A cashier mistakenly charged me $10 instead of $100. Can my credit card be charged later with the difference?

Question

I paid for towing services last week with a credit card. The towing company accidentally charged me $10.00 instead of $100.00 (The receipt shows that the cashier keyed $10.00). Days later, the company charged my credit card the additional $90.00.

Is the towing company within its rights to charge my card again without my permission? It was their mistake.

Thanks!

I realize that there are ethical implications here. However, I'm just curious about the legal implications. I signed for the original $10, obviously not the additional $90. What does credit card law say?

Answer 1

Well you probably had a verbal contract for the towing for $100 so they had the right to charge $100. They should have contacted you (if they had a phone number for you) to let them know it was being corrected. If the same type of mistake was made by you wouldn't you want the full amount? Just because a mistake is made doesn't mean that it is a closed case.

Answer 2

While it *may* be a violation of the towing company's agreement with the card issuer to charge a card without the cardholder's signature, the real answer is that you received $100 worth of services and only paid $10 of it, so you owed the towing company $90. You could fight them on it, but even if they reversed the $90 charge, you'd still owe them $90.

It sounds like you were initially OK with the $100 charge on the card, and agreed to it, but were fortunate to have them mis-key the amount. If you look at the transaction as a contract, you agreed to pay $100 for their towing services, and they agreed to provide the services for $100. Their initial mistake in only charging you $10 doesn't alter the terms of the initial contract.

Answer 3

They should have called you to let you know that they would be charging additional money to your card. I would not dispute the charge with your credit card company. This will tie up the $90 for up to 3 months and in the end the towing company will win the case. Its a no win for anyone. I would call the towing company and tell them that your not happy with their service.

Answer 4

Of course they are - you agreed to pay the $100 for the service, and, as you well know, a simple keying error resulted in you being charged one tenth of what you should have paid.

If you dispute the charge, your bank or credit card company will simply go back to the towing company, who will explain that it was an honest mistake, and the dispute will be denied.

Answer 5

Yes, the towing company is perfectly within its rights to charge you the difference and your case would stand very little chance in court. What happened to being honest?

Answer 6

Yes they can, it is up to you to dispute the charges. You could contact your credit card and dispute the charge but in the end you'll still end up paying it by court action by the company. You knew exactly what you were suppose to be charged and to try and get around it is just wrong, in the end you'll end up losing.

Answer 7

I am not sure if they can or not. If I were you I would call my credit card company and dispute the charges. Fax the credit card company your receipt for ten dollars.

Good Luck

Answer 8

Technically, no. I would talk to your credit card company and tell them it was an unauthorized charge which you did not sign for.

Answer 9

if you didnt sign for the 90.00 charge then no. there are no exceptions in the event of a screw up by the merchant. if there were you could get charged later for anything and they could just say "oh we messed up"

Answer 10

I don't think they can do that. check with your credit card co. By rites you owed the money, but they should have called to let you know they were gonna do that. or better yet you should have brought it to their attention when you realized you were undercharged.