How many times did you run that card??

[Ben_Who]

This might have been cheaper if I'd gotten the burger I was musing instead of going for this big heaping fried clam plate. The fried clams at this restaurant are okay, but nothing to sing about. My roommate also ordered a fried clam plate, which was all well and good...until the waitress confused us for each other.

I took a sip of my soda and noticed that it was diet. Roommate, on the other hand, was draining away at my cola and giving me furtive glances, hoping I wouldn't notice. I snatched my soda out of his hand and shoved his nasty diet cola at him.

However, this happened three times. Each time, the sodas would come, we'd each take a sip, and swap them. Then his dessert landed in front of me. Mine landed in front of him.

The checks arrived. The difference in meals was modest, but he'd ordered some treats from the dessert cart in a box to take home, and there was no way I was paying for those. His check landed in front of me, mine landed in front of him, but some of my items were on his check, and some of his items were on mine.

We politely corrected the waitress and sent the checks back. She returned to the register and a few minutes later returned with the checks again - and again, his landed in front of me, and mine landed in front of him.

The third time we got the checks, it was clear that she was at least making an effort, as some of his items had been returned to his check, but it was still a few dollars' off. Apologizing all over the place, the waitress returned to the register and ran the checks again. Again, she handed Roommate my check and me Roommate's check, but this time we were able to just swap them - at least they were consistent. She ran our cards, and when she returned to the table, she put his card in front of me and my card in front of him.

The next day, I was on my way to an Event. So, I popped open my checking account on the computer, and my jaw hit the floor and bounced.

I'd been charged twice for my own meal and once for his, for a total deduction from my bank account of $80 for one meal. Roommate had not been charged at all. Those were some highly expensive fried clams, right there.

If I'd just been charged for both meals, I would have hit Roommate up for the sum and that would have been the end of it. As it was, I got on the horn to the restaurant immediately, rendering me late to the Event. The woman who picked up the phone on the other end said that she'd get a manager and disappeared. Another woman picked up the phone, said the manager would call me when he was available, and also disappeared. No manager ever called back, and I haven't had the chance to take another shot at it today.

This could still be interpreted as a string of honest mistakes, or we could be moving into brush-off territory. Either way, I think tomorrow merits a personal visit to the establishment for a reasonable and rehearsed discussion, sans raised voices or suck. Right now, I'm working on disputing the payments online, which I hope won't interfere with a potential refund.

Better luck next time.

Love, Who?

[Anakah]

That would totally irk me too! Yes, I'm sure it was an accident but they better refund you. Can you bring your receipt and your bank statement or maybe tell the bank themsevles what happened if the place refuses? That sucks... I hope it turns out okay.

[Pairou]

Oh jeez... definitely go and get your money back! That's insane! Bring roommate too, I think. :/

[LillFilly]

All of that was just...mind boggling. I would never go there again if I were you! If you do, pay cash!

[Geek King]

First things first: In the U.S., dispute any improper charge with your card company if the eatery is giving you the runaround. You have a limited amount of time to start that process, so don't let it slip away. If the restaurant denies it the first time, re-file to dispute so the card company will actually investigate. S.O.P. is to believe the company first time. Rediputing the charge will force the company to prove the charge is correct. This will take time, but you need to start the process rolling within 60 days, most states.

While that is being taken care of, you can continue to work on the restaurant. I'd suggest going and requesting a manager in person, preferrably during a slow time. Write the owners if managers keep brushing you off.

[MaggieTheCat]

Wow, what a horrible mess. I hope you get it resolved easily enough, and keep us updated! That waitress sounds like a complete ding-bat. I can understand maybe mixing up drinks once, or forgetting what someone was drinking and having to ask, but mixing up EVERYTHING? I would probably have talked to a manager about her, just to let them know that she doesn't seem very good at keeping things straight, which, you know, is a big part of a server's job.

[Anakah]

If they keep brushing you off, maybe it wasn't an accident after all.

[ReverendBSB]

It is possible that your card was not actually charged the first two times, but there was an authorization made for them so it appears taken out of your account. Usually when this happens the charges that are not sent through disappear after 3 days to a week. This happened to me once at a restaurant. The server charged us for two of another tables drinks, and after I paid I noticed. They voided the first charge and ran my card again, but the first charge showed on the statement for a week before it went away.

So talk to the manager/owner and start the dispute process just to be safe, but it may be nothing.

[bainsidhe]

What Reverend said is also what I'm wondering. Each time a card authorizes, it places a hold on the account until the official charge goes through. Did you see the actual charges or just a "hold" on the amount? That's still extremely frustratingand is beyond stupidity. Demand this be taken care of immediately. Even afterwords, I would honestly still write a letter to corporate (if there is one) expressing your displeasure. Especially if you feel you're getting the runaround. How else will the owners know?

