Overcharged at Steakhouse in Brownwood?
 

A couple of neighbors and I have noticed up charges on our credit card bills from receipts retained when dining at a local Steakhouse in the Brownwood town center.

Anyone else encounter this issue and notify management?
What results did you get?

It’s only a couple of dollars-but over the course of the day-it can add up.

Thanks for your responses.

I.e., not Cody’s. Starts with P.

In what way were you overcharged? You remember the burger was $10.99 but the receipt showed $12.99? After the tip the amount on the receipt was $75 but your statement shows $77?

I have been there a number of times and never been overcharged. The owner is an ethical businessman who owns several restaurants in TV. I hope you contacted the restaurant for an explanation before posting your accusation.

I would say the same did you get an explanation? Have been there several times and have not seen anything like this.

Notice the “?” In the title? Notice the “question in the post?

Of course, contacted the owner directly.

Bill received, tip added, kept receipt to compare to credit card charge which was higher than bill+tip on signed receipt.

What was the owners response?

Yes, spoke with the owner. With several in a small group who have frequent the establishment-simply curious if only our group is impacted. Occurrences on different dates/visits.

Glad to hear of no issues for you.

Interesting. I haven't experienced that though I've read of it happening in places outside the Villages.

Hopefully, the discussion with the owner was fruitful and he will resolve the issue internally without the need to escalate it to the credit card company.

Initially started with management. That was in March 22nd. Finally got to owner today who refunded the amount same day. He indicated this has happened previously. In asking the original question-was simply trying to gauge “how often” this occurs.

Yes, exactly why I keep receipts until no longer needed.

Not that it makes a difference in this case, but the way restaurants process credit card charges is different from most businesses. First, they present you with a bill without the tip, say $80. Then, they take your credit card into the back room and immediately place a pending charge on your account for $80. Then, they return your credit card and a bill for $80 with a blank space for a tip. You add the tip, say $20, and sign a receipt for $100. If you use credit card alerts, like I do, you will immediately get an email or text alert for a charge of $80. Then, a day or so later, someone in the restaurant will change the pending amount from $80 to $100, which will show up on your credit card online statement. So, the bank alert never actually verifies the correct amount charged. I think the restaurant should only process one amount, the one that you signed, and not have someone change the amount days later. That is one reason that I always pay cash in restaurants.

All of this was previously hashed out on "NextDoor"...

Not sure if they're expecting a different result...

Nope. I NEVER pull out a credit card at a restaurant. We always pay cash.

Last year, someone wrote that they paid for food at Fenney Grill with a credit card but gave a tip in cash. Later they found the manager at Fenney Grill had added a generous tip to their credit card charge. Big surprise.

What next Twitter?
They must really be disgusted with restaurant to keep dragging it out on social media.

Is there a prize for getting the right answer?

Lol

So, Is there a prize for the post of the day that meets the Posting Police standards for correct content and grammar?

And, back to altered tip amount, it happened to us twice here in The Villages in 13 years. Both were small amounts. The first time, it was easy to make a "7" look like a "9". After a visit with the owner he reluctantly refunded the overcharge. The second time we neglected to follow up but, since we eat there regularly, just decided to watch in case it happened again. It hasn't.

That would be the last time there for me

Maybe that was the manager they fired suddenly. Crap happens when you have employees, we have been going there for 5 years and never had a problem with anything. I'm with VApeople, use cash.

Used to use cash at restaurants but since covid started very rarely use cash so we do charge pretty much everything these days.

I ALWAYS pull out a charge card or a credit card at a restaurant. The value of the points that I would lose, against the value not having to watch for an overcharge, is not worth it.

I do however tip with cash and forgo some points. I believe it’s better for the server.

Without incurring extra charges, I almost always go for the points. It really pays.

I don't know what restuarants you frequent but we pay with credit card all the time at restaurants and usually add the tip on to the CC. I have NEVER seen two charges on my credit card bill. I also have never experienced a different charge than my receipt (which I keep to reconcile my statement).

You won't see two charges on your bill. The first charge is a "pending" charge that is later changed to include the tip. Every credit card charge starts out as a pending charge and is later converted to a final charge. If you set up alerts with your bank, you will see the pending charges immediately after you make a purchase. So, if I spend $50 at Publix, within a few seconds, I will get an email that shows that I spent $50. This verifies that they charged the correct amount. But, if I spend $60 at a restaurant, including a $10 tip, I will get an email showing that I only spent $50, because they charged my account before I added the tip. Then, they manually add the tip a few days later and the final charge on the credit card bill is for $60. If you don't get alerts, that is the only charge you will ever see. The problem with this process is that you cannot verify that they charged the correct amount until the final charge is posted on your credit card account. And, the person who manually adds the tip can make a mistake or deliberately overcharge you. I am not saying that restaurants deliberately overcharge, but I believe that most restaurants use the same charging process. That is why they take your credit card into the back room before you add the tip. I highly recommend that you set up alerts for credit card charges so you can immediately verify all charges.

I receive at least $1500 a year back from my credit card company, I’ve used my card all over the world , without a problem for more years then I can count , I do tip in cash always more then 20% , I do check my receipts but if I’ve been taken for a few dollars ,well if I don’t know about it , I can’t worry about it

But not everyone next door…

So, you think they giving the 1500 to you. There catch….

And could you tell me what is the catch

Only catch could be is if restaurant is paying extra to the cc company to allow for cashback and restaurant passing it on to you.

I’m paying the same as cash customers , there are some places mostly small businesses that will offer a discount for cash.but that has to be posted.

Nope. I either get cash back or points to use as cash. The purchase price never changes whether I use a "cash back" card, a regular card, or cash...

Not what I meant. Think that perhaps the restaurant ups its menu pricing a bit to cover a higher cc cost.

Well that would only mean the cash customer is only paying more for his meal then the cc that’s going to get back something for using card and pricing for any business includes many variables

I agree on charge cards.

Also about the tip.
Isn't it better to leave cash then add it to you charge card for tax purposes.

Actually, the banks do charge the merchants more to process cash back credit cards than they do for non-cash back cards. Each type of credit card has a separate bank fee, and it is all rolled into the monthly fee to the merchant. However, the restaurants definitely benefit by accepting credit cards. For example, when McDonalds started accepting credit cards in 2003, their average transaction amount increased from $4.50 to $7.00. People just spend more money when they can charge it.

I never add tips to CC. I do not trust the restaurants to pass on full, or any of the amount to workers.
By cash tipping, I know server has had the money in hand.
I will not eat at a restaurant that adds a 'service fee' either.
A. For same reason as above.
and,
B. Who are the management to presume I/we enjoyed meal, or service?
JMO.

If you mean that the server could under-report income because of the lack of a paper trail, then yes, the server could pay less income tax.

But you're assuming they actually up the CC charges...

If I get 3% back from my sams cc at restaurants somebody is paying for it.