Short Changed In Pub - Free Advice Please

ianjamie7

Last Saturday night I bought a pint of lager which is £3 in my local hotel which I have been going to for twenty years and I handed the girl a twenty pounds note but when I sat down and puit the change in my pocket I then realised she only gave me change of ten pounds. I spoke to the manager and told him which girl it was who served me and then the manager told the owner. When the owner came over he asked my mate was he the one who had complained, I said no it was me, he then said that the girl who I had said served me denied serving me which is besides the point really and how he could say that when he even got the wrong person god only knows. He said he would add the till up at the end of the night and if there was ten pounds up in the takings then he would give me my money back. The twist in this story is that this same girl did exactly the same thing to my other mate about two months ago and he never got his money back as they said the takings were spot on. My other mate said that all they had to do was to close the till down which takes about two minutes and add the till up there and then and it would have been sorted out before anyone had chance to remove the tenner.
I am furious because not only have they short changed me, but they have also called me a liar by saying the girl didn`t serve me even though the manager went to my mate first as he thought that he was the one who had complained. Oh and just for the story, it was my first pint of the night so I knew exactly how much I had on me and the girl actually served me and my mate so she is a liar.

What am I legeally entitled to do. Am I allowed to ask to see the cctv recording to prove that the girl who denied serving me actually did serve me and how can I get my money back that they owe me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this story.

dnomyar

Was in the pub trade for 15 years and this is an old trick, not by the owner but usually by theiving staff. The till wont be down as they keep some of your change by short changing you and putting the difference in there pocket or tip jar or leave it in the till until its easier for them to take it out (usually when someone else says have one for yourself). Not much you can do, sorry. But you could each time you give the bar person money, wait till she / he tells you how much and say out loud ten pounds, 20 pounds and say what change you expect. It annoys the staff but stopps them short changing you.

McKneff

Not a lot you can do now, you could ask to see the CCTV recording, but although she may be found out lying but there is no proof that she shortchanged you.

Yes, its tenner but its not worth all the stress.

Next time you hand a twenty over the bar, nick the bottom corner off or remember the last four digits, or put your initials on them before you leave the house.

Your tenner has gone for good.

dacouch

Some bars I have worked in did random till checks, they would print out a receipt of the transactions at a random time during service and take the cash drawer away and replace it with another containing a float. This helps prevent a lot of this stealing as the staff never know when the checks would be made.

As the previous poster mentioned there are many ways they can get the money out of the till, they forgot the other common way which is they give one of their friends too much change eg an extra amount equal to the amount they have scammed which is very difficult to detect with cameras.

When you use the same bar again and the same barmaid is on you could alway mark the notes in your wallet and if there is a problem and you report it immediately so they close the till it could help prove the note you just paid with is at the top of the notes tray.

If barmaid makes a genuine mistake the note is generally in the wrong note tray eg they put it in the £10 tray without thinking and go into auto mode and give change of £10. Its easy to spot if its a genuine mistake as the £20 note is often in the £10 tray

pinkshoes

As they don't give receipts in most bars for drinks, I'm guessing the girl typed in £10, then pocketed the other tenner, and has no doubt done it before.

Personally I would type in the bar name in google followed by "review", then type bad reviews for it, as a bar's reputation is important. Given you've been a customer for 20 years, I'm sure the public would be interested to hear the treatment you got.

I would also write to the management stating you have been a customer for 20 years, and that you are quite sure that the staff are short changing customers and pocketing the difference.

Elsewhere

Since someone tried this on my husband, he now always says "I'm sorry, I've only got a twenty" as he hands the note over He hasn't been short-changed since.

Claire_Bear

If enough people complain about the staff member maybe the manager will realise something fishy is going on? Did your friend mention anything when she did it to them? I would simply refuse to be served by that particular member of staff again, and I'd definately ask to see CCTV footage, because if she's obviously lied about serving you then what else is she hiding? If she's lied once, maybe the manager will think it's more likely that she scammed you.

That happened to me once before and it's infuriating. Gave the lad a fiver and he said I'd given him the exact change, then tried to blame me for being too drunk to know what I was on about. It was my second drink, and no matter how drunk I am I know the difference between a piece of paper and a coin. If you think about how many people they try to pull this off on every night they must be going home with a fortune at the end of the night.

hoyles10

Having run a pub myself I would set the girl behind the bar up as others have said and mark some notes and also get a few friends to do the same. She'll eventually do it again and get caught out.

I caught a couple of my staff out by giving some random friends marked notes and getting them to come in, usually on my night off when I was upstairs and they soon caught themselves out.

newlysingle_2

This happened to me once, finished my Saturday shift at the bank and went into my local branch of a large pub chain. Paid with a £20.00 and got change for £10. I noticed straight away and told the lady behind the bar and was told "I don't think so, you gave me £10, and the till states how much change to give". Fair enough so I told her to take the till off go into the back and balance it and I would wait there for her. Don't know whether it was because I stood my ground or the 15 people also wanting to be served but I got my tenner back!!:j

System

Elsewhere wrote: »

Since someone tried this on my husband, he now always says "I'm sorry, I've only got a twenty" as he hands the note over He hasn't been short-changed since.

Yeah i always do that these days. I got done in a pub in Derbyshire a few years back. Although i feel more confident with the new twenties as they look more different from how the old twenties did!

JohnnieStar

This is disgusting but I dont think there is much you can do now. It happened to my Dad at a well known hotel chain, a friend was too drunk to pick up the £24 bill, so my dad paid £40 and didnt even get the change! It was at his 60th birthday party as well

xxx