Uno Chicago Grill Charges You $200 When You're Not Even There
Lauren was shocked to find five charges for a total of $200 on her account from a pizza place she hadn't been to in months. They were all levied from one Uno Chicago Grill during a day she wasn't even in town. What she found out about why they happened in the first place was even more disturbing, and annoying.
Lauren writes:
Today while checking my bank account statement online, I noticed several (5) suspicious charges on my account. They were all for UNO's Chicago Grill (the Braintree, Massachusetts location) and they were all dated July 11, 2008. I haven't been there in months, so I was confused, to say the least. Not to mention, on July 11, I was on Martha's Vineyard. I was there for most of the week preceding these transactions. My card has never left my possession....
I called my bank immediately. As usual, they were very helpful and froze my card. They told me the steps I would need to take to go about recovering my money. I don't carry cash, so having my debit card frozen is a bit of a pain. My car is low on gas and since we just arrived home from vacation yesterday, there is nothing to eat in the house. Since I'm a single mom with three kids, getting to the bank before it closed was a priority for me.
After hanging up with the bank, I called the UNO's in question because I wanted to know how this could happen. If I've always had possession of the card, it would be illegal for them to punch in the number with no card. When someone answered the phone, I asked to speak to a manager. "Is this about charges to your credit card," the wait-staff who answered the phone asked me. I replied that it was. "Okay," said the voice on the phone, "Do you want to know what happened?"
Of course I do.
This individual explained to me that there'd been a "really big computer problem" and that cards were charged. I said I hadn't been in their establishment in months. "Yeah," he said, "Yeah it sucks."
I'm out almost $200 and I am told "yeah it sucks" ? And I was assured that they'd probably "do something". I hung up, mostly because I had to get back to the training I was in and didn't have time to sit on the phone getting no answers.
On my way home, I called again and asked to speak to a manager. Moments later a manager named Spencer took the call. He explained to me that there was a computer "glitch" at the bank that processes their credit cards which had gone back as far as November 2007 and made new charges to credit cards. I asked how could this happen? And why were they holding on to my credit card information months after I'd been there? Spencer had no information regarding this. Nor did he care that I couldn't put gas in my car or buy food for my kids that night. He did tell me that he knew this was "really inconvenient".
I think I'm more inclined to say "really illegal" and it's far beyond inconvenient.
I went to my bank and they helped me through the paperwork. I wrote a statement saying that I did not actually make these transactions and that I was, in fact, on Martha's Vineyard when it occurred. While I waited at the bank, I texted several friends about the situation, since we'd often go out to UNO's after work for drinks and a bite to eat. Of those I texted, I've heard back from five. They've all suffered a similar fate. And none of them knew it had happened since they don't obsessively view their transaction logs online.
I intend to make a lot of noise about this issue. While it's not the end of the world and I will most likely see my money back eventually, being out that much when you're a single mom with three kids is no small issue. Add to that that I've lost the use of my debit card for the next two weeks until the new one arrives and I've got quite a bit of inconvenience coming my way.
That is a big pain in the butt and UNO's blase response doesn't help matters either. This story shows one of the drawbacks of using your debit card: it's your actual money. If unauthorized charges go on your credit card, then only the credit card company is out and they have to deal with it. With a debit card, you are out the real money until the situation gets resolved. For these reasons and more, these days I hardly ever use my debit card except to get cash out of the ATM.
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Comments:
UNO's may not be to blame.
It really could be an error at the Merchant Bank that services UNO's.
Let's make sure the blame is directed to the party that is actually responsible for the error.
I wonder how many people unexpectedly got hit with insufficient funds fees after this happened, and who cleans up that mess? I think I need to start using cash again too.
If you use a credit card, you can easily put a dispute. But for a debit card... you know the pain.
Let me get this straight - UNO knew what was happening, but hadn't yet contacted any of the people who were impacted? Were they just going to let the charges stand for anyone unlucky enough not to notice? That's insane. I'd say if UNO can't show they made an attempt to either (a) reverse the charges or (b) contact cardholders, a lawsuit might have a pretty good chance of succeeding.
How many people suffered overdraft charges because of this "glitch"?
How much interest has Uno earned over the past couple weeks while all that money sits in its coffers?
This is a big deal.
IF the Merchant Bank did the error (I am betting on them), then UNO's is not profiting from the error.
And yes, Merchant Banks make errors. LOTS of them.
I don't understand why there is a valid reason for any company/bank/clearing house to hold onto your credit card number for 1 second longer then it takes for the charge to clear. The fact that inept companies (ie. TJ Maxx) hold onto your numbers in a huge database somewhere for months to years on end makes no sense.
Does anyone know of a valid reason as to why they keep your numbers for so long?
