Tip added without my permission?

[4HppyCamprs]

Many of us are not talking about pending charges, many of us are talking about completed charges. Yes, it happened to me, we left a cash tip on the table and they wrote a tip in on the receipt as well. That is theft. A pending charge isn't theft but my bank doesn't show me a full amount for a pending charge, they show me a $1 charge that is pending and then the full charge goes through in a day or so. All banks are different and will show these things differently. If the OPs charge is processed correctly she will let it go, if it does not she should pursue it.

Chase only shows 1.00 pending charges for gas purchases.

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[Lovin' Disney]

I pay cash only at restaurants and still had a problem. We ate at Tony's MK and the waitress never brought me back my change. Now, in all honesty, I was going to give her all of the change as a tip. We waited for her to come back, but when I realized she wsn't going to return, I decided to wait and see what would happen. After about an hour, she returned and asked if we would like something. I told her, its ok, I'm just waiting for my change. By then she couldn't find my order to know how much to tip, and she returned with too much money. I still tipped her, but not as much as I would have if she hadn't tried to pull a fast one. I firmly believe it is the customers choice as how much to tip. By the way, I usually tip between 20 and 25%. I will not allow the server to dictate how much they should get.

That happened to me last summer at Akershus in EPCOT. My daughter and I ate there; the bill came to about $70. I only had a $100 bill. I waited...and waited...and waited for her to bring back the change. Finally I had to hunt her down and ask for my $30 change back. I was going to leave her $20 because she did a perfectly fine job. However, when I actually had to ask her to bring back the money I was owed, she received the $10 bill instead. Never assume!

 

[momtofour]

OP here. The charge finally cleared and it was the correct amount. To my relief the tip was not included. I never use this Chase Visa for restaurants. In my haste I pulled out the wrong card. I typically used AMEX which does not show pending charges. Chase does. I would like to thank all that took the time to respond. Judging from the views on this thread I think it was a worthwhile topic and we will all watch our charges a bit more closely! And watch those taxi credit card charges too. We've had drivers help themselves to a bit more!

 

[pixiewings71]

+1 I think a dollar amount is shown for a pending charge on a debit card, since it is an immediate reduction on the amount of funds immediately available for use. I wonder if a pending charge can be deduced for a credit card if you look at the available credit available on your card.

My cards show the pending amount in full, so if I use my cc and put $50 in gas on it it shows as a $50 pending charge and my available credit is reduced by that amount. I wish the bank would do it that way. lol

Chase only shows 1.00 pending charges for gas purchases.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

DBF has a Chase card, his shows as the full amount for his debit card, most of the time. Certain gas stations don't show as the full amount but as a $1 pending charge, I think that's weird.

OP here. The charge finally cleared and it was the correct amount. To my relief the tip was not included. I never use this Chase Visa for restaurants. In my haste I pulled out the wrong card. I typically used AMEX which does not show pending charges. Chase does. I would like to thank all that took the time to respond. Judging from the views on this thread I think it was a worthwhile topic and we will all watch our charges a bit more closely! And watch those taxi credit card charges too. We've had drivers help themselves to a bit more!

I'm glad you weren't overcharged. And yes, it has been a good discussion.

 

[smitch425]

OP here. The charge finally cleared and it was the correct amount. To my relief the tip was not included. I never use this Chase Visa for restaurants. In my haste I pulled out the wrong card. I typically used AMEX which does not show pending charges. Chase does. I would like to thank all that took the time to respond. Judging from the views on this thread I think it was a worthwhile topic and we will all watch our charges a bit more closely! And watch those taxi credit card charges too. We've had drivers help themselves to a bit more!

Just as I suspected way back in post #3. Glad it worked out for you, and I agree...a very good discussion on ways to protect ourselves from incorrect tip charges.

 

[kirstenb1]

As several people have stated, there are many cases where there is a certain hold amount on a pending charge. The pending amount should post as the correct amount when the charge clears. I am not sure what type of credit card transactions you deal with, but we spend about $14,000 a year on gas and eating out, and I have seen this hold situation hundreds of times. In every single instance, the charge has always posted correctly to our bill despite the pending amount being higher than it should be.

$14000.00 on gas and eating out? Do you own a business with a fleet of vehicles? No snark---that's just way out of my realm. Or do you charge everything and then just pay the bill? (When I add up everything I charge per month, including groceries etc, then I can see what you mean)

 

[Lewisc]

Many of us are not talking about pending charges, many of us are talking about completed charges. Yes, it happened to me, we left a cash tip on the table and they wrote a tip in on the receipt as well. That is theft. A pending charge isn't theft but my bank doesn't show me a full amount for a pending charge, they show me a $1 charge that is pending and then the full charge goes through in a day or so. All banks are different and will show these things differently. If the OPs charge is processed correctly she will let it go, if it does not she should pursue it.

