Tipping Fraud
 

Dont ya love it when waitstaff add a few extra dollars to your credit card after ya tip? I charged $28 and tipped $7.50 on Satuday night. Was reviewing my statemtn online just now and the charge is listed as $38.50.

Fom now on I am only paying cash when we go out.

Was the charge final, or is it still pending? I know sometimes when I go out to bars my statement looks screwy a few days after because they pre-approve my card to make sure it's not bogus, and then a few business days later the pre-approval is dropped. Usually the pre-approval is higher than a few dollars which would seem to be your case, but if the charge isn't final yet it's possible that something else is going on.

Re: Tipping Fraud
 

Don't blame ya... $28 plus a $7.50 tip does not equal $38.50 - somebody's padding the tip jar! Most waitstaff are generally honest, but that kinda action sours the general outlook on them.

I thought this was going to be about cow tipping.

Move on, nothing to see here :p

Incoming!!!! Grab some real estate! :D

Re: Tipping Fraud
 

Generally, most credit cards offer some protection. Call into your credit card company and say it is wrong. And also call the restaurant so they can the douche.

-Rudey

I was just about to mention that, its happened to me a few times while the charge is pending and it gets fixed in the end. Just make sure you keep your receipt!

So True. I kept all my receipts after my charges plus I check my account daily for any charges that doesn't look right.

I agree that the charge may be pending. The charge is usually higher, just in case you leave the tip on the card. Most places cannot go back and add on the charge if they don't estimate a higher amount. If pending, it should clear in a couple of days.

Did that make sense?? I confused myself.

agreed.
 

In my experience, usually small restaurants/taverns (usually doesn't happen at a chain like Applebee's or Chili's) overcharge, but the account gets fixed a couple days afterwards. I have enough $$ to compensate if they overcharge on my credit/debit (no one has overcharged more than $15 though- in fairness), but imagine if you didn't, and you overdrew because of it. That would suck.

I think restaurants should post a discreet sign or put something on the menu about it though- so you don't flip out when you see the overcharge on your statement.

My immediate reaction was the same....I can't believe my server did that....

That's insane. I'm a waitress, and our managers definitely go through and check every single credit card slip to make sure that what we enter into the computer (and thus get paid) matches what the customer wrote on the slip. Definitely complain to the restaurant's management about this if the charge doesn't change in a few days.

Maybe it is because your Drunk?

I woud say He MF, I do come in here and if you try this Crap again, I do know a Whole Lot of People, Word is going out on My List to Folks I know.

Hope Your Busness goes Down.

Had a Biotch pull Slight of Hand and Bitch about Tipping..

Told the Owner, Had a Bent Nose. Itialia. Da Boys!

Said I would never be back. He was very nice. She was gone asap.:mad:

No No No, if give a Very Nice Tip, Dont try to screw Me!:mad:

I've only had two problems similar to this.

1. I was double charged at Chuy's for my meal. I wasn’t to surprised about this one since the credit card machine was down and the waitress was using the cruncher/slider for the first time.

2. The other was at Little Woodrow’s somewhere some how an extra zero was worked into my tab.

Both of these accounting errors were solved by calling the managers of both establishments. They were both very apologetic and Chuy’s even comped my entire meal. The crazy thing about it all was that both these inflated charges happened a day apart from each other.

I don't mind paying w/a credit card but I always leave the tip in cash. I also write on the section where it says TIP Tip on table in cash. I know it may seem tacky but I have had that happen to me before so I figured better safe than sorry.

This is what I always do as well, except on the tip line I put a Null sign with lines on either side so nothing can be added.

I always tip generously...but never on my card.

I actually had a similar thing happen to me recently. I flipped out and called the restaurant to bitch out the manager and felt like a complete dumbass when he told me that credit card companies/banks customarily add in a certain percentage to every purchase from a restaurant so that you won't overdraw your account. So eventually it will correct itself when the charge goes through and (like someone else said) isn't a pending charge anymore. I would check again online in a couple days and if it's still wrong call the place and bitch out the manager. :)

I'm prepared to get flamed for this but I'm hoping people understand the concept of why I did this rather than the whole monetary thing....

