A couple from Oklahoma were left in tears after being charged $4,500 by Starbucks for only two cups of coffee.
Jesse O’Dell and his wife Deedee have been buying Starbucks coffee for the past 16 years. They usually spend around $10 on their morning coffees until their daily purchase suddenly took an unexpected and vacation-canceling twist.
In an interview with Fox 23, the frustrated husband said: “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.”
But they were charged a whopping $4,456.27 after Starbucks accidentally added a $4,444 gratuity charge.
The couple did not notice the mishap until Deedee was shopping with their four children and her card was declined.
She immediately called the coffee chain’s district manager, who said that there had been a network problem that caused the charge.
The couple felt relieved when they received two checks totaling the amount but it was short-lived as both checks bounced when they tried to deposit them into their account.
“We contacted their customer service helpline probably 30 to 40 times that day and just blasted every new case that we could just until we could hear from somebody, and we did,” Jesse said.
“We got a call from one of the representatives in Seattle. They assured us that they are sending new checks, but as of today, we still have not received the checks.”
Frustrated by the way the situation was being handled, the couple filed a report with the Tulsa Police Department.
They said that their trip to Thailand, Deedee’s home country, had to be canceled because of what happened.
A Starbucks representative reportedly explained that new checks were sent out to the couple and that they have already received them.
Jesse is now urging others to remain vigilant by checking the receipts to avoid such an unpleasant experience.
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