Paying off Tabs in restaurants

sk00bie1

juliescot wrote: »

I wonder though how long they will hang onto the details and what else they might use them for?

As I said earlier the details are kept for six years. A customer's card number and the expiry date are present on the merchant copy of the card receipt and it is these that are kept as proof of the transaction.

Before chip and pin was introduced the receipt and the signature on it were proof that the customer was present for the purchase in the event of a dispute. I remember several times receiving a call from barclaycard merchant services and having to root through all the receipts for a given night to find a certain transaction!

In the OPs case, assuming chip and pin was used, the transaction would show 'cardholder not present' as no pin could have been entered (legitmately anyway). Many (if not all) epos devices would also show that the card number had been keyed in manually as no card was present.

OP is there anyway the restaurant could have obtained your pin?

hoyles10

Surely this is using someone elses card without their permission whether it is owed to them or not they shouldn't have done it and I would report it.

A lot of people out there wouldn't have said that the bills is wrong. I suppose it depends on how the food was and if I thought it was worth the full amount. If I had an awful meal and when the bill came over it was wrong I think i'd keep quiet and pay it.

Me and the wife went for a meal with some friends recently which involved a problem with a fairly large drinks bill. When we got the bill we noticed that we hadn't been charged for drinks which was about a dozen bottles of beer, 4 bottles of wine and a couple of brandys. When we told the waitress that the bill was wrong she informed us that the restaurant had recently been taken over and it appeared there was a problem with their drinks licence, they could serve alcohol but not charge for it and the owner was in court to get the proper licence the next day. She did admit that they were usually quiet on that night of the week and thought it would be the odd drink with peoples meals

We even offered to leave a contribution towards the drinks and they could till it through tomorrow when the licence had been granted but she refused it and just said it was our lucky night.

Had we had known we'd have been on the vintage champagne all night :rotfl:

dandowftm

sk00bie 1 - theres no way they got my pin. Obviously they had my details though as to set the tab up they charged my card 1p and then got a second receipt when I paid for the meal, but I definately did not reveal my pin.

The charge must have been done at HO too, as the payment that I made shows up in online banking as "CARD PURCHASE - The Merry Go Round"(which was the pub itself) and the second unauthorised payment shows as CARD PURCHASE - Spirit Pubs"

Also, sorry if some people think I was disgusting to hurry out after I paid, but come on, unless is was a huge amount of money then I can't see too many people doing it. After all, it was their mistake not mine.

sk00bie1

At the place I used to work we did a 'pre authorisation' to set up a tab. The customer signed for this (now they would enter their pin) and then signed the final receipt when the tab was closed.

If the customer had left then the receipt showed 'cardholder not present' but as we had their signature on the pre auth slip we were covered.

Could the first transaction have been a 'pre auth' as it were?

If not and if they didn't have the pin there would be no way they could argue you authorised the transaction.

NeverInDebt

Your 1st posts suggests to me that you took advantage of a mistake so you are a opportunist and now crying fowl because you got found out

If you were charged more I bet you wouldn't keep stump.

dandowftm wrote: »

Hi all,

Last week my partner and I went for tea at one of the two for one chains. When we can to pay off the tab the price they quoted was roughly £13, when it should have been double that. We happily paid and quickly lef the pub.

This morning I have checked my online banking to find that Spirit Pubs has charged my card the remaining £13.79. After a bit of digging around I found out that Spirit Pubs are in charge of the Two for One chain.

My question, Are they allowed to charge me for that. Surely the price they quoted me is the price I should pay and then cant then charge my card without my authorisation?

Thanks in advance

Dandowftm

cleo1299

dandowftm wrote: »

Also, sorry if some people think I was disgusting to hurry out after I paid, but come on, unless is was a huge amount of money then I can't see too many people doing it. After all, it was their mistake not mine.

It was probably the mistake of an overworked underpaid waiter. In some places, if a waiter's error resulted in a customer underpaying, the missing money would be deducted from the waiter's already miserable wage. Sort of a reverse 50% tip. In other places, the waiter would also be sacked.

I have no sympathy with big companies who price wrongly and get stung as a result, but I do sympathize with the lowly underpaid staff.

Having said that, I agree with others that the restaurant shouldn't charge a customer's card without authorization, even though the money is owed.

esuhl

It was a bit cheeky (to say the least) that you didn't say anything when the restaurant offered you the meal for £13, but criminal that they should commit credit card fraud.

I'd let it go - it's not like you've been ripped off as such. Then again, if the restaurant are happy to engage in criminal activity maybe you should report them to the police.

dandowftm

exactly, I'm not overly fussed about the money, as like you say its only £13. Its just the fact that they have done that without my authorisation that made me start this thread

david39

I think Sk00bie1's explanation is the correct one - the restaurant had proof that the customer had authorised a payment by the clearing of the tab-starter.

If the OP had left without paying then they would have every right to charge the card with the cost of the meals.

However, it is down to interpretation as to whether they have the right to charge the card if the OP leaves without paying the full cost of the meal.

Personally, I still think the restaurant was wrong because the OP paid what was demanded at the time. Also the restaurant could add £5 for to every customer's card by saying they had failed to charge for a couple of (fictitious) drinks.

I think the incident should be reported - after all, if it was a manager under pressure for falling profits, chancing his arm to see if he could recover the money without any consequences, he might get greedy and start doing the same thing in cases where there was no undercharging.

pelirocco

pinkshoes wrote: »

The company were not permitted to charge you the second amount without your authorisation, but as you were equally dishonest, knowing full well they'd undercharged you, I'd let it go on this occasion.

Allthough by handing over your card you have given them your authority ?