The family cancelled its vacation because of the incident.
Overcharging for some additional facilities provided by the eateries is something people have become habitual of. However, if the amount charged by the restaurant can wipe out the entire bank balance, customers will undoubtedly be surprised.
An American couple, Jesse and Deedee O'Dell, were recently charged more than $4,000 (Rs 3,66,915) for two cups of coffee at their neighbourhood Starbucks, and the incident happened in such a manner that they could not figure it out at that time. They learned about it later, on another shopping trip, when the card showed an insufficient balance, according to CBS News.
"Typically we do almost every day for the last 16 years. We get 10 dollars' worth of coffee," said Jesse. "I ordered the Iced Americano, and my wife, she always gets the Venti Caramel frappuccino with the extra shot and it's usually around nine to 10 bucks. An extra shot might raise it up to like $10.75."
After a few days, Deedee, Jesse's wife, took the kids shopping. She attempted to make a transaction with the same card, but it was declined because of a low balance.
"I tried it again because I know for a fact I have the money in the account for sure," said Deedee. "I do it again and again and again until I realize you know what, this is very embarrassing. So I walked out the store and I told them I'll be right back and I checked my account."
"For this to happen was just a real it was a real shock. I know for a fact I didn't do that but sure enough, it was there in the charge, " said Jesse. "We do give good tips but nothing like that. And from there, the real hell started."
After checking it properly, Deedee found that they were charged $4,444.44 (Rs 3,66,915) by Starbucks. Jesse inquired about the issue with the Starbucks district manager.
"He told me there was an issue they were having with their network I'm not sure if it's a localized issue or if it's a national issue but that's just what I heard was it was a sticky button issue," said Jesse.
According to a Starbucks representative, the firm is aware of the matter and believes that human error may have been involved in the incident.
However, Starbucks later handed them two separate cheques totaling $4,444.44 as compensation for the extra money that was taken out.