Drive-Thru Customer Says Employee Added Unauthorized Tip to His Bill — ‘You Can’t Just Take Somebody’s Money’

The man in this video on X is sparking discussions about employees at certain establishments who tip themselves, especially when a customer has paid with a credit or debit card. In this incident, it's a Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The customer said that the employee at the drive-thru added $0.82 to his total, which he did not authorize. It's also clear to see that the cashier responsible for this "tip theft" is a foreigner, and could barely speak fluent English. The post also claimed that unauthorized tipping on purchases under $750 in Indiana is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.

The man began the video by saying that he came to Dunkin' Donuts to get a drink. He continued, "I got me a drink and they told me my order was $5.44. So I look on here and. . . They charged me $0.82 for a tip." He said he only noticed the charge after checking the receipt.

He went on to clarify that he didn't mind tipping $0.82, but it was the fact that the Dunkin' Donuts cashier decided to take the added charge off of his credit card without his authorization. That was what he had an issue with. He said, "I don't care about the $0.82 but the point is you can't. . . take somebody's money. . . If they didn't give it, you can't just automatically take it."

In support of the customer, one X user wrote, "Report that to the police. He’s doing it to everyone, guaranteed. It’s over $750. Stand at the front with a sign that says “check your receipt, they add tips without permission”. And report it to corporate. It’s also a lawsuit."

Should Fast-Food Chains Punish Employees Accused of Adding Unauthorized Tips?

The man continued to explain that after tapping his credit card to pay for the order, he looked at the receipt and noticed the unauthorized tip. He continued, "So I'm sitting in the drive-thru and I ain't moving. . . He's sitting there ignoring me."

The customer said he remained in the drive-thru until the cashier eventually spoke to him. When he opened the drive-thru window, it was easy to see from the headscarf and his accent that he was not an American.

The customer confronted him immediately and said, "I got charged a tip." But instead of addressing his concern about the tip, the cashier said, "Put down your phone."

The customer responded, "No, I'm not putting my phone down. This is how I record what happened here." Then he said plainly, "I want my money back. . . I just want what was taken." The cashier asked for his receipt back, which he gave him after taking a picture of it.

While waiting for his money back, the customer said, "He know he dead wrong. . . How do you just take somebody's money? If they doing that on a daily basis with everybody, that's crazy."

The cashier then returned with the receipt and the tip money. He explained to him that the receipt said, "Charged tips: $0.82," but his bill was only $5.44 with tax included. He said this before the cashier closed the drive-thru window in his face again, "You charged me $0.82 when my total bill came up to be $6.26. You can't just take tips."

The conversation also prompted one X user to make a similar claim about another fast-food chain. Another X user commented, "@shakeshack does the same if you don’t tip on the kiosk screen. Which BTW is self service. They secretly add it to the final balance and many don’t notice."

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims made in the video or the additional allegations shared by commenters on X.