Overcharged in a bar - debit card chargeback claim refused

HotLanta

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

born_again

HotLanta said:

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

Do not report as fraud. As you made the transaction & the bank know that.. You could find yourself having to find a new bank & a CIFAS marker.

As to the chargeback. The bank have to go via Visa/Mastercard rules & in this case they are asking for the info required to contest it. Without that information they can not proceed. 
Did you not get the receipt at the time?

DullGreyGuy

HotLanta said:

They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. 

There are very few places I've been to where there is no photo of the menu online somewhere... may not help if the menu is unpriced but it really depends if this is "fraud" in which case TripAdvisor will be full of similar comments or a simple error where the staff just hit the zero button one too many times or where the prices are extortionate - like the greek bar that charges £50 a pint but prices arent displayed and people dont ask so not technically fraud. 

HotLanta

born_again said:

HotLanta said:

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

Do not report as fraud. As you made the transaction & the bank know that.. You could find yourself having to find a new bank & a CIFAS marker.

As to the chargeback. The bank have to go via Visa/Mastercard rules & in this case they are asking for the info required to contest it. Without that information they can not proceed. 
Did you not get the receipt at the time?

I didn’t get the receipt at the time. I have been asking for one since, but they are saying to me that they do not give receipts and can’t give me a breakdown of what I ordered.

eskbanker

HotLanta said:

born_again said:

HotLanta said:

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

Do not report as fraud. As you made the transaction & the bank know that.. You could find yourself having to find a new bank & a CIFAS marker.

As to the chargeback. The bank have to go via Visa/Mastercard rules & in this case they are asking for the info required to contest it. Without that information they can not proceed. 
Did you not get the receipt at the time?

I didn’t get the receipt at the time. I have been asking for one since, but they are saying to me that they do not give receipts and can’t give me a breakdown of what I ordered.

So how do you plan to convince your bank that you were charged the wrong amount?

400ixl

Surely you can find the name of the place via Goole street view? How did you get hold of a waiter without at least knowing the basics?

As for the actual issue, is it a case of you got a bill of one amount but the charged a different amount to your card? How was the transaction paid for, in local currency and the bank used their exchange rate, or in £'s and a 3rd party did the exchange rate?

You say the charge to the card was £1200, what should it have been? Or was £1200 what it should have been and the amount taken was more?

It doesn't sound unreasonable that the bank would require evidence such as a bill.

HotLanta

DullGreyGuy said:

HotLanta said:

They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. 

There are very few places I've been to where there is no photo of the menu online somewhere... may not help if the menu is unpriced but it really depends if this is "fraud" in which case TripAdvisor will be full of similar comments or a simple error where the staff just hit the zero button one too many times or where the prices are extortionate - like the greek bar that charges £50 a pint but prices arent displayed and people dont ask so not technically fraud. 

This place has no online presence - and they’re refusing to reveal any info about themselves to me that can directly identify them. It’s a common scam in the country. 

DullGreyGuy

HotLanta said:

born_again said:

HotLanta said:

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

Do not report as fraud. As you made the transaction & the bank know that.. You could find yourself having to find a new bank & a CIFAS marker.

As to the chargeback. The bank have to go via Visa/Mastercard rules & in this case they are asking for the info required to contest it. Without that information they can not proceed. 
Did you not get the receipt at the time?

I didn’t get the receipt at the time. I have been asking for one since, but they are saying to me that they do not give receipts and can’t give me a breakdown of what I ordered.

You say you've been charged £1200 but what did the bar staff say you were going to be charged?

Certainly in the UK there is no legal requirement for companies to give receipts and we tend to have more consumer positive rules compared to many countries, particularly those outside the EU. 

born_again

HotLanta said:

born_again said:

HotLanta said:

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

Do not report as fraud. As you made the transaction & the bank know that.. You could find yourself having to find a new bank & a CIFAS marker.

As to the chargeback. The bank have to go via Visa/Mastercard rules & in this case they are asking for the info required to contest it. Without that information they can not proceed. 
Did you not get the receipt at the time?

I didn’t get the receipt at the time. I have been asking for one since, but they are saying to me that they do not give receipts and can’t give me a breakdown of what I ordered.

Then sadly you are stuck. I take it this was a chip & pin transaction? Given the mention of £1200. I take it that they said it was in local currency, when in fact it was GBP?

HotLanta

born_again said:

HotLanta said:

born_again said:

HotLanta said:

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

Do not report as fraud. As you made the transaction & the bank know that.. You could find yourself having to find a new bank & a CIFAS marker.

As to the chargeback. The bank have to go via Visa/Mastercard rules & in this case they are asking for the info required to contest it. Without that information they can not proceed. 
Did you not get the receipt at the time?

I didn’t get the receipt at the time. I have been asking for one since, but they are saying to me that they do not give receipts and can’t give me a breakdown of what I ordered.

Then sadly you are stuck. I take it this was a chip & pin transaction? Given the mention of £1200. I take it that they said it was in local currency, when in fact it was GBP?

Yes, this was a chip and pin transaction. It was in local currency which is around the same value as GBP. I’m frustrated that they are not cooperating at all in terms of giving information and I can’t get anywhere with my debit card bank without this information.

HotLanta

DullGreyGuy said:

HotLanta said:

born_again said:

HotLanta said:

I was scammed (overcharged) in a bar abroad. I stupidly used my debit card for the transaction (around £1200). The bank, who I have been with for 16 years, is refusing to take on the dispute claim because they feel I don’t have enough evidence. They said to me that I need a copy of the receipt, invoice or a picture of the menu. I cannot get this information, and the bar is refusing to give me any of it. I am in contact with the bar indirectly, via a waiter, and they have no online presence, won’t give their address or the name of the bar. The waiter has now gone silent.

Is there anything I can do to reclaim the money? Would reporting this as officially fraud rather than being overcharged increase my chances?

Do not report as fraud. As you made the transaction & the bank know that.. You could find yourself having to find a new bank & a CIFAS marker.

As to the chargeback. The bank have to go via Visa/Mastercard rules & in this case they are asking for the info required to contest it. Without that information they can not proceed. 
Did you not get the receipt at the time?

I didn’t get the receipt at the time. I have been asking for one since, but they are saying to me that they do not give receipts and can’t give me a breakdown of what I ordered.

You say you've been charged £1200 but what did the bar staff say you were going to be charged?

Certainly in the UK there is no legal requirement for companies to give receipts and we tend to have more consumer positive rules compared to many countries, particularly those outside the EU. 

They didn’t really say anything. They were in on the scam and admittedly I wasn’t keeping tabs.

This was outside the EU, in the gulf region.