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Strip club scam

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  • planteria
    planteria Posts: 5,322 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Doesn't make a theft right though. If it is a theft.

    totally agree. and it is. Burnz0 has been ripped off. and that is the problem here.. that is what he has come to MSE for help with.
    folk can moralise and campaign about the Gentlemen's Club industry if they want to, but this isn't really the place.

    Burnz0: sort it out, ignore those criticising you, and get your money back: Bank, Police, Trading Standards, Personal Visit: whatever you need to do. good luck. don't give up.
  • meer53
    meer53 Posts: 10,217 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Kim_13 wrote: »
    I've had a quick look through this thread so apologies if I've misunderstood anything in the sequence of events.

    First, OP, has your friend made a statement to the police about having intercepted the barman try to charge you £3000 for a beer? In my mind, this is enough to at least raise suspicion that this is what happened with the other transactions. And as you say, the pattern does look like they were trying amounts to see what would be approved by the card issuer. It is also unlikely that you'd be able to "renegotiate" within a minute, as you pointed out. I think you said a beer was £4.50, so they can't claim it was a decimal point error. Did you always buy the same one drink at a time or different orders throughout the evening?

    I'd send a copy of their response to the timing concerns to the police, card issuers and any other relevant people, as it doesn't stack up to me. Also point out how you are pictured close to the drink(s) every time, which suggests that it was those that you were purchasing. Also send any other evidence which makes them look underhanded - not being able to provide proof of what you paid for but insisting that you were charged correctly.

    Have you filled out the disputed transaction forms for each card or just told them by email/phone what happened?

    Watchdog might be worth a go. They might not put it on TV because it's a strip club, but surely they wouldn't have to make that obvious and could look into it.

    The OP doesnt have any evidence. The bank won't dispute the transactions as they were chip and PIN. Watchdog wouldn't touch this with a bargepole !

    It's going to be very difficult for the OP to get anywhere with this.
  • Burnz0
    Burnz0 Posts: 87 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 10 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Unsurprisingly for most of you I suspect my bank has rejected my appeal after further 'thorough investigation'. They're being characteristically unhelpful and unwilling to discuss the matter but I was able to get out of them that the reason for rejection is that the only way it could of happened was for someone to take my card, use it and return it to my pocket without me noticing which is very unlikely. Apparently this is what I said must have happened whereas what I said was that it could possibly have happened but by I wouldn't know would I.
    Apparently once the appeal has been rejected I can't contest it and have go down thehombudsman route. Im hoping their unwillingness to look into properly will count in my favour. Will the ombudsman actually look into the case or just whether or not the bank acted correctly?
  • meer53
    meer53 Posts: 10,217 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 19 December 2014 at 2:34PM
    Burnz0 wrote: »
    Unsurprisingly for most of you I suspect my bank has rejected my appeal after further 'thorough investigation'. They're being characteristically unhelpful and unwilling to discuss the matter but I was able to get out of them that the reason for rejection is that the only way it could of happened was for someone to take my card, use it and return it to my pocket without me noticing which is very unlikely. Apparently this is what I said must have happened whereas what I said was that it could possibly have happened but by I wouldn't know would I.
    Apparently once the appeal has been rejected I can't contest it and have go down thehombudsman route. Im hoping their unwillingness to look into properly will count in my favour. Will the ombudsman actually look into the case or just whether or not the bank acted correctly?

    The Ombudsman will look at whether the bank has acted fairly and correctly towards you and your dispute. They won't be getting in touch with anyone else to ask for their side of the story. As the transactions were verified by PIN and you have no evidence of any other attempted transactions then you won't get very far i'm afraid. The bank haven't made any errors here. What do you mean by "they haven't looked into it properly" ? You didn't lose your card, you admitted you were in the club and the PIN was used. There's nothing else for your bank or the Ombudsman to look into really.

    It's a fairly common scenario, these clubs charge rip off prices and will have their fair share of inebriated customers who will input their PIN without checking or understanding what they're agreeing to. They're not doing anything illegal, but if you think you can prove otherwise then carry on. My advice would be to put it down to experience and move on. You won't be the last person this happens to.
  • I'm not sure the criminal angle of all of this will get you far.
    Is it worth pursuing this through the civil courts, i.e. small claims? The club will have to prove that a contract existed between you and them which would allow them to debit your cards; could you dispute this? The fact that they debited your cards doesn't necessarily mean they had the right to do so (even if you willingly handed over your card).

    I would write to the club and demand my money back on the grounds that there was no contract and threaten legal action; they will have to prove otherwise (bar receipts? representations/statements from girls?). You could also claim that you haven't received any services in return for your money and now want your money back (assuming they really scammed you).
    If they can't prove any of this, sue them for your money back through small claims. They may give in sooner than you think if they're as dodgy as you describe them.
  • Oh man. Strip club scams are so common in Eastern Europe and Turkey especially. Even in Germany they are common. I got scammed in Aksaraya area in Istanbul. They told us beer costs 6 lira (1 lira is 2 dollars) and we ordered 6 beers, they brought peanuts to our table and suddenly there were women chatting with us. Once we left we got the bill.
    It was something like following:
    2 welcome priced beers 2x6lira = 12
    2 regular priced beers 4x50lira = 200
    2 peanut plates 2x75 lira = 150
    Girls drinks 4 x 100 lira = 400
    Entertainment and tip fee = 200

    Total: 962 lira (around 450 dollars)

    Amazing how expensive.

    Just to warn newbies going to the strip bars or sketchy areas, maybe read this guide first: wikisexguide.com/wiki/Common_scams
  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    The last time the Op was online was before Christmas, i wonder what happend if he ever got his money back. I'd be surprised if he'd won.
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
    What it may grow to in time, I know not what.

    Daniel Defoe: 1725.
  • Madbags
    Madbags Posts: 222 Forumite
    I've had a similar thing pop up before in my experience, but nothing to do with stripclubs and nothing to do with being scammed / spending large amounts of money.


    But one time, I went into a shop to purchase some household stuff and wanted to pay by card. I popped my card into the card reader but I pressed a wrong digit for my PIN and pressed cancel instead of clear by mistake. I said "Oh sorry I cancelled it" and the lady said "Oh well it looks like it's actually gone through anyway, sometimes it just does that". I thought that was a bit odd and yes, the payment had come out as she said, even though it was technically cancelled, by me.


    I think there's a real security issue or problem with some of these card machines and in fact the OP may have fallen prey to someone who could have known about and exploited this potential "bug/error".
  • meer53
    meer53 Posts: 10,217 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Madbags wrote: »
    I've had a similar thing pop up before in my experience, but nothing to do with stripclubs and nothing to do with being scammed / spending large amounts of money.


    But one time, I went into a shop to purchase some household stuff and wanted to pay by card. I popped my card into the card reader but I pressed a wrong digit for my PIN and pressed cancel instead of clear by mistake. I said "Oh sorry I cancelled it" and the lady said "Oh well it looks like it's actually gone through anyway, sometimes it just does that". I thought that was a bit odd and yes, the payment had come out as she said, even though it was technically cancelled, by me.


    I think there's a real security issue or problem with some of these card machines and in fact the OP may have fallen prey to someone who could have known about and exploited this potential "bug/error".

    So, not similar at all really ?
  • planteria
    planteria Posts: 5,322 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    SailorSam wrote: »
    The last time the Op was online was before Christmas, i wonder what happend if he ever got his money back. I'd be surprised if he'd won.

    i'd be interested to learn how he is got on, and really hope things have gone well for him:smiley:
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