You call the institution that manages your card (bank or visa or whatever), explain the situation, and dispute the charges.
Have you checked your bank account again? This happens to me all the time. The place charges me like 65.37 or something but that number is pending, and I never end up leaving 37 cents on the end so I used to notice this and freak out. But a week later it will say the correct amount I wrote down. I don't know why it happens but it is common.
Anubis
No Lifer
this is true however if you wanted to leave no tip at all for sh!ty service they will still auto wack you for the 15% and leave it there, happened to me and IIRC someone else here
took a lot of yelling to fix that one
I've never been to a place that authorizes a card to include tip. It's always what was on the bill before I've added the tip.
Nope. The restaurant holds onto the CC copy and the copy of the check for at least a year, usually 3 years- for IRS reasons, and for situations like this.
I was going to say this as well. I do the same. I'm glad you posted this earlier than me seeing this thread.
Amused
Elite Member
- Apr 14, 2001
- 57,455
- 19,923
- 146
Take a look at this people (especially pulse8):
I think this answers the issue once and for all. The CC TERMINALS have a setting for this and the practice is quite common. The charge is NOT theft or a ripoff but a temporary authorization for a set tip amount.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/237788_overcharge24.html
Here's a tip: Credit card terminals may be padding the bill (temporarily)
By CANDACE HECKMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Maybe the service was really bad. Maybe they left cash on the table or just ordered take-out.
Whatever reason diners have for not adding a tip to their credit-card receipts, they probably wouldn't appreciate finding that the restaurant charged them one anyway.
Because of a setting in credit-card terminals distributed by the nation's largest consumer bank, thousands of restaurants, without even knowing it, could be temporarily charging diners an automatic gratuity on top of the agreed-upon bill, reducing the funds or credit available to card users and potentially alienating customers in the process.
Pomirat Sawangpob, manager of the University District restaurant Thai 65, said he didn't know that each time he swiped a customer's card, the restaurant's bank, Bank of America, was seeking a charge on his behalf for 20 percent more than the amount on the customer's receipt.
The charges, which are authorized "holds" that appear on credit-card and checking-account statements, are only temporary in most cases and are resolved automatically by the bank in about three days.
However, banks could keep the holds in place for as long as a week, reducing the money available to the customer and putting the account in jeopardy for overdraft fees.
When diners complained about overcharges, Sawangpob discovered the bank's process and immediately adjusted his credit terminal to stop adding the gratuity.
"This is not right," he said. "Customers shouldn't have to wonder, 'Hey, why am I being charged this?' "
Alex Ross was beside himself when he received his bank statement last month and found that Thai 65 had charged an extra $2.44 to his Visa Check Card.
It wasn't the first time he'd noticed it.
Ross, who just graduated from the University of Washington, keeps a tight checkbook, immediately recording every debit-card transaction in Microsoft Money to balance his budget.
Being a typically poor college student, Ross said, there have been times when an unexpected $2 hold against his available funds could have caused him to overdraw his checking account.
He doesn't eat out often, and over the past two years he noticed that several of his bank statements showed greater charges than he wrote down.
Last month, after eating at Thai 65, Ross kept the receipt to confirm his suspicion. He called the bank and had the charge reversed. But the experience left an awful taste in his mouth.
"I feel like it's some kind of fraud," Ross said. "I would feel the same if someone just took my credit card number and started using it."
Over the last four weeks, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, too, was charged authorization holds during multiple visits to Thai 65 and other Seattle restaurants. Only one of those authorized holds was resolved within three days.
A merchant services representative for Bank of America said that most restaurateurs likely don't realize that they are adding an extra 20 percent to the card authorization because it never shows up on the receipt.
Philip Tran, owner of Thai 65, fears that word of mouth among the close-knit college community could damage the reputations of restaurants such as his.
With that concern in mind, Visa, the world's largest credit association and the industry's policy leader, has told its restaurant members not to place such holds on its transactions.
"The authorization should be for the amount of the bill only," said Rosetta Jones, spokeswoman for Visa International. If a customer leaves a tip, then the restaurant can go back to the machine and adjust the amount. And "the total amount should be what the cardholder signed for," she said.
Traditional service industries, such as hair salons, restaurants and hotels, have used sales equipment that places a hold on accounts, Jones explained. The holds are meant to reserve extra credit or, in the case of debit cards, actual cash, to be sure the merchant can collect on any possible tip.
But this practice could put off consumers, she added.
In its 125-page merchants guide, Visa explains that its "zero-percent tip" policy arose because consumers are now able through the Internet and ATMs to monitor their account balances almost instantly.
"Say, for example, a cardholder's restaurant bill is $100, but the staff adds on a 20 percent tip -- that is, $20 -- for authorization purposes," Visa's guide explains. "If the cardholder only adds on a $15 tip, or leaves the tip in cash, the authorization 'hold' on the larger amount may make it appear he or she was overcharged. And that, in turn, can mean angry phone calls from unhappy customers -- and the potential for reduced business."