[Ben_Who]

So I went off to the restaurant again today to have a word. I waited patiently, and eventually a server came out and told me that the manager had gone to the bank. "She had to get there before four."

I looked at the clock. It was 4:21.

"When will she be back?"

"About 20 minutes."

"I'll wait."

His face fell as he saw that that was not going to make me go away. He and a few other servers rotated in and out of the kitchen for a while, taking care of the early dinner arrivals while always keeping a rather suspicious weather-eye on me. When I opened a 400-page paperback novel at 5:00 and it became clear that I was prepared to wait until Doomsday, one of the servers came out and asked why I needed to see a manager.

When I told her, her face looked ready to pop. In retrospect, I now realize that it was a "That bint sent me out here to deal with an irate customer without preparing me!" look. She whipped around and was gone.

Another 20 minutes or so ticked by, and she emerged with an incomprehensible printout that apparently, somehow, indicated that I had been charged but once. She asked to see a bank statement. I had none. She asked if it were possible that a flaw on my card could have caused it to charge twice with one swipe. I gave her the LOOK. She started talking - babbling, really - about how some cards will put holds on cash to ensure the amount will be met blah blah blah, and I realized that she was trying to manufacture plausible deniability. I cut her off and said, "When will the manager be back."

"Nine-fifteen," I said.

"I'll be here."

I went home. I checked the website. The restaurant closes at nine. I checked my accounts. No, the money charged was in the "pending" column, NOT the "holding" column. I had officially been blown off.

Roommate came home about then, checked HIS account, and - wonder of wonders - he'd been charged for his meal. It had apparently happened between the time I left the restaurant and the time he returned home. Meanwhile, I was still left with his charge and two of mine.

Roommate decided that I wasn't being assertive enough and that I needed a Champion. He called on my behalf. Lo and behold, the manager was there, though it was but 6:30. He essentially went through the same conversation I did, and ended up in the same place - wait for the "pending" charges to sort themselves, and if they don't, go ahead and come back and make more noise.

I told Roommate, "If the bank were just holding the money, the charges would be under 'holding.' They're under 'pending,' which means the money was actually deducted."

He looked at the phone. "...Whoops," he said.

So that was round two. Prepare for round three.

Love, Who?

[lupo pazzesco]

um. wow.

If they're blowing you off deliberately, then I believe you need to follow what others have said and call your bank/credit card company to dispute the charges. That is such suck in a bucket on behalf of the restaurant.

And what's with the "Is something wrong with your card that it automatically charges you twice?" bit? I've NEVER heard of that happening.

Definitely got the blowoff, and I hope round 3 goes better for you.

[MaggieTheCat]

And what's with the "Is something wrong with your card that it automatically charges you twice?" bit? I've NEVER heard of that happening.

Maybe she was thinking of authorization/hold that someone mentioned earlier. However, I don't think I've ever heard of that showing up on a statement twice. Back in the call center, customers would call and complain because they'd place an order, then cancel it, but there would still be a "charge" on their card. It was actually just a hold that the bank (I think?) put there, we had nothing to do with it. Again...don't think it actually showed as a double-charge.

IN ANY CASE, I would be absolutely livid with the establishment by this point. The servers BLOWING YOU OFF and LYING right to your face? The manager nowhere to be found? Where the hell is the owner/corporate and why haven't they been contacted?

Good luck with round 3...

[Fox One]

What the HELL?! At the restaurant I serve at, if we screw up something like that, firstly it's auto-termination if you don't get a manager involved the moment you realize what happened, second you get it charged back onto the card automatically, PLUS a free meal, third, we'd kiss your ass ten ways to sunday for the inconvinience. I'm honestly shocked something like this happened.

[EricKei]

I'm still mystified at the fact that someone can switch up your orders and drinks and desserts AND checks AND cards that many times....Even if she's totally green, it smacks of "just not paying attention AT ALL", or else intentional scamming on the restaurant's and/or the server's part. The way you've been treated since then suggests the latter, to me. I really hope I'm wrong >_>

[Jetfire]

I'd take a printout of your bank statements in next time you go in, but do NOT let them make compies of it. (And fuzz out any account info and any other info on it other than your name and the restaurant's charges if you can).

And contact your CC company to dispute the charges, as well as contacting up the Restaurant chain of command if possible. (To the Owner if you can find them, or to the Head office if it's a chain).

Write up a Letter to the Editor as well and bring it in with you and say if you are not satisfied with how this is dealt with, it will be sent out to the local media and any local ombudsman (and any other Consumer Rights group).

Oh and call the local health board/restaurant inspection agency and explain a brief version of your story hinting that if they're messing up billing, what else might they be messing up?