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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU shop keeper credited wrong amount to electricity card?

53 replies

JollyAndBright · 10/12/2018 11:09

I’m posting in AIBU for traffic as I feel this is urgent.

Two days ago my friend went to a small independent convenience shop which is close to her house and put credit on her electricity card as she does every month.

Today she went back into the shop and the shop keeper (owner) told her that he made a mistake with her electricity credit and she owes him money, she hadn’t noticed but he had the proof ready to show her that he had accidentally credited her electricity card three times more than she asked for and paid for.
In the shop if you are paying by card the shop policy is paying before the credit, so he puts the sale through his till, charges you and then does the paypoint transaction.
He obviously input the wrong amount into the paypoint when doing the credit.

The shop keeper was understandably quiet upset about his mistake and was very insistent that my friend pay him the money immediately.
The problem is she doesn’t have it, she budgets very carefully and credits her electricity card a specific amount every month.
She knows she has the credit so owes the shop keeper the money but the best she could offer is to pay it off over the two months (when she would normally credit the card).

The shop keeper was very unhappy with this offer and told her she had until the end of the day to repay the money or he will call the police.

I don’t believe the police will be interested as it was the shop keepers mistake, but my friend is terrified because technically she does have electricity credit that she did not pay for so she thinks she may be in trouble if she can’t pay it back today.

Has anyone been in this situation before?
Does anyone know what her rights are or legally what she should do?

OP posts:
Baking101 · 10/12/2018 11:53

I would tell him to call the police and see how happy they are to waste their time.

I would pay him back if he dropped the attitude but if he kept it up I would just go somewhere else for electric top ups. He's an idiot.

Original poster
JollyAndBright · 10/12/2018 11:53

That’s what I though, it’s not as if she is some unknown stranger, she goes into that shop at least once a week and has done for the last 5 years, the shop keeper knows who she is.

It was his mistake, he should accept her offer and be grateful she’s an honest person and not someone who would disappear and just avoid the shop for the foreseeable future.

She has also just told me that at least twice she has been overcharged in the shop, both times by she mentioned it on her next visit but didn’t ask for a refund.

OP posts:
Pinkyyy · 10/12/2018 11:54

In that case OP, she ought to tell him to read his own sign

MrsGarethSouthgate · 10/12/2018 11:57

If the shopkeeper rang the police force I work for they would be told that it's a civil matter for them to sort out themselves.

Buswankeress · 10/12/2018 11:58

As he typed the amount into the machine and made the mistake, I doubt the police would care. I have made similar mistakes where I haven't noticed that a contactless payment has been declined at a busy and noisy function. The company lost that money, as it was a genuine mistake, but my fault, I offered to pay it back but the offer was declined in light of the fact I'm not normally an idiot usually very accurate and I have learned from the mistake and religiously check each slip no matter how busy I am!
We didn't chase for payment from the customer. It was my mistake.
I think he should count himself lucky she's offered to pay at all, many wouldn't.
I think possibly calling the energy company for advice, as they might have had this situation happen before and although I don't think they can physically do anything they might be able to help point your friend in the right direction.
I wouldn't be using the shop again if he was being arsey over it tbh, but I live in the arse end of nowhere and I know that sometimes you have no choice where to top up your meters.
When she speaks to the energy company, get her to ask about smart meters, they are so much easier, mine were installed free, and I can top up online instantly. That will mean she doesn't need to go into the shop if he's being awful about it all.

sonandhelpneeded · 10/12/2018 11:59

That shopkeeper is so out of line! The police won't be interested as no crime has been committed! What crime is he accusing her of?

Pay him monthly and tell him to be more careful in future!!

MatildaTheCat · 10/12/2018 12:00

What an unpleasant man. IF she goes back she needs to tell him that he either accepts her offer or he will not see a penny and she will take her business elsewhere.

He should be apologising to her and seeking her help not threatening her.

Jaxhog · 10/12/2018 12:02

Tell the shopkeeper that she will pay in the next two months as this is what she would normally have topped up. If he's not happy the offer is withdrawn.

I'm gobsmacked that he hasn't jumped at this offer. He will lose a customer (at least) if he doesn't gracefully accept. It was HIS mistake. The police won't be even slightly interested.

