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I've been charged £65 for a pizza instead of £6.50,what can I do?

183 replies

shopoholiicc · 10/07/2021 10:48

Went out on a date on Thursday and had a few drinks.
Popped into pizza shop on way home and spent £6.50 on a pizza (or so I thought )
He said contactless was down so I had to type my pin in.
Anyway checked my bank yesterday and £65 was pending for this pizza shop.
Went straight up when they opened and the man was rude and said I must have spent £65.
I said I only ordered 1 pizza and asked them to check cctv or the till.
He said cctv wasn't working and asked me to leave the shop.
Is there anything I can do here?

OP posts:
OhRene · 10/07/2021 11:50

The only reason he told OP that contactless was down is because he knew that's you can't take that big of a contactless payment usually. Most shops are set for a maximum amount of say £45 or so. I bet my right arm that he KNEW it was an overcharge.
He was hoping she wouldn't notice the extra zero on the pad.

OP good luck with the chargeback. I've used it before and it was very simple and quick.

TheVolturi · 10/07/2021 11:50

Things like this make me so mad. Why can't people be honest! Nothing but a scam.

Notapheasantplucker · 10/07/2021 11:50

Hope you get it sorted op, sounds like the CF did it on purpose. He probably does it to numerous people on nights out in the hope that they're drunk enough not to remember.
I'd name and shame too, and I've never done that.

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AntiSocialDistancer · 10/07/2021 11:52

@MarshaBradyo

The coincidence of contactless being down, his error, and his inability to see that £65 is unlikely for a single buyer - as you offered that he look at cctv

All makes me think he’s scamming you

Yup.

I'd call my bank, and then 101.

TroysMammy · 10/07/2021 11:53

Do a chargeback with your bank and if you get the whole £65 back then you've had a free pizza.

Dramabananallama · 10/07/2021 11:54

The shop owner sounds like a nightmare. In future, always make sure to double check the amount before paying. It’s a well-known scam.

If the bank tries to fob you off (which they may do for Chip & Pin) ask them to request not just the Pin receipt but also the itemised receipt.

Dramabananallama · 10/07/2021 11:56

And do tell the police that you suspect fraud - it may seem like a small amount but if it happens regularly that’s actually a lot of money!

warmfluffytowels · 10/07/2021 11:58

It's a scam.

But the bank may say that by using chip and pin, you authorised the amount.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 10/07/2021 11:58

That's very interesting that the contactless 'was down' and the CCTV 'isn't working' and yet there's no possible chance that something else might have gone wrong to charge you £65 for one pizza, so it must have been your mistake....

This is obviously a regular scam that he pulls - probably seeks out victims after the pubs have closed and who don't look like they might threaten or deck him (CCTV is broken, isn't it, so they'd get away with it, wouldn't they....?)

Aren't most card payment machines these days linked to the till, so the amount displays automatically? It's a long time since I've seen somebody have to manually type in the amount payable by card, except maybe for a market stall or mobile food van.

As well as all of the excellent advice about raising a chargeback, definitely spread the word on SM. There are probably others who will come forward, who thought they were alone and that nobody would believe them.

If you find a few other victims, you could even approach your local paper and give them the story about the problems with faulty card payment technology, which has beset you all, and criticise the lack of support given to the pizza shop owner by their card processing company, as the system seems very difficult to reconcile - pointing out that customers will be concerned about going there. There will quickly be a flurry of comments (from customers and other business owners) to the effect that "Well, MY (local) shop never has these problems" and "If there is a keying error, it's very simple to correct it".

Without outright accusing them of anything, the message will come across that (for whatever reason) using this shop proves a real financial risk - always in favour of the establishment - and then, well, it's up to people whether they want to go there instead of businesses that don't have the same 'problem', isn't it.

Even if he came clean (or more likely claimed that he'd finally forced the company to fix the 'glitch'), the loss of trade and goodwill in the meantime would be way more than the extra that he scammed.

This is exactly the sort of behaviour that leads to massive 'Business Under New Management' banners covering the whole window appearing before long. When genuine, honest, respectable business owners sell up because they're retiring or moving or whatever, the new owners invariably don't mention the new ownership/management status at all.

BeBraveAndBeKind · 10/07/2021 12:00

@FawnFrenchieMum

You may not have much luck with the bank as you put your pin in authorising the payment without checking the amount on screen.
I agree with this. It's been a few years since I worked chargeback for a bank but what I do remember is that regardless of whether the shop worker did this deliberately, it's the customer's responsibility to check that the amount being charged is correct on the card reader before they enter their PIN. It's worth a shot but I'd be surprised if the bank will refund you.
warmfluffytowels · 10/07/2021 12:00

Aren't most card payment machines these days linked to the till, so the amount displays automatically? It's a long time since I've seen somebody have to manually type in the amount payable by card, except maybe for a market stall or mobile food van.