The OP had an issue with a "pending" charge which resolved itself without the need for intervention. Some banks, for at least some cardholders, show the dollar amount of a pending charge (or hold). Others don't.

There really isn't any debate over a server added credit card tip. It's wrong. It's probably not a felony. Several of us said making sure to write cash in spot for gratuity and putting the total in the line for total may lower the chances of it happening to you.

A number of posters are confusing a hold with a real charge. A few years ago people didn't even know a hold was put on their card. You didn't check your credit card on your smartphone on they home. You waited until you got your bill, maybe you checked online every week or so. Good chance the hold would automatically resolved before you checked.

 

[smitch425]

$14000.00 on gas and eating out? Do you own a business with a fleet of vehicles? No snark---that's just way out of my realm. Or do you charge everything and then just pay the bill? (When I add up everything I charge per month, including groceries etc, then I can see what you mean)

Yes, we use our Disney Visa for everything possible and pay it off completely every month. Pretty much the only things we don't charge are our electric bill, gas bill, mortgage and the kids' lunch money at school. We would if we could, but they either won't accept credit cards or charge a fee for using one. I long for the day that we could pay our mortgage with our DV. It would be nice to earn those rewards.

 

[MAH4546]

In many cities with large influxes of foreign residents or tourists, like Miami and San Francisco, adding tip automatically is customary because tipping is not a common practice in most of the world.

Yes, we use our Disney Visa for everything possible and pay it off completely every month. Pretty much the only things we don't charge are our electric bill, gas bill, mortgage and the kids' lunch money at school. We would if we could, but they either won't accept credit cards or charge a fee for using one. I long for the day that we could pay our mortgage with our DV. It would be nice to earn those rewards.

I have a Disney Visa too, for the perks, but you shouldn't be using them to rack up rewards, because the rewards suck.

Use a Discover card - you'll get up to 12% back in a check, not 1% back in Disney giftcard. That goes a lot farther.

Categories are revolving, but right now it's 2% cashback on everything + 5% cashback on food and movies, so $2,000 in spending on food is $140 in a check, not a $20 Disney gift card.

And between July and September, theme parks and gasoline spending is the bonus category.

 

[smitch425]

In many cities with large influxes of foreign residents or tourists, like Miami and San Francisco, adding tip automatically is customary because tipping is not a common practice in most of the world.



I have a Disney Visa too, for the perks, but you shouldn't be using them to rack up rewards, because the rewards suck.

Use a Discover card - you'll get up to 12% back in a check, not 1% back in Disney giftcard. That goes a lot farther.

Categories are revolving, but right now it's 2% cashback on everything + 5% cashback on food and movies, so $2,000 in spending on food is $140 in a check, not a $20 Disney gift card.

And between July and September, theme parks and gasoline spending is the bonus category.

Hmmm...sounds intriguing. I have the Premier Visa, so I am getting 2% back in several categories, and I buy gift cards at Kroger for places (like Home Depot) to get the bonus percent instead of paying them directly with my Visa. We like the DV because the rewards have to be used for Disney. Our fear is that we would spend other rewards on more practical expenses, but I may have to look into the Discover Card to see what it's all about. Thanks for the info.

 

[edk35]

I just sat down to enter some reciepts into Quicken. Earlier this week I went to the nail salon that I just started going to in Nov. The girl that had done my nails the few times was busy so I had another girl. I wanted my acrylic taken off and a manicure. It was a quick appt. I only had clear polish put on. I tipped this girl 4 bucks in cash. The bill was 20. I just saw online that I was charged 22. SHE ADDED 2 MORE BUCKS. Not a huge amt....BUT SHE DID IT nonetheless!!! What is this world coming to??????

 

[plummer925]

I just sat down to enter some reciepts into Quicken. Earlier this week I went to the nail salon that I just started going to in Nov. The girl that had done my nails the few times was busy so I had another girl. I wanted my acrylic taken off and a manicure. It was a quick appt. I only had clear polish put on. I tipped this girl 4 bucks in cash. The bill was 20. I just saw online that I was charged 22. SHE ADDED 2 MORE BUCKS. Not a huge amt....BUT SHE DID IT nonetheless!!! What is this world coming to??????

It might not be "a huge amt" but if she did this to everyone she is stealing a LOT of money! I'd call the salon, tell them it's ridiculous and you will be going elsewhere. And even though it's 'only' $2 I'd dispute it. You need to think - YOU earned that $2 - how much do you make an hour (don't answer here - just think about it) - then taxes - how long did you have to work for that $2? If minimum wage at least 15 minutes - prob closer to 20 after taxes - she stole not just your money, but your time!

 

[mel&me]

I would definitely call on it if it does not post correctly to your account. Not the dollar amount just the point. as PP said it is stealing.

