been a large party of people putting all their food & drinks on one tab.
Or could have simply been fraud.
I would decline to give a credit card in the future and strictly pay cash.
Actually it was neither. When the bartender asked me if I wanted to run a tab I declined and offered my card to pay for the three drinks right away. We were not anticipating having any more because this bar is pretty expensive compared to others we go to. I signed the bill for $40. I did not misread the cc slip; it was printed out for $34.XX and I added another $5 whatever for tip.
I don't think it was fraud either because the bar admitted they made a stupid mistake, resolved the situation immediately, and refunded the entire purchase amount plus offered us a few free drinks in the future (any drinks I buy from them will be purchased with CASH). BTW, the credit showed up on my bank statement this morning, thank goodness.
Drinks in the St. Mark's plaza in Venice. There are outside cafes with 4-piece orchestras and grand pianos; all the staff wears tuxedoes. We had to do it ONCE.
As an aside, used nothing but credit cards during our month in Italy---never needed cash except for tips since there is no tip line on the receipt (tips are included SOMETIMES). Saved the debit card just for ATMs.
When we go to a bar here, we have to go up to the register and tell them what we had. No checks or receipts at all. LOL. Wonder how much biz they lose by that method.
My friend, wife, and I went to a local bar a few days ago. We had been there once before and liked it. We ordered one drink apiece for a total of $40 including tip. I signed the slip, thinking nothing of it. This morning I get an overdraft warning from my bank. I was shocked to discover the bar had charged me for two different transactions in two different amounts totaling $1101.28!
It wasn't identity theft; the charges came directly from the bar itself. I have been double charged by a bar before and the charge went away on its own, but I have never heard of such a horrendous overcharge from a bar. I know they often overcharge customers, both because strangers can easily put their drinks on another party's tab and because shady bars can overcharge drunk customers who don't remember afterward, especially since receipts are often not itemized. Fortunately I have my receipt and can get it straightened out promptly.
I use my debit/credit card for most financial transactions but I am second guessing this strategy due to multiple issues with identity theft, credit card skimming, and being overcharged or double charged. It made sense to use cards because of credit card protection that was offered, but cash has protection at the outset by bypassing electronic thieves and computer glitches completely. Maybe it's time to go back to good old cash for as many transactions as possible.
Next time you go bar hopping, give me a call. You really know how to party !
oh wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllll...... i know i'm an old fuddy-duddy. i am. you will say so too. but all this 'MODERN' technology, that supposedly makes our lives easy or at least easier to handle, organize, expedite....well, they never figured out all the scenarios that it could go wrong and be exploited.
and i have lived a long time, and at least i have some modicum of wisdom accrued. this i can say. though you might not say it too. but a certain wisdom does come with having lived a long life, a life of continuous openness to learning, watching, assimilating....
and i do believe (my opinion now) that this "brave? new world" is more dangerous than ever. and technology and the misuse of it is at the root of much of that. and somehow as we look to the past history of mankind, where many things that seemed great, good and beneficial, like a simple thing.... or even a complex one like religion - need i mention swaggert? jim bakker- ...... often in our history of man, has been corrupted by what? that bad angel on our left shoulder? our inner demons of greed, avarice, gluttony, power? There are bad people who will take a good thing, like a belief in a higher power or like this world wide web that could have such a powerful benefit to mankind, and they will warp it and twist it to service their need for power, greed. We don't fully understand what we are unleashing from Pandora's box. yes. simplicity. give me simplicity. UNTIL: every little detail of a new thing has been thought out and uncorruptable protections put in place..... but knowing mankind like i do now? what is uncorruptable when it comes to mankind?
And people walking around carrying cash would get mugged and lose all their money that way. Or they'd just drop their cash on the ground without noticing. Nothing is risk free. But at least with a credit or debit card, there's a good chance of getting your money back when there is a mistake or fraud. Not really the case with cash getting lost or stolen.
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