Tipping - Getting ripped on the tip

[CtznCane]

In the last 2 weeks, we've encountered what I feel is a serious flaw in using a debit or credit card for tips.

On both these occasions we used our debit card and when we later compared our balance on line the figure was off. Last night it was off by $1.10 and the other time it was also off only by a dollar and some small change. These differences are slight enough that (and especially if on a credit card) it doesn't seem worth the time to make an issue out of it, yet over a period of time it could really mount up.

Has anyone else noticed this kind of trend? The first time we didn't make an issue, but now, since this could be a big time scam we're taking the time. (We do tip well to begin with so it is not the amount but the principle.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I've never heard of this. But if you keep your receipts, you show the bank what YOU filled in and signed for and have them adjust it.

[Pan]

How would it work to put a line through the "tip" line on the credit slip and pay the tip in cash?

[winesonoma]

It may be a service charge for using a debit card. Not unheard of, in fact common at ATM machines.

[bergerka]

Did you compare online immediately after returning home (or the next morning), or wait a few days? Sometimes restaurants (like gas stations or car rental places, those that accept debit cards, that is) will put a "hold" on a larger amount (anywhere from $.50 more to $50 more!) for a few days, to ensure that funds are available, and then charge only the amount you specified.

K

[marie-louise]

It may be a service charge for using a debit card. Not unheard of, in fact common at ATM machines.

←

It still seems weird that it is not showing up on the bill to be signed. It also seems weird that it's not a round number-like a $2.00 service charge.

BTW-We've never noticed this, but I must confess we don't check our bills against the receipts like that. We just glance through the charges; if the date and company looks correct, and the charge seems approximately correct, we pay it. Someone could add $10 to each meal and we probably wouldn't notice it. This COULD BE a really good scam.

Let us know what you find out-

Edited January 2, 2005 by marie-louise (log)

[CtznCane]

[

BTW-We've never noticed this, but I must confess we don't check our bills against the receipts like that. We just glance through the charges; if the date and company looks correct, and the charge seems approximately correct, we pay it. Someone could add $10 to each meal and we probably wouldn't notice it. This COULD BE a really good scam.

This is exactly the point. Had this been on a credit card, as long as it wasn't outrageously different we wouldn't notice either. Even when noticed, if the amount is under $2.00 does it really fall into an amount that one wants to make an issue over? Yet multiply it out and the dollar amounts can easily soar.

As to Pan's suggestion of lining it out and paying cash for the tip, that is what I'm inclined to do from now on. As to WineSonoma's thought about a surcharge, they can't charge you a sur charge without prior notification so that isn't it.

We (actually my better half) usually check after we get home as well as a couple days later. Typically, depending on the amount, the first one that shows is without the tip (the preapproved amount submitted) and then it is adjusted within the next couple of days to reflect the tip. It is on the smaller amounts (last nights dinner was 30.xx before tip) that it shows up the first time with the tip included.

The first time this happened, a couple weeks ago at a local ethic restaurant we said nothing and let it slide. Last night was just up at Denny's and Carolyn did call up there to complain though I don't know what the result of that call was yet. It does though have me wondering just how many times it may have happened in the past.

[Juanito]

It did happen to me, not too long ago. I was at the Richmond airport, and went up to one of the concessions for a barbecue sandwich. They had a tip jar on the counter. I put the sandwich on my Visa card. I did not include a tip on the charge, because I put a dollar bill into the jar. I remember this because I had to ask my companion for the dollar, as I didn't have change.

When the statement came, the charge for the sandwich was a dollar more than my receipt. I always reconcile my statements, but, as you say, a dollar wasn't even worth calling the CC company, being put on hold, etc.

Wasn't a TV chef/restaurateur/cookbook author implicated in a similar scam a few years back? I seem to remember him getting in trouble for altering the tips on cc receipts.

[lambretta76]

I've noticed that if I check the card a day or two after I've eaten, the price is higher than I left. (I usually leave tips in cash as some unscrupulous restaurant owners take the service fees out of the tip.) However, in a couple of days, the charge will be correct. There's no mention of a refund - it just shows the correct price. Must be the pre-approval that someone else mentioned (like the time my heart nearly stopped when my bill for a rental car was $500 more than was quoted...)

As for weather its worth it or not to report this - I think it most definitely is. Just think at how many people may be scammed on any given day, and multiply that by 365. Thousands of people might be getting screwed by this restaurant every year. If you don't want to call, many credit cards allow you to file claims online - no waiting on the phone. If you've gone through the trouble of checking your bill, comparing receipts, etc. - it's not too much of a hassle to try to help out fellow diners.