Community Corner
How a Reston Couple's $1.50 Tip Turned Into a $5,000 Mistake
A clerical error led to a local restaurant inadvertently overcharging a local couple by $5,000, and the issue took four months to resolve.
A Reston couple’s $1.50 tip at a restaurant quickly turned into a $5,000 mistake that’s taken four months to correct, and it wasn’t until local ABC affiliate WJLA got involved that a resolution was reached.
Pallavi Srivastava and her husband visited Lifetime Fitness, a gym close to their Reston home, and after the visit stopped in the gym’s cafe for a bite. The bill was $24.97, paid on a credit card with a tip of exactly $1.50.
The Reston couple’s credit card statement the next month said the meal cost $5,448.69. The restaurant’s waiter accidentally typed in his employee identification number as the tip, according to the WJLA report.
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A four-month saga ensued in which the couple took on interest and late fees, all while struggling to get back $5,000 they never spent in the first place.
They threatened to get WJLA involved, and that pressure ultimately led to the long overdue refund.
Find out what's happening in Restonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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