I worked in retail last year and everything had to be inputted manually! It's surprisingly common.

Movinghouseatlast · 10/07/2021 12:02

Do a chargeback on your card, contact your bank.

FrenchieFromGrease · 10/07/2021 12:04

If it's a small place surely he'd remember making and selling 10 pizzas - that would take well over an hour! Since he's denying any error it's clearly a scam. He knows he didn't make 10 pizzas

It's easy to press ok on the card machine and not notice he'd added an extra zero. He probably does this all the time.

Please update us with what happens!

RustyBear · 10/07/2021 12:04

Aha!! The records will say that OP paid contactlessly. Which cannot be done for a £65 bill!!!

You can if you use Apple Pay.

BikeRunSki · 10/07/2021 12:07

The limit fir contactless payments is £45 though.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 10/07/2021 12:09

The only reason he told OP that contactless was down is because he knew that's you can't take that big of a contactless payment usually. Most shops are set for a maximum amount of say £45 or so. I bet my right arm that he KNEW it was an overcharge.
He was hoping she wouldn't notice the extra zero on the pad.

Exactly, he was so brazen about it. He could have changed it £36.50 or something and not needed to lie about contactless being 'down' (is that even A Thing?), but he was just too greedy even for that.

I'd never thought of this aspect before: the contactless limit is supposedly to mitigate losses if a thief steals/clones your card and uses it in shops; but there's also this angle of preventing the minority of dishonest business owners from massively fraudulently overcharging.

Unless by 'contactless is down', he just meant that, as he'd deceitfully increased the cost so high - above the CL limit - the system automatically removed contactless as an option. Horribly devious man.

claralara42 · 10/07/2021 12:09

Aha!! The records will say that OP paid contactlessly. Which cannot be done for a £65 bill!!!

She clearly states she did not pay contactlessly and entered her pin.

RustyBear · 10/07/2021 12:11

Apple Pay is a contactless payment, do you mean contactless with a card?

ThursdayWeld · 10/07/2021 12:11

@claralara42

Aha!! The records will say that OP paid contactlessly. Which cannot be done for a £65 bill!!!

She clearly states she did not pay contactlessly and entered her pin.

Yes, I know I caught up after.
Welshflowerpower · 10/07/2021 12:13

Haven’t read it all but how can it be a scam when you see the amount when you type in your pin? Chancing it that you wouldn’t notice maybe but not quite a scam.

I often phone and order my takeaway just giving the card number over the phone so really they could just take any amount they fancy. Surely that’s more open to scamming than what happened to the OP?

Flowers500 · 10/07/2021 12:15

What a bastard, clearly did this on purpose as he would remember a huge order like that. Bank, police and social media!

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 10/07/2021 12:19

I worked in retail last year and everything had to be inputted manually! It's surprisingly common.

Ah, fair enough, then. Seems such an easy step (with potential for error) to automatically bridge and eliminate with modern technology.

Simply brushing it off with "You must have spent £65" is so obviously crooked, though. As it's a small one-man affair and 10 pizzas would be a larger than normal order, you'd think he would have remembered your order and counter "But you DID spend £65 - it was 10 pizzas" rather than the pathetic 'you must have'.

Any business with any integrity would retrieve and go back through the receipt/order with you. It's not uncommon for people to genuinely query and then realise "Oh, yes, I forgot we had the extra bottle of wine" or even to find that it was legitimate but something to remember for another time e.g. "Wow, I didn't realise that XX sundries cost that much!"

Hellocatshome · 10/07/2021 12:29

I often phone and order my takeaway just giving the card number over the phone so really they could just take any amount they fancy. Surely that’s more open to scamming than what happened to the OP?

Why the hell do you do that when there are a many safer ways to pay?!

Challengerice · 10/07/2021 12:31

Surely he could easily respond

“This customer is trying to pull a fast one. She ordered £65 worth of pizza and now trying to claim it was £6.50. Needless to say she doesn’t have a receipt (convenient). I can assure you - this customer DID spend £65. Be warned other restaurant owners”

Essentially your word against him Op.

xsquared · 10/07/2021 12:32

I hope you manage to get your money back op.

Have you checked reviews for this place on TripAdvisor or Facebook? Perhaps you can leave a review to warn others what he's done.