[Villages PL]

I received a debit card from my car dealer and I used it once at Publix, then again at Aldi's. Well, the last time I used it there was a small amount left on the card. 37 cents to be exact.

The next time I went to Aldi's it was late in the evening. I think thats when they have new cashiers in training. I said, "I have a small amount on this card and would like to use it up and pay the rest in cash." I swiped the card and she said it didn't work. I swiped it a couple more times and it still didn't work. So then she tried it herself several times and it still didn't work. She called the manager and he couldn't make it work either. So she gave the card back to me and said, "we can't make it work."

After all the swiping and pressing of various keys on the key-pad, I had a strange feeling that the money was swallowed up into the system. So I asked her if the money was still on the card and she said yes. Then she asked for the full amount of the purchase and I payed her in cash.

Two weeks went by and today I just decided, out of curiosity, to call the card company. They looked up my account and said that my card balance is zero and that the .37 cents was payed to Aldi's. Just as I suspected!!!

It doesn't matter whether it was .37 cents or 37 dollars, the customers money is not supposed to disappear into thin air. I looked at my receipt before I left the store and there was no indication that anything had been deducted. It just showed the amount of the purchase.

What could have caused this to happen?