I was at a restaurant and I charged (with tip) $29.99 on my credit card. I know it was a weird number but I was like whatever. Anyway, I got my credit card statement a few weeks later where I saw the charge for $30.00. I was pissed. I don't care about the penny. They could have $5 for all I care. I was pissed because of the concept behind it. If I sign for a certain amount, I expect to be charged for that amount. I don't believe the server should take it upon himself to round up my purchase. Plus, it's illegal for someone to charge you a different amount than what you signed for even if it is just a penny!
I went down to the restaurant and showed the manager the copy of my receipt. It's fraud- plain and simple. I'm sure that this server had done it to other people who never said anything out of fear of getting mocked. Well, I just didn't give a shit about getting mocked. The manager was upset that the server had done this and thanked me for bringing it to his attention. I got a $25 gift certificate out of it so it worked in my favor. :D

I just learned in my experience that most managers don't take too kindly to their staff charging a different amount than a customer signed for. A waiter at Friday's did the same thing to my sister that was done to you. My sister complained and the waiter was promptly fired. It's fraud and it's illegal. No manager wants that on their plate. I would go to the manager first and if the manager doesn't fix it, go to your credit card company.

absolutely!!!

Re: The higher initial charge

Its not an overpayment, many restaurants when running a credit card will authorize the amount PLUS 20%. This is to ensure that there will be money for the tip, it won't cause the card to go over the limit thus making the transaction void after the card holder has left. 20% usually encompasses all but very heavy tippers. You will see that most of your purchases take 2 -3 days to truly authorize - same with the restaurant purchase. When the final authorization comes through it will reflect the true amount.

Just an FYI: its done intentionally to make sure the card holder has available funds.

Re: Tipping Fraud
 

I'm still :eek: at the amount you tipped in the first place. $7.50 on a $28 bill. I usually do 20 percent, but you are most generous.

Leave your tip in cash, ALWAYS.

That way servers walk out the door with more money. Credit card tips suck.

This woudl make the most sense. I have been to places where they put $50 or so on the card and then refund the $50 when they charge the actual amount, but have never had a bar charge a percentage over.

The charge is still pending. We'll see how it works out in the next day or so.

Lifesaver, This happened to a friend of mine here in SA. They ordered 2 beers at the bar while waiting for their table. So the bill should have been a few bucks. When it showed upon their statement it had $20 more on it. I have learned to keep all of my receipts, plus I put a line on both sides of the tip amount so no extra digits can be written in later on. I hope that makes sense. Was this down on the river? I've heard of rumors of people making extra cash doing this, but never actually heard of it being done.

Yeah that way they can cheat on their taxes and you can knowingly help them commit a crime.

-Rudey

I paid $20 on a credit card for a restaurant bill and left a cash tip.

When I paid the bill at the restaurant, I wrote a zero through the tip line and and a line through the whole tip line item. For the total, I wrote $20.

I got my credit card statement.... I got charged $120! The waiter decided to give himself a big tip.

Luckily, I saved my receipt as back-up and have successfully disputed the charge.

The moral of the story: Save your receipts because dishonest people ruin everything. Oh, and don't go to the DC Improv. Their comedians aren't that great, the food is bad, drinks are weak and the waiters will rob you blind!

This happened to me once. I called the restaurant and threw a fit about it. They took the entire charge off.

Even if they had just taken the tip off though, that would have been great. I would call and at least complain.

Re: Tipping Fraud
 

They did that? Call your credit card company and dispute the charge.

Or did your $ look like a 1 when you wrote it in? This seems like too obvious of a fraud. I mean, it's not like the waiter could get away with it.

Something screwy like this happened to my aunt once. She always tips in cash, but she had neglected to zero out the area where the tip goes. The waitress went so far as to give herself a big fat tip and then wrote a comment about how great her service was that evening.
My aunt, being the watchful plastic user that she is, noticed the charge and brought her receipt back into the restaurant. The manager even remembered the receipt because of the comment. They reversed the charge.
This taught me to always zero out the tip line if I'm tipping in cash. I put what appears to be a big "Theta" through it so there's no mistaking that it's a zero with a line.

Charge went into the completed transactions column today at $38.50.

I'll be calling both the bar and credit card company tomorrow.

Well Bro. Stick it to them!

Pitch a big Bitch.

I dont like to get screwed so dont.:mad:

Just put it plain and simple, He AssWholes, I know a lot of people and will complain to the News Media!

Stand by Your Word! Do It!

Well, I know You will!:D

Oh, any KWY Jelly at the side table?

My Old Saying is, "Dont Screw With My Money, I wont Screw With You"!!!:p

Tip: I always write in words my tip amount next to the numerical amount just in case the waiter thinks it'll be cute to change my 5 to an 8, for example.

Haha Tom you'd bang the dude?

Damn dog, remind me never to mess with your money. :P

-Rudey