 

[pixiewings71]

The OP had an issue with a "pending" charge which resolved itself without the need for intervention. Some banks, for at least some cardholders, show the dollar amount of a pending charge (or hold). Others don't.

There really isn't any debate over a server added credit card tip. It's wrong. It's probably not a felony. Several of us said making sure to write cash in spot for gratuity and putting the total in the line for total may lower the chances of it happening to you.

A number of posters are confusing a hold with a real charge. A few years ago people didn't even know a hold was put on their card. You didn't check your credit card on your smartphone on they home. You waited until you got your bill, maybe you checked online every week or so. Good chance the hold would automatically resolved before you checked.

I'm not 100% sure why you quoted me but I'm going to reply as if you are directing this towards me directly. In the OP I don't believe she mentioned it being a "pending" charge, this was clarified later and I was one who suspected it was pending (but I don't think I said that). However many of us have had experiences with completed charges so I was posting about mine. I know the difference between a pending and completed transaction, I mentioned the amount my bank shows for a pending charge to show the differences between banks, I've also commented on the differences between my bank, my DBF's bank, and credit cards. And I was one who said I either write "cash" or write a slash through the tip line and I always write the total charge in as well. I never said adding a tip was a felony but it IS theft, no question about it, it is absolutely 100% theft.
When the server added the tip in addition to the cash we left we didn't have smartphones, didn't have apps to let us check this type of thing so I didn't know until the charge cleared our bank, which could have resulted in a bounced check. From then on I have watched our accounts very closely to avoid it happening again.

I just sat down to enter some reciepts into Quicken. Earlier this week I went to the nail salon that I just started going to in Nov. The girl that had done my nails the few times was busy so I had another girl. I wanted my acrylic taken off and a manicure. It was a quick appt. I only had clear polish put on. I tipped this girl 4 bucks in cash. The bill was 20. I just saw online that I was charged 22. SHE ADDED 2 MORE BUCKS. Not a huge amt....BUT SHE DID IT nonetheless!!! What is this world coming to??????

Call the salon and tell them, they need to be aware. And then when you go back don't go see her! And again, it is theft.

 

[jsmith]

ugh-AGAIN wait til the pending charge posts before you make the assumption that the tech is stealling from you. She may not even have run your card-did you see her run it? What everyone seems to miss is that UNTIL the charges go from pending to posted the funds are only HELD not removed from your account-you are charged the amount you signed for not the amount of the pending charge. Its possible that there was the ASSUMPTION you would add a 10 percent tip and so thats the amount they ran for the HOLD on your account-not the amount you will actually be charged. If the transaction goes to a posted rather than pending state with the extra amount then you have an issue-if not-then the hold on the extra $2 is release and all is good. And-at least at the salons i go to the tech or stylist is not the person who runs my card-the cashier or manager is. SO how about you all stop freaking out until you KNOW some one is doing you wrong and give your hard working service folks a break. Is it a great practice-no but as Lewis C repeatedly said its a common one thats been in place for years. IF the tech actally padded her tip-report her to the salon-they will more than likely stop renting her booth space or employing her.

 

[disneylove69]

Take a deep breath. It's not theft. It's not a felony. It's not stealing.

Buy gas. The pump doesn't generally ask how much gas (dollars or gallons) you want to purchase. Use a credit card and a temporary hold of $50 (or more) will be applied to your account. That hold might get released at the end of the transaction but could take a day or two. Use a debit card and the same thing happens. A temporary hold is placed on your account. It can take two or three days before the hold is released. The gas station doesn't receive the (excess) money but you can't spend it until the hold is released.

Sounds like the same thing happens at a restaurant. A hold is placed for a projected tip. Sounds like the hold might be automatic. It might take two or three days before the hold is released. I don't know if the restaurant can do anything to speed up the process. A local diner asks for cash tips. I was told if you want to use a credit card for the tip just tell them before they run the credit card. The cashier processes credit card. I just tell her to add $XXX for a tip. They don't want to have to take the time to run the transaction a second time to process a tip.

You put a tip on the slip, total the bill and sign it. You leave the restaurant. At the end of the night credit card the credit card sales are run again processing the tips. What happens if the tip is declined?

Part of the problem is online access to our accounts. Previously these actions were transparent to most of us. People use their smartphones to check their accounts as they're leaving the restaurant. They're looking at half the transaction. JMO but the system needs to be changed if a restaurant hold isn't reconciled at the end of the work day.