Gross. I should check my card for uno's charges. Luckily I use a CC so I'm not out funds immediately.
Ben, that's a good idea to not use your debit card. I am one of those obsessive purchase-trackers on my debit card-linked account but I think I am going to be using the two CCs I have in favor of the debit now.
I have some sort of psychological block against using credit cards for small transactions (I often find myself without cash). Like $2 and change for a coffee and donut--I have no compunction against the debit card but handing over the MasterCard seems somehow "worse"--when in fact it's "better" because the debit card cuts out the middleman, who, as you say, offers a layer of protection between creditee and creditor.
Are we just getting railed from all sides here? If the credit card company isn't charging usorious interest rates, you're the victim of someone's computer glitch. They should make it easier for the consumers and just have us pass under giant vacuums that suck the money out of our pockets.
It stinks, but it doesn't seem like the manager at Uno's could do anything to stop it. It's the credit processors error. The local manager is going to have no answers about the practices of the credit processor or any control over any aspect of that business. And it sounds like he's heard about it already. As a manager, it can be frustrating to receive complaints about things outside of your control. Also, I believe that credit card fraud requires intent to be illegal, so inconvenient is actually more like it.
Sucks though, good luck getting everything straighten out.
From the OP's statements "Today while checking my bank account statement online" and "I couldn't put gas in my car or buy food for my kids that night."
She use a check card?
@ekthesy: If you pay the card off every month you don't have to worry about the interest rates.
And for reasons just like this story, I've *never* used a debit card. Ever. I don't want the hassle of having to deal with real, actual money being temporarily lost.
I'll accept a debit card from my bank...as the last thing to go into my coffin before my Dirt Nap.
Yeah, this sounds like a corporate issue. Local management has control over service, and that's about it.
This does suck. And like has been mentioned above, there is likely little Uno's can do about it. Not only can they do little, as the numbers were likely not in their possession or their systems, they can likely not reach out to the affected parties. So yeah, it sucks.
Merchant processing errors happen all the time. This sounds like an incredibly stupid error if it went back to 2007, but an error none the less, and probably completely unintentional. Unos wasn't trying to scam anyone here.
I also want to get a couple thigns straight. OP says And why were they holding on to my credit card information months after I'd been there? so is it really a credit card or is it a debit card?
Also, you can go to your bank to fill out paperwork but you couldn't withdraw money to buy food for your kids? It is possible to be inconvenienced and not sound completely sensationalistic about the situation.
It sounds like Uno knows about the problem --- but it probable something way over the local staff & managers heads to do anything about.
This story sounds like it needs a little time to get things worked out - that is an error happened (sounds like a big one to many people), and sometimes those errors can't be fixed in 10 minutes.
Since you know it is not fraud (but an error), I would get your card unfrozzen so you can use it again.
I would guess that the business will do what is right and reverse all the charges. And hopefully they will do what is right and pay any fee's of overlimit's for people.... and hopefully they will go above just fixing it and offer free meals to people who were affected as a way of saying sorry.
Again, sounds like this story needs a few more days to get things rolling to correct it.
I had to use a debit card for a long time when I was under 18 and couldn't get a credit card. I don't like carrying around wads of cash. Now I use both pretty evenly.
I am baffled by what 'computer glitch' regardless of at Uno's or the card processor could make new charges!
Are the charges the same amount as a previous charge? Different? All on the same day? I just can't imagine how a computer could access date in files and generate a transaction without human input and commands.
Perhaps we are to easy to accept computer errors as inevitable and unavoidable. I think there is malicious intent behind this one and human interaction.
Does any find it a least slightly amusing that the OP keeps bringing up how she is a single mother with three kids in job training who "couldn't put gas in my car or buy food for my kids that night" but also vacations in Martha's Vineyard?
Is there a cheap area of Martha's Vineyard that I don't know about? Isn't the ferry to the island like $20 oneway itself?
I work in the credit card industry and I know EXACTLY how this sort of thing can happen, because I've seen it before.
Basically the restaurant POS has to store either a credit card # (encrypted) or a token for the credit card # (while the processor that provided the authorization stores the encrypted #). If you don't store the number you can't charge the card.
What happens is that perhaps there's something wrong with their credit card settlement process. A month, two months go by and their settlements don't go through. Suddenly they notice that they're not getting paid.
Someone fixes whatever it was and now all of those go through at once. If for some reason when the charges go through they don't get marked as processed on the Point of sale system, then it will just send them through again...and again...and again.
Or, sometimes the problem is upstream of the restaurant. I've seen instances where a credit card processor handling HUNDREDS of restaurants will recharge an entire days worth of processing, which impacts thousands and thousands of customers.
What can you do about it? Don't use your debit card. Use a credit card and pay it off every month.
