What could I have done?

Rnger

I hope this is the right forum...

I went into spar to get some smokes and cashback using my laser card about a week ago. I put my pin number in and I was given the money and goods. It came to around 57 euro (50 cashback).

On the way in the fitzwilliam's saturday freeroll less than a week later I return to the same spar. I try buy a drink with my laser again. The manager working at the time asked me if I got a cashback a few days ago, he was the same manager on when I got my cashback but he was not the one who actually gave it to me (some lackey did). He must have recognized me, I remembered him.

He goes on to explain that I should have never gotten the cashback. The transaction was had actually failed but the newbie at the counter gave it to me by mistake. I had less than 50 or so in my account so it never went through. He asked me to wait and went to the back room. When he got back he was very aggressive with me. He demanded I pay the money or else he's calling the gardai. He must have made a call and got advice with how to handle this when he went to the back room.

I have no money on me. What the hell do I do?

I was a bit shocked/scared at this. I'm not very business minded, all i wanted was a drink! I was thirsty! Eventually I gave him all my details, my fathers details and left my phone with him as a garantee ill be returing while i went home and borrowed the money from my dad and paid him. (Got a fcuking 45 euro luas fine on the way home too, worst day of my life!)

After talking about this to some friends. One of them suggests I simply walked out and let him call the gardai, after all spar GAVE me 50 euro. It would have been up to goodness of my heart to return the money he said. Although he didnt blame me for how i handled it because 80% of people would have cooperated like i did. I thought he may have been right and am a bit pissed off with myself that I didnt let him call the gardai (I would have waited in the shop for them though).

Your thoughts?

i missed the bloody freeroll aswel, should have waited till i got to the fitzwilliam for a free drink instead!!

Slice

If they made an error like that then they're not in a position to bully you into giving them your mobile, to be honest you shouldn't have given it to them. Further more had they called the guards on you it would still have been a case of your word against theirs until either party could back up their claims with copies of receipts, transaction reports, etc

You should check with your bank and confirm that the transaction has not been debited from your bank account, also confirm with them that it is not possible for them as in Spar to present for that transaction on a later date.

Once you're satisfied that they wont be getting the money contact Spar and ask them if you can repay them in instalment if it's too much for you to pay all at once and ask for your mobile back immediately. Since it's their error it is unreasonable for them to demand the money back all at once.

MrPudding

TBH it would be really easy to prove it did not go through. At the bottom of the printout there simply won't be an authorisation code.

I think those systems that decline transactions in exactly the same way as they approve them are very poor. There should be a more obvious indication that the transactio is declined.

That said, I reckon you man could have been a bit nicer about it. I would have agreed to repay the cash but I would most certainly have not left his anything for security.

I would actually sent a letter of complaint to the person above him. it was not your fault that the manager of this store has not given his staff adequate training. I can appreciate that at the end of the day you oed him money but I think he could have went about recovering it in a better way.

MrP

gerrycollins

never mind the hindsight of the event have you checked your account and did they debit your account at the time?

If so go back with a guard yourself as the shop obtained monies from you under false pretenses. basically theft

If they didnt debit you account do as Mrpudding suggests and write a strongly worded letter to his superior demanding an apology for the way the matter was handled and you been made out to be a thief even though nothing was of your doin it was theirs,i'd even demand they pay your LUAS fine as it was their fault you were under stress at the time and not thinking straight because of the way you were treated,(of course they might tell you to f off but put the brown stuff up them)

Rnger

Another mistake from me. I never asked him to prove that I wasnt charged. I took his word for it. When I got home I explained the situation to my father and the first thing he said was about receipts. I happend to have it in my wallet with a nice big "DECLINED" written across the bottom with *'s around it. I was definetly not charged.

Red Alert

I'd nearly say in this cuthroat economy then tough.

Their staff were not trained to use the EPOS system. You asked for cashback and they gave it to you.

I can't legally hand someone 50 euro and then go and burgle their house for it a week later.

Rnger

Red Alert wrote:

I can't legally hand someone 50 euro and then go and burgle their house for it a week later.

So are you saying I could have simply refused to give them 57 euro? Not that I'm that dishonest. It just would have been far more convienient to do it at my leisure.

chrislad

To be honest, the way they handled this, I'd tell them to go stuff themselves, and use the 50euro to pay your LUAS fine.

Dub13

Don't worry about the Guards they will want nothing to do with this,its a civil matter.

TheDriver

Letter of complaint, any decent manager would ask you kindly with proof to pay it back and not take this heavy handed approach unless you firstly got aggressive about it.

Sir Random

If a shop manager spoke to me in an aggressive and threatening manner, I would have told him to take the money from the employee's wages and consider himself lucky that I don't press charges against him for harassment. If he objected, I would phone the Gardaí myself and demand a copy of the store's video, showing exactly how he had behaved towards me.

Red Alert

In fact some organisations (the Post Office I think) says that if the till's down you pay for it from your wages, if it's over you get to keep it.

I wouldn't pay them for their mistake. I'm not legally obliged to and I certainly wouldn't after being spoken to aggressively.