WARNING: Do not use your credit cards at the bar

[flip]

this exact same problem happened at the bull & finch on macloud. i called the manager and she essentially laughed at me. so i found the original slip. it was like $20 and they charged me 30, because i didn't leave any tip because the service was so bad...and i was sitting at the bar...and the place was empty. so i threatened to call the cops because they defrauded me. so they refunded me all 30 not just the extra 10.

[urban1]

This is done a lot. I check my CC accounts online quite often and have caught this a few times. Most people never look at their monthly statements and reconcile it against their receipts.

If a server adds $2 to every bar tab in the course of a night, that could be a couple hundred bucks. Its probably easier to do an extra $10 or $20 and blame it on a mistake if your caught. Most people wont complain about $2 if its a month later even if they catch the mistake (and most wont catch it.)

The worst is if your in a big group and ordering round after round and especially if shooters are involved. Goodluck remembering at the end of the night if that was 15 rounds or 16 or 17 and how many times you ordered how many shooters.

[NSFL]

Originally Posted by J pold

Yeah I have…but the idea of credit card have never really appealed to me I have always been raised with the notion that you pay off you debits right away and you never spend money you don’t have, so I just prefer to save up for whatever I want to buy and than get it…now of course I haven’t made any major purchases… (Houses, new cars etc.)

Like I said I have just seen way too many of my friends and family compile a ton of debt at the bars or casino, or the mall or something like that

Someone said something about establishing good credit with a credit card. I agree with that. Basically, just don't spend if you don't have the same amount in your bank account. I've always paid off the amount that was due on my card, every single bill. And if you hit the bar, go with cash. Leave the card at home. Then, when you run out, gee, no more money, no more drinky. Home time!

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by urban1

The worst is if your in a big group and ordering round after round and especially if shooters are involved. Goodluck remembering at the end of the night if that was 15 rounds or 16 or 17 and how many times you ordered how many shooters.

which is why i never get ****faced at bars. when i go out with friends to a pub or something, it's a 2-3 drink max depending on how long i'm there. that way not only can i be sure not to be ripped off, i can avoid a further raping by driving myself home instead of trying to get a cab

i save all the drunken debauchery for private parties, where you can sleep it off on a couch if need be and save hundreds of dollars by avoiding insane bar markups. why anyone would waste so much money to get tanked at a bar is beyond me

[getbak]

Originally Posted by FireFly

Generally, any restaurant with a tipping function with overcharge as a temporary authorization just to make sure they are covered. Then when the actual charges go through, it goes down. Are you sure that's the actual charge, or is that just a temporary authorization?

Exactly. If you just went to the bar on the weekend, there's no way the transaction could have been fully completed yet. I've been to places that put an automatic 15% onto your credit card authorization to make sure it will go through. If you write in a tip other than 15% or tip in cash, your balance will be different when you check it online. It should be finally processed by the end of the week and should reconcile to what you wrote in. If not, then complain.

You'll also find the same thing if you rent a car (they "charge" a deposit greater than the final price, but don't actually process the charge unless you skip town with the car), or if you buy gas using a "pay at the pump" feature (they authorize at least $100 before they let you start pumping). If you check your credit card immediately after making this type of purchase, you'll see a charge that's much higher than what it will actually be when it's officially processed.

This is also why they warn people to never rent a car using a "debit" credit card, that looks and acts like a Visa or MasterCard but immediately debits the cash out of your account. On a credit card, most people won't notice the temporary authorization (unless they check their balance online a lot), but they will notice an extra $400 dollar missing from their bank account as it's being held by Hertz.