The Actress

[cella]

A friend and I had a nice evening at the Actress last week. However, we were surprised by their policy of dealing with credit cards. When we ordered food we were told it was table service, which is fine, but they asked if we wanted to set up a tab and took my credit card away to keep behind the bar. When I expressed concern about this the very nice waitress looked put out and said "we are all nice and very trustworthy". I felt this was missing the point - its obviously nothing personal but its against all the advice from banks etc that you hand over your card and it's then taken away out of sight for the evening. If they are going to have table service (and I am happy to provide a tip to staff if this the main reason for doing so) then they need to have a secure method (to the customer's satisfaction) of dealing with payment by card. In other bars they lock cards away and give you the key. Just wondered what others do in this situation?

[hellosailor]

I've never had my card locked away and been given a key in any pub, I've only ever done what you describe the Actress doing, handed my card over to be kept behind the bar until it is time to pay? Many pubs ask you to do this in my experience, never really thought anything of this, but I see what you mean in terms of security

[DulwichFox]

I do not take cards out with me at night..

I take enough cash for the evening.

I have seen women with concetinas of Debit/Credit/store cards in bars..

You should NEVER put your card behind the bar...

It does not matter how honest the staff may be...

I have seen many times in E.D. bars disputes about bills when people have insisted

items they have not ordered have been added to their bill.

Usualy the bar gives you a Playing card with a number on it.

The scam is then that when the place is busy, someone orders a round of drinks and points to

a table and just says ' can you put that on 501'

It is against the Terms of Usage to give your card to someoneelse or place behind the bar.

Card companies have NO obligation to reimburse you for any loss.

Foxy.

[binary_star]

The Clock locks it away and gives you the electronic key fob.

[mummypig]

If they won't trust you not to do a runner why should you trust them not to misuse your card?

[Cam123]

I have left my card behind the bar there, only to have someone else's given back to me!

[binary_star]

Cam123 Wrote:

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> I have left my card behind the bar there, only to

> have someone else's given back to me!

Had a rather disappointing experience using my credit card at The Actress where I was charged ?60 for a ?30 brunch. Contacted them about it but they don't seem interested. Shame.

[antantant]

Isn't this common practice? I've left my card behind all sorts of bars. Never had a problem.

[binary_star]

antantant Wrote:

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> Isn't this common practice? I've left my card

> behind all sorts of bars. Never had a problem.

It is, yes. It's not a problem until it's a problem.

[StraferJack]

you still have to sign off the bill before leaving tho right? Are you saying the chip and pin machine said ?30 but you were charged ?60?

[*Bob*]

Most people give their card details.. number, expiry, 3 digit code - the whole shebang - out dozens