Not sure what state/ county you live in but where I am from the District Attorney does consider it theft if the server is adding extra amounts without approval of the consumer and does prosecute them. In fact they get mad at business's for not filing theft charges. Depending upon the amount the investigation shows it could lead to a felony. In my case the bank cleared the charges and it was not in a pending state. What I don't know for sure is if the waitress did it or if it was truely the owners bank. I think he was covering up for the waitress since he seemed to stumble with his answer and I know no bank that does what he says. I went no further because the bank took it off for me and I along with friends just don't go to the restaraunt and we make sure to tell all of those who are thinking of going to think again.

 

[gilby]

This is why we pay cash when we go out to eat. I have heard way to many people that this happens too.

 

[RomeGal]

That is theft and theft is a felony.

I had it happen at Applebees once. The waitress was HORRIBLE and it was the ONE time I did not leave a tip (it was really, really bad for me to not tip - I always tip a minimum of 20%!).

She wrote in a $10 tip.

I called the company and they were irate. She lost her job - I did not want that to happen, of course, but if she did this once, how many OTHER times did she do it and people let it slide?

Applebees told me I had the option of pressing charges - I told them absolutely NOT that I just wanted my $10 back - well, I got my entire purchase back PLUS a very nice free meal out.

Theft is only a felony if it is over a certain amount (usually $500 or $1000 or in some states $1500) - theft of a $7.50 tip is a misdemeanor. HOWEVER, financial card transaction fraud, at least in the state of Georgia, IS a felony and here carries up to 3 years. Just to be clear (Courtesy of your resident criminal defense attorney...)

Before I was a lawyer, I was a waitress and bartender through school. We had to turn in all our credit slips every night and they were all sent off to the merchant/services Card folks if there was ever a dispute. The only time I can ever recall any kerfuffle about the tip slot was when folks would add, say, a $13 tip, but then total it up so it was only a $3 tip. We always had to go by the total, not the tip amount. And, at one bar I worked at it said "Any tabs left open at the end of the night will be cashed out and a 20% gratuity will be added." But that only happened occasionally. And the person was usually too drunk to remember to grab their card and cash out so they didn't care

I hate that this happened to you! It is so frustrating to go pay for food and service and be taken advantage of!

 

[edk35]

ugh-AGAIN wait til the pending charge posts before you make the assumption that the tech is stealling from you. She may not even have run your card-did you see her run it? What everyone seems to miss is that UNTIL the charges go from pending to posted the funds are only HELD not removed from your account-you are charged the amount you signed for not the amount of the pending charge. Its possible that there was the ASSUMPTION you would add a 10 percent tip and so thats the amount they ran for the HOLD on your account-not the amount you will actually be charged. If the transaction goes to a posted rather than pending state with the extra amount then you have an issue-if not-then the hold on the extra $2 is release and all is good. And-at least at the salons i go to the tech or stylist is not the person who runs my card-the cashier or manager is. SO how about you all stop freaking out until you KNOW some one is doing you wrong and give your hard working service folks a break. Is it a great practice-no but as Lewis C repeatedly said its a common one thats been in place for years. IF the tech actally padded her tip-report her to the salon-they will more than likely stop renting her booth space or employing her.

Okay first the charge was not PENDING. It cleared at 22.00. My receipt was for 20. I tipped her 4 bucks in cash. I called the salon and gave them the information on my receipt that they asked me for. Then they said they would call me back. Indeed they did and said that it was only put through for 20 and to check with my bank. There are signs all over the salon to TIP in cash and not to add it to the credit card so thought it was odd 2 bucks was added. I called my bank today and asked them to look at the transaction. The girl looked at it more closely and said it was authorized for 20 but cleared at 22 and told me they added a tip. So........ the salon did steal. YES it was only 2 bucks but they lied and they added a tip. My bank actually put the 2 bucks into my checking acct. I thought that was really nice.

 

[pixiewings71]

ugh-AGAIN wait til the pending charge posts before you make the assumption that the tech is stealling from you. She may not even have run your card-did you see her run it? What everyone seems to miss is that UNTIL the charges go from pending to posted the funds are only HELD not removed from your account-you are charged the amount you signed for not the amount of the pending charge. Its possible that there was the ASSUMPTION you would add a 10 percent tip and so thats the amount they ran for the HOLD on your account-not the amount you will actually be charged. If the transaction goes to a posted rather than pending state with the extra amount then you have an issue-if not-then the hold on the extra $2 is release and all is good. And-at least at the salons i go to the tech or stylist is not the person who runs my card-the cashier or manager is. SO how about you all stop freaking out until you KNOW some one is doing you wrong and give your hard working service folks a break. Is it a great practice-no but as Lewis C repeatedly said its a common one thats been in place for years. IF the tech actally padded her tip-report her to the salon-they will more than likely stop renting her booth space or employing her.

ugh-AGAIN, the OP did not state in the OP that it was PENDING charge. And AGAIN mine was not pending, mine was an actual charge through my bank so YES it can and does happen, it wasn't an ASSUMPTION in my case.