Tipping Fraud

[OtterXO]

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.

[ZTAngel]

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.

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.

[sageofages]

Originally posted by ZTAngel
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.

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!!!

[USFSDTAlum]

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.

[ladygreek]

Originally posted by lifesaver
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.

I'm still 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.

[kstar]

Leave your tip in cash, ALWAYS.

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

[lifesaver]

Originally posted by USFSDTAlum
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.

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.

[lonestaradpi]

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.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by kstar
Leave your tip in cash, ALWAYS.

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

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

-Rudey

[adpiucf]

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!

[omegamcgee]

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.

[madmax]

Originally posted by lifesaver
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.

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

[ladygreek]

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

-Rudey

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.

[bluefish81]

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.

[lifesaver]

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

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