How Do I Handle This?

[disny_luvr]

Tonight my family went out to dinner. Our bill was $27.xx. I paid with our debit card. When the waitress came back with the slip to sign, I saw our account was charge $49.xx. I called her attention to it immediately, she apologized and went to make the necessary changes. (She added another couple's bill to our bill). She came back with another slip to sign with the correct amount - $27.xx. I asked her about the other debit and she said not to worry about it because she didn't finalize the first transaction. So I just checked my bank account and there, debited from the account, is the first charge of $49.xx. There is no record of the second debit, the one for $27.xx plus tip, the one I signed. So what do I do? Do I contact my bank about this? The restaurant? I have a copy of the second receipt with the $27.xx plus tip amount.

I hope this is making sense. It's late and I'm tired.

TIA!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

The first transaction is probably pending. I know that if I were to check my bank tonight, it would list my original dinner total tonight as "pending" and then in a few days, that will disappear and the final total that includes the tip will clear. It's like a "hold" on your account from when they run it the first time before you add tip. I wouldn't worry about it for a couple of days, give it till maybe Tuesday to clear with the correct amount.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Hmmnn...
I used to be a waitress back in the day...
I can see why the $49 one would show up, but I'm not sure why the $27 isn't showing up. If they were both there I would just suggest you watch it and make sure it gets credited back.
I would just call the restaurant tomorrow and see if they can rectify it. If not then pursue it thru your bank. There should be a 800 phone number on your card that will get you thru to someone even on the weekend.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Go back to the restaurant tomorrow and bring a printout of your debit charge along with the dining receipt and simply explain that you were overcharged.

This happened to me on one of my cards not too long ago at my hair salon. The machine went down after they sent my card through and it had to rebooted. They didn't think the first charge had gone through so they swiped the card again. Turns out it went through twice. When I brought the bill back to the salon the receptionist called the owner right then and there and we got the charges reversed. The restaurant should do the same for you.

 

[crystaldawn]

I had something similar happen at our local bookstore. I just called. They were able to pull up the records and saw both transactions and cancelled the one that was incorrect. Hope it's an easy fix

 

[tink15823]

Tonight my family went out to dinner. Our bill was $27.xx. I paid with our debit card. When the waitress came back with the slip to sign, I saw our account was charge $49.xx. I called her attention to it immediately, she apologized and went to make the necessary changes. (She added another couple's bill to our bill). She came back with another slip to sign with the correct amount - $27.xx. I asked her about the other debit and she said not to worry about it because she didn't finalize the first transaction. So I just checked my bank account and there, debited from the account, is the first charge of $49.xx. There is no record of the second debit, the one for $27.xx plus tip, the one I signed. So what do I do? Do I contact my bank about this? The restaurant? I have a copy of the second receipt with the $27.xx plus tip amount.

I hope this is making sense. It's late and I'm tired.

TIA!

I would call the bank and I would call the restaurant you dined at. It seams odd to me that only one total is pending and not two if that was the case. I was a manager of a store and had to let a girl go because she was doing this and taking the money she ran the extra as a tip . I hope you have a copy of the correct one.

 

[walkdmc]

I would call the restaurant when they open tomorrow and talk to the manager. I've had similar mishaps at a restaurant, hotel and specialty grocery store over the past 10+ years and every time I've called the business, they righted their wrong. If you get any hesitation from the manager, call your bank. My bank (Bank of America) used to be great about immediately crediting our account while they hashed it out with the businesses at fault. Now, they prefer you deal with it and if you don't have success, they investigate. (at least that's been my experience).

 

[TinkPirateMom]

The first swipe is an authorization. The waitress did not finalize it and the manager would have had to void it out at the end of the night. It would still be listed as a transaction as it does not automatically disappear.

I'm not sure why the actual $27 charge has not appeared yet, though. I would call and check your account balance tomorrow to see if it has updated.

 

[DisneyFairytale]

It's true refunds don't always show up right away. I did one today in fact, that was there instantly, but it's not always the case with all stores. Hang onto it, and give it 24 hours, then go back to the restaurant if it wasn't reversed.

 

[SandrA9810]

Usually a pending charge can take up to 3 days or longer to disappear from your account. Any time you are pre-approved for a charge, there will be a hold on your card till the bank drops it. It is strange that the second transaction is not there. But I wouldn't be concerned with the first until it has time to clear with the bank.

Recently we went to Lake Tahoe, the resort we stayed at had a $50 a night authorization. So the account was pending for $150 till check out day, and it wasn't for 2-3 days more that the money was actually released from the hold. It wasn't the hotel holding the money, it was the bank. Although it was nice to know we weren't going to come back home entirely broke either...

 

[smokeyblue]

I had something like this happen at Target recently. I swiped my debit card and it had a goofy message that said "please contact your financial institution" come up. I knew it should have worked, so I swiped again and it went though. I get home look at my account and there are two charges for the same amount from Target. It was a Friday night so I waited over the weekend. Both charges remained on Monday. On Tuesday the second charge disappeared.

I would just wait until the work week and see if the charge disappears. There really isnt much that can be done until the banks open.

 

[JaymeC]

It may not have hit the system yet for the refund or dropping the pending charge, but like everyone else I'm a bit leary there's no $27 charge. I work for a credit union, and I know in instances like this we are *required* to tell you to go back to the vendor before we can take any action. And please, record the date/time who you spoke with, etc. You don't need to go into the restaurant, just call them up. Chances are pretty high they'll resolve it because they don't want to get into a dispute with any of the credit card companies. If for some odd reason they don't, then call up your bank and tell them that you have contacted the vendor in attempts to make things right and they continue to charge you for the wrong amount and you want to file a dispute against that charge. I'm not sure what the rules are for other banks with at ours we would want any documentation, but on your end signing off the dispute form would be it and we'd credit your account and go take the case to visa for you.

 

[levinaz]

Yeah..It happens there too. I was so surprised..!!