Betty Reese, a Bank of America spokeswoman, said that her company follows all the rules and procedures set out by Visa and referred the P-I's questions to Visa.
She added, however, that she understood that restaurants could decide to charge an extra authorization if they wanted to.
Bank of America both issues and processes Visa cards. The credit terminals do not discriminate between credit or debit cards or the brand of card.
Holds on funds are commonplace, so the bank provides merchants with equipment that processes the extra charges, said Sharon King, a merchant services representative for the company.
In the case of Thai 65, customers were being charged the 20 percent gratuity, regardless of which bank issued their credit or debit card, until the terminal's settings were changed.
King insisted that because such holds are not illegal, merchants should be able to take them.
She added that Visa's policy is merely advice to merchants.
In Ross' case, though, not only was an extra 20 percent charge held, most of it was never dropped.
The restaurant processed a final tip of 15 percent anyway, though he did not authorize a tip on the receipt.
Sawangpob said it appears one of his servers, disappointed at not being left a tip, took one anyway and was able to do so because a tip charge was already authorized. This is a separate problem that the manager said he would fix.
The practice of charging more than an agreed amount is a felony in Washington called "factoring."
While technically criminal, factoring is rarely investigated by law enforcement, so consumers are usually left to monitor and investigate their own account irregularities.
Visa's Jones said that consumers should always keep their receipts and reconcile them with the account statements they get in the mail or view online.
CARDHOLDER TIPS
I think this answers the issue once and for all. The CC TERMINALS have a setting for this and the practice is quite common. The charge is NOT theft or a ripoff but a temporary authorization for a set tip amount.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/237788_overcharge24.html
Here's a tip: Credit card terminals may be padding the bill (temporarily)
By CANDACE HECKMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Maybe the service was really bad. Maybe they left cash on the table or just ordered take-out.
Whatever reason diners have for not adding a tip to their credit-card receipts, they probably wouldn't appreciate finding that the restaurant charged them one anyway.
Because of a setting in credit-card terminals distributed by the nation's largest consumer bank, thousands of restaurants, without even knowing it, could be temporarily charging diners an automatic gratuity on top of the agreed-upon bill, reducing the funds or credit available to card users and potentially alienating customers in the process.
Pomirat Sawangpob, manager of the University District restaurant Thai 65, said he didn't know that each time he swiped a customer's card, the restaurant's bank, Bank of America, was seeking a charge on his behalf for 20 percent more than the amount on the customer's receipt.
The charges, which are authorized "holds" that appear on credit-card and checking-account statements, are only temporary in most cases and are resolved automatically by the bank in about three days.
However, banks could keep the holds in place for as long as a week, reducing the money available to the customer and putting the account in jeopardy for overdraft fees.
When diners complained about overcharges, Sawangpob discovered the bank's process and immediately adjusted his credit terminal to stop adding the gratuity.
"This is not right," he said. "Customers shouldn't have to wonder, 'Hey, why am I being charged this?' "
Alex Ross was beside himself when he received his bank statement last month and found that Thai 65 had charged an extra $2.44 to his Visa Check Card.
It wasn't the first time he'd noticed it.
Ross, who just graduated from the University of Washington, keeps a tight checkbook, immediately recording every debit-card transaction in Microsoft Money to balance his budget.
Being a typically poor college student, Ross said, there have been times when an unexpected $2 hold against his available funds could have caused him to overdraw his checking account.
He doesn't eat out often, and over the past two years he noticed that several of his bank statements showed greater charges than he wrote down.
Last month, after eating at Thai 65, Ross kept the receipt to confirm his suspicion. He called the bank and had the charge reversed. But the experience left an awful taste in his mouth.
"I feel like it's some kind of fraud," Ross said. "I would feel the same if someone just took my credit card number and started using it."
Over the last four weeks, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, too, was charged authorization holds during multiple visits to Thai 65 and other Seattle restaurants. Only one of those authorized holds was resolved within three days.
A merchant services representative for Bank of America said that most restaurateurs likely don't realize that they are adding an extra 20 percent to the card authorization because it never shows up on the receipt.
Philip Tran, owner of Thai 65, fears that word of mouth among the close-knit college community could damage the reputations of restaurants such as his.
With that concern in mind, Visa, the world's largest credit association and the industry's policy leader, has told its restaurant members not to place such holds on its transactions.
"The authorization should be for the amount of the bill only," said Rosetta Jones, spokeswoman for Visa International. If a customer leaves a tip, then the restaurant can go back to the machine and adjust the amount. And "the total amount should be what the cardholder signed for," she said.
Traditional service industries, such as hair salons, restaurants and hotels, have used sales equipment that places a hold on accounts, Jones explained. The holds are meant to reserve extra credit or, in the case of debit cards, actual cash, to be sure the merchant can collect on any possible tip.
But this practice could put off consumers, she added.