If it makes you feel any better, chances are that UNO's had nothing to do with what happened and no control over fixing it. And they're also getting hit with tons and tons of phone calls from all of their customers during the affected period. Its the sort of thing that can really hurt a business.
Because like you...none of the customers who were double(triple? Quadruple?) charged are likely to come back.
This is why I like paying cash for just about everything. It's hard to get charged the wrong amount, and it's really hard for them to tack on extra charges to the 20 or 50 I just gave them.
99.999% of all "computer glitches" are not computer glitches. They are either user errors or someone trying to cover their ass for a mistake they made by blaming the evil computers.
I've also had smaller businesses sit on charges and put them through months later. I still owe them the money, and I guess it is their problem if they want to let the money earn interest in my account instead of theirs, but I would get pretty irritated if that happened in the debit world.
Credit is the way to go.
Yeah...the lady is sensationalizing and over-reacting a bit.
The processing company made mistake. Mistakes happen. If processing company violated VISA/MasterCard rules by keeping numbers longer than they need to, they will be fined.
This is terrible! I am a bank of America customer, and last summer I canceled my card b/c a fraudulent charge went through my account. But i canceled it with a customer rep at a bank branch, and they immediately issues me a temporary ATM card to use to withdraw funds. I don't see why the bank manager could not provide you with this option...
@B: Actually, I think Lauren would want to sue the company that handles Uno's debit/credit card transactions instead. Uno's didn't ask their debit/credit card transaction processing company to re-process their transactions from months/years ago. And once transactions are processed successfully and are authorized, I don't think there's much that Uno's could've done on their end. If there are glitches in the network or servers or whatever else that the debit/credit card transaction processing company uses, then it's up to them to fix the problems. It's not up to Uno's or other merchants that work with this company.
@Tmoney02:
Sounds like she was working/training there:
"I hung up, mostly because I had to get back to the training I was in and didn't have time to sit on the phone getting no answers."
Debit cards are so ridiculous, and this is yet ANOTHER example illustrating why I never use them and send them back to the bank in exchange for a basic ATM card ONLY. Banks WILL provide you with a NON-Debit ATM card - but you need to request it, sometimes several times.
Unless you've totally blown your credit and can't get a credit card, or you are too young to qualify or you can't get your folks to make you an additional cardholder - there is absolutely no reason to consider carrying a Debit card. None.
@bria: No she noticed and did the calling after coming home from Martha's Vinyard. And I highly doubt there is any job training programs on the island unless she is in the ferry boat business or something.
I recently opened a checking account at Bank of America (I know! But I'm moving long distance, and it helps to have a bank that exists at both ends right now!), and the first thing I did, before I even began transitioning from my old checking account, was to have them reissue my cards as non-debit ATM cards. No worry!
(Luckily, I had the sense to open the new account a couple of months before I knew I would need to use, it, so I could move from the old account easily. Getting the non-debit cards issued and in-hand took a couple of weeks. Plus I had time to get my new checks, etc to me.)
All purchases (aside from those impossible to make on a CC) are done on a credit card that my wife & I use exclusively for all out of pocket expenses, and they get sent a payment every week. This allows me to get good rewards back on the account as well. Not bad for just spending my money! Then there are a couple of unused cards that we keep unused in the event of a huge emergency.
@dweebster: You can always request both. At least my credit union allows you to have both an ATM card and a debit card.
She had no food for her kids? At all? Like... absolutely nothing she could feed them for even just one day?
That sounds weird...
Anyway, forget that, she's right, there should have been a whole lot more apologies and assurances that effort would be made. All I saw from those guys was shoulder-shrugging. Not cool.
I had been through a situation like this at a place I worked at. This was maybe 2 or 3 years ago. Basically what happened was that the card processor double and triple charged some cards. I think Wal-Mart was affected as well. the charges showed as the transaction it originated as. the issue isn't with UNO, its with the processing company. While UNO is aware of it there really is very little they can do, except get the processing company to refund everything. However it takes the companies accountants to figure out which charges were legit before they can refund them.
I know that we apologized profusely, explained what happened and also explained that we are doing everything to resolve it.
Something very similar to this actually happened to me, also. The credit union I'm a member of were very forthcoming - and in fact I even got a little tech talk out of them (my credit union is actually sort of awesome).
Long story short - there was a hiccup on the end of the credit processor. I'd be willing to bet a software fix or update did something funny when it went live. All sorts of old transactions had come back from the dead and processed (again) for reals. Including a pretty major one for a set of fancy pants summer tires for my car.
I check my balances the same time everyday/esp. before major shopping trips and caught it. Called my Credit Union right away. CU told me "Hey, we are working on it, something went really wrong. Your funds will be back soon. (then I asked a few deeper questions and got the jist of what was going on)." By EOB it was fixed and fees were erased, etc.