PinkHeart5914 · 10/12/2018 12:07

The shop keeper messed up, it’s HIS mistake. The police aren’t going to be interested as no crime has been committed

Honestly it’s his mistake and becuase of the way his approached the situation despite being the one at fault, I’d find a new shop and not pay him a penny

MsLexic · 10/12/2018 12:07

I would check your meter and also the electricity supplier as he could be scamming her. It's HIS mistake so she is not responsible unless there is something she signed initially when setting up the account? It is certainly NOT a Police matter- unless he IS scamming her, then I would tell them for sure!

KittensAndChristmasCake · 10/12/2018 12:07

How could he even phone the police - surely he has no proof she didn't pay him the full amount for the extra credit at the time? If he treats his customers like this, I'd be inclined to go elsewhere.

BlueJava · 10/12/2018 12:11

It is his mistake, he should wait for the cash if she is kind enough to give it to him. As others have said a lot of these shops have signs up re checking the transaction at the time, I think she's been very kind offering to pay him over the next 2 months.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 10/12/2018 12:22

Yep his Mlistake I'm afraid. He can't be spitting his dummy out ajs stamping his feet like a 2 year old baby being told they can't have candy.
Well he can, like, but. There's not much point. You can't get blood out of a stone and especially at this time of year. He'll get the money back in affordable instalments and like it
With the drastic cuts to the police. I honestly hand on my heart don't think they'll be remotely interested. Intact they'd probably tell him off for wasting their time.
. Sadly They have far bigger things to worry bout ie rape and murder ect etc
Oh and I agree with pp about not using the shop again.

10PollyPockets · 10/12/2018 12:32

He's lucky she's offered to repay, she's under no obligation to repay him for his error. I honestly would just offer once more and if he still said no I wouldnt repay it at all. She should find another shop anyway if she's been overcharged twice and now this.

Cherries101 · 10/12/2018 12:34

Tell her to ignore it and use another shop.

CaliHummers · 10/12/2018 12:46

“Please check your change and receipt before leaving the shop, mistakes will not be checked or rectified after you leave the premises.”

To be honest I'd just point him towards his own sign. And unless it's a one-shop village I'd just shop elsewhere. She's been entirely reasonable, he's an utter arse, and a bullying one at that. I bet he'd have been a bit more polite if your friend was 6'4" and weighed 17 stone.

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 10/12/2018 13:09

It is his mistake so tough really and its good of your friend to pay it back, even in instalments , and he should accept that

However, just a question really , did your friend not note the larger amount go on on the meter ? I have a smart meter and when I top it up the amount goes on almost instantly so surely she would have noticed ?
Not a dig, its not that important, but just wondered

Unicornandbows · 10/12/2018 13:15

I'd tell him to read his own sign

BarbaraofSevillle · 10/12/2018 13:20

Surely there must be a way to correct the mistake without the friend paying the extra straight away?

What if he'd accidentally put £3000 instead of £30 on for example? There must be a way of correcting this and going back down to the balance she has paid for?

If she doesn't have the money, she doesn't have the money? Can the electricity company or whoever runs the pre-pay system sort it out?

CaliHummers · 10/12/2018 13:21

Rabbits I don't always look at my meter after I've topped it up and I don't get a text or anything. Though thanks to this thread I think I'm going to be checking receipts and the meter carefully from now on!

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 10/12/2018 13:31

Fair enough Cali Smile

Yes , I will check twice myself I think after this.

ViragoKnows · 10/12/2018 13:33

What if he'd accidentally put £3000 instead of £30 on for example? There must be a way of correcting this and going back down to the balance she has paid for?

There must be minimum and maximum transaction levels on those things.

skybluee · 10/12/2018 13:36

I bet if she'd gone in to buy a bottle of lemonade and been given the wrong change, then gone back in to try and sort it, she would've been told tough luck and things can't be changed once you've left the shop.

What's fair is for her to pay it when she normally would've paid - so next month and the month after.

Is there another shop locally or is this her only shop? This is the issue, because if she has to go in there every few days or every week it's going to be horrible if the shopkeeper has had a bad attitude with her.

MondayImInLove · 10/12/2018 14:28

To be honest I'd just point him towards his own sign
Me too, and tell him according to the shop’s rules I won’t be paying anything as it wasn’t raised during the first transaction, and that it will make up for all the times the mistake was in the shop’s favour and the customer couldn’t get their money back.
But then I love to make a point.

longwayoff · 10/12/2018 14:33

He's lucky she's offered to pay at all. His error.