One woman is urging fellow customers to do this one simple thing to prevent themselves from getting overcharged at restaurants or retailers. Luckily, it only takes a few minutes to set up and could save you from paying more than you intended.
“I just got overcharged $31 for dinner, and I caught it,” Debbie Dujanovic (@debbieradiogirl) says in a trending TikTok video.
Dujanovic, who often posts dating advice for older women but sometimes veers into financial topics, explains that while in Las Vegas, she decided to treat herself to a steak dinner that came out to $79.
“Because I have my notifications on my Apple Watch, every time my credit card is rung, my debit card is rung, I get a sweet little notification from my bank telling me how much it was rung for,” Dujanovic says.
Now, remember that $79 amount on the receipt? The notification Dujanovic got was for $110. That’s a $31 difference, which is a pretty big jump.
“It was a really good dinner, but I don’t want to be overcharged $31,” she says.
When the server came back with the receipt for Dujanovic to sign, it, in fact, had the new $110 amount on it.
Dujanovic thought about it for a moment, seemingly not wanting to be a rude or problematic customer, but she called the server over and pointed out the issue.
“Oh my goodness. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen,” the server said apologetically. It seems it was just a human error, and the manager let her know the accidental charge was corrected.
Because Dujanovic had those notifications on, she was able to get the issue fixed quickly, so she urges viewers to take the time to also set their banking notifications on their phone or smartwatch.
Why should you have banking notifications on your phone?
Just a few months ago, Dujanovic shared the incident that originally led her to set up her notifications and take pictures of her receipts.
She bought food from a pizza place, but they allegedly charged her an extra $20. When she called their corporate office about it, they asked if she had a receipt for proof. Since she didn’t have a receipt, the company refused to refund her the extra charge.
And it had happened to her before, too, when she was charged twice for snacks at a baseball game. Another twenty bucks just gone.
Because of these incidents, she decided she wanted to be able to be aware of and address the problem then and there, so she set up bank notifications. Now, every time she swipes her card, she can easily verify she was charged the right amount.
“I check the notification as I’m standing at the register,” she said.
If this happens to you and you aren’t able to resolve the issue directly with the merchant (like the restaurant or retailer), you have the option to dispute the charge with your card company.
@debbieradiogal Here’s your sign to get a receipt! #money #finance #dinner #restaurant #vegas #lasvegas #food #summer #vacation ♬ original sound – debbieDujanovic ♥️
While filing a dispute is usually pretty simple, it can take weeks to resolve, depending on the situation.
People in the comments section had plenty to say, and some shared their own stories.
“Ran the wrong card on the wrong table I’ve done that many times,” a server shared, potentially explaining what happened with the charge.
“Yes, I just experienced this yesterday. It was only 1.30 but it was an extra of my money. I now will always check,” a person shared.
“I always take a pic of the merchant copy of the receipt so I can dispute it with the credit card company,” another chimed in.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dujanovic for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
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