All my transactions were from November during this... So I wonder if a major processor messed up and this happened to a lot of people.
Shame on UNO though. What happened to phone etiquette and being kind to people on the phone that are really upset - especially if there is a problem?
@Tmoney02:
Well, okay, so she's got money. But if all your money is on ONE CARD and that card is frozen, then she has no money. It sucks, and it may be poor planning on her part, but it does suck.
The only thing I'm unsure about is why the OP didn't ask Uno for the name and number of their credit card processing company. If the error was really the processing company, then they are the ones that should be bombarded with phone calls (and attorney letters).
@coan_net: I understand where you're coming from with regards to some errors that can't be fixed in 10 minutes, but if this were me and I couldn't get access to my cash, you had better believe I'd want it fixed in less than 10. The processing company stole her money. Stole.
Computer error. Employee error. Swiped it from her pocket. It doesn't matter. They stole it. Apparently they even know they stole it. Now give it back. Now.
Why do we allow stupid "computer error" excuses?
I once had something along these lines happen to me except it was handled infinitely better. I'd made a ~$300 purchase at a local TV repair place on a Saturday. Monday morning before 10am someone from the shop called me to tell me their credit card processor had messed up and doubled all of the transactions from Saturday. He apologized profusely and told me the charge would be reversed by the end of the day which it was.
Sure Uno probably had more customers than this little shop, but you'd think someone would think to call and warn people that they had $200 less than they expected.
I'm more worried about her friends, if they don't notice several hundred in false charges, how poorly do they monitor their spending and their debt?
My credit union won't issue a non-debit ATM card. They're otherwise pretty decent and other institutions around here aren't, so I just cross my fingers and use it only as an ATM card. I would hope it's unlikely for a retailer or processor to have the information for it if it's only been used in my financial institution's machines.
@Tmoney02: Perhaps there's an explanation, but I agree with you. If you want to play up the poor, single mother card, just leave out the "Martha's Vineyard" part. Otherwise just accept that anyone, single mother or not, doesn't like having their money stolen/frozen.
@TVGenius: It would seem the OP and friends are well off for the most part so they probably aren't too concerned about a couple hundred bucks and its most likely camouflaged by lots of other charges. Most people don't go line by line through their statements like the OP so plus one one her side for doing that.
@bria: And -1 for her not having an emergency credit card or accessible cash. $30-40 bucks in the cookie jar or purse would have solved the whole not "feeding being able to feed her kids" and put gas in the tank. Or asking a friend for 40 bucks for a day while telling them about the charges. I don't want to blame the OP and it does suck that she froze her card and couldn't do anything else. (maybe next time she will get some food and gas then call to freeze?) But I roll my eyes at her dramatic attempts at sympathy by bringing up her being a single mother with three kids and no food all the while talking about coming home from Martha's Vineyard and calling up friends she hangs out with regularly (and not asking for a couple bucks for the night).
Uhm. Where's the issue here? An error occurred and an error is being fixed. Big deal. I once had $2,500 accidentally charged to my credit card by Qantas. That was due to a "computer" error. I was pissed, but they fixed it. So I got over it.
@AlexPDL:
The issue is that, because of poor planning or who knows what, she's without any access to money because of a mistake.
On top of that canceling the old card doesn't guarantee they can't still charge your account. Banks can still let charges go though on old expired numbers.
I don't have a credit card, only a debit card, but I've been able to do a chargeback on it. If you use your debit card with a PIN, it comes through like an ATM transaction and it debited from your account that same day. If I use it without the PIN, it processes like a credit card transaction and doesn't debit from my checking account until a couple days later. But both should be able to process chargebacks... but maybe I can do it on my debit card because I use a credit union. Any fraudulent debit on my checking account would be credited. Banks suck.
These incidents are becoming more and more prevalent and they need to be treated as what they really are: theft. You see the stories of people who walked out of Walmart and absentmindedly forgot to pay for that 12 pack of soda in the bottom of their cart, and they are prosecuted by Walmart.
Well this is the same thing - this person was deprived of his money/property. This was all due to negligence: negligence in keeping the person's billing info LONG after it was needed. Then negligence in taking the person's money. And finally negligence in not notifying the banks or cardholders. Only when it starts costing the companies money will they actually spend the money to hire qualified financial personnel to handle data and billing correctly. Until then - prosecute, rather than just allowing them the "oops" excuse. They would quickly press charges upon me or file with a credit agency if I made an "oops".
Gah!
That's just reprehensible.
Time for a class action lawsuit against UNO's (or just that one franchise) for all the people who were hit with these bogus charges.