Waiter gave himself a tip!

[steveatx]

Name of state: Texas

I recently checked my bank card statement online and noticed that I was overcharged almost $20.00 for a meal I had this past weekend. When I contacted the restaurant, I was informed that the tip amount had been changed on my receipt from $2.00 to $20.03 and that the manager (who I spoke to) would question his employees and get back to me.

I am curious-- if i decide to press charges, what class of crime would this be, and what would the specific charge be?

 

[seniorjudge]

Name of state: Texas

I recently checked my bank card statement online and noticed that I was overcharged almost $20.00 for a meal I had this past weekend. When I contacted the restaurant, I was informed that the tip amount had been changed on my receipt from $2.00 to $20.03 and that the manager (who I spoke to) would question his employees and get back to me.

I am curious-- if i decide to press charges, what class of crime would this be, and what would the specific charge be?

Did you sign the credit card authorization with this amount on there?

 

[steveatx]

I signed the credit card authorization with the $2.00 tip on it. After I handed the receipt in, a 3 was placed at the end of the tip amount (by the waiter or another employee at the restaurant, after I left the establishment), to make the tip $20.03. I was charged $18.03 more than I signed my reciept for.

 

[Goodfella]

I had a similar situation recently.We're you using a debit card?

If so, it could be that your bank hasn't posted the actual FINAL amount of the bill. When a card is swiped at a restaurant, the bank will typically add a percentage to the actual tab amount to account for the tip. It is considered a "pending transaction" and may not reflect the true final amount until the next business day.

According to the Bank of America website:

"This pending transaction refers to a merchant purchase made with your ATM or Check Card using a PIN that has not yet posted to your account. Typically, this transaction will post to your account by the next business day."​

 

[NotSoNew]

I had a similar situation recently.We're you using a debit card?

If so, it could be that your bank hasn't posted the actual FINAL amount of the bill. When a card is swiped at a restaurant, the bank will typically add a percentage to the actual tab amount to account for the tip. It is considered a "pending transaction" and may not reflect the true final amount until the next business day.

According to the Bank of America website:

"This pending transaction refers to a merchant purchase made with your ATM or Check Card using a PIN that has not yet posted to your account. Typically, this transaction will post to your account by the next business day."​

i had that happen to me when i bought a gift card for a resturant. there was a 20 dollar tip added on ( as a percentage) while it was pending, but when it posted the extra 20 fell off. but since the manager said the guy changed it to 20.03 from 2.00 i assume that wasnt what happened here?

how much was your bill that the guy thought going from 2 to 20 wasnt going to be obvious!??!

 

[steveatx]

Thanks for both of your replies. Unfortunately, it is not a pre-authorization issue, since a 3 was actually handwritten next to my $2.00 and the total was changed by hand on the receipt. Notsonew: This would have been a well-over 100% tip for me to give to this guy. Maybe since I am younger and was dressed pretty casually he assumed I wasn't one to check my account balances regularly. Who knows?