In its 125-page merchants guide, Visa explains that its "zero-percent tip" policy arose because consumers are now able through the Internet and ATMs to monitor their account balances almost instantly.
"Say, for example, a cardholder's restaurant bill is $100, but the staff adds on a 20 percent tip -- that is, $20 -- for authorization purposes," Visa's guide explains. "If the cardholder only adds on a $15 tip, or leaves the tip in cash, the authorization 'hold' on the larger amount may make it appear he or she was overcharged. And that, in turn, can mean angry phone calls from unhappy customers -- and the potential for reduced business."
Betty Reese, a Bank of America spokeswoman, said that her company follows all the rules and procedures set out by Visa and referred the P-I's questions to Visa.
She added, however, that she understood that restaurants could decide to charge an extra authorization if they wanted to.
Bank of America both issues and processes Visa cards. The credit terminals do not discriminate between credit or debit cards or the brand of card.
Holds on funds are commonplace, so the bank provides merchants with equipment that processes the extra charges, said Sharon King, a merchant services representative for the company.
In the case of Thai 65, customers were being charged the 20 percent gratuity, regardless of which bank issued their credit or debit card, until the terminal's settings were changed.
King insisted that because such holds are not illegal, merchants should be able to take them.
She added that Visa's policy is merely advice to merchants.
In Ross' case, though, not only was an extra 20 percent charge held, most of it was never dropped.
The restaurant processed a final tip of 15 percent anyway, though he did not authorize a tip on the receipt.
Sawangpob said it appears one of his servers, disappointed at not being left a tip, took one anyway and was able to do so because a tip charge was already authorized. This is a separate problem that the manager said he would fix.
The practice of charging more than an agreed amount is a felony in Washington called "factoring."
While technically criminal, factoring is rarely investigated by law enforcement, so consumers are usually left to monitor and investigate their own account irregularities.
Visa's Jones said that consumers should always keep their receipts and reconcile them with the account statements they get in the mail or view online.
CARDHOLDER TIPS
- When signing a receipt at a restaurant, don't leave the tip line blank. If you wish to leave a cash tip or no tip, do not write 0. Draw a broad line through the area, and fill in the total line.
- Make sure to duplicate on your own copy what you write on the merchant's receipt.
- Cardholders should always keep their receipts and reconcile them against their account statements sent in the mail or made available online.
- Oct 28, 1999
- 62,484
- 8,345
- 126
^^^^ What Amused said.
It's a common thing with credit card merchants and it's not something that the restaurant can turn off or request not to have done.
I know. I spent a full day going back and forth between credit card merchants, our point of sale vendor, and our corporate franchise office trying to figure out if it's something that we could turn off.
Gas stations will do similar things sometimes. They will authorize up to say, $50.00 and then only charge the actual amount that you ring up.
It's a common thing with credit card merchants and it's not something that the restaurant can turn off or request not to have done.
I know. I spent a full day going back and forth between credit card merchants, our point of sale vendor, and our corporate franchise office trying to figure out if it's something that we could turn off.
Gas stations will do similar things sometimes. They will authorize up to say, $50.00 and then only charge the actual amount that you ring up.
I can't believe how stupid a lot of posts are in this thread....*sigh* why can't people just at least TRY to understand what's going on before saying OMGWTFBBQ THAT RESTAURANT IS FRAUD KILL THEM ALL DIAF!!!
I cant believe this is not common knowledge by now. I work at a restaurant and people call all the time angry that their dinner last night cost more than the credit card slip shows.
Its called PREAUTHORIZATION CHARGES, they take like 3 days to clear. If your gonna get mad, get mad at the company that handles the credit card transactions.
Its called PREAUTHORIZATION CHARGES, they take like 3 days to clear. If your gonna get mad, get mad at the company that handles the credit card transactions.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
And, since you don't get your bill at a restaurant until *after* you eat, why don't you pre-authorize for the amount of the dinner, then if the customer adds on a tip, add on the pre-authorization for that amount as well afterward. That's the issue here.
Suppose Joe Shmoo takes his girlfriend out to a dinner that he can barely afford (he has $20 cash on him and $130 in the bank) The dinner is $100, wiping out all but $30 of his checking account (he pays with debit). But, to look good to the g/f, he pays a $20 cash tip. The restaurant pre-authorizes $120. Later, Joe needs to purchase some groceries and writes a check for $25. Joe knows that this leaves $5 in his account.
However, he gets nailed with overdraft fees when the check goes through before the $20 pre-authorization is resolved.
Would your restaurant reimburse him for those overdraft fees?
Are those overdraft fees due to his negligence?
You have your receipt for 30, you call your bank and the bank deals with it. I have done this 12 times with 100% success rate. Don't let teh restarants get away with it.
Wow, what restaurants do you goto thats ripped you off 12 times? Ive gone out to many restaurants and have never had a credit finalization on my statement be different than my receipt.
it's happen to me before... but it's just a temp charge. When the charge is finalized it's the amount that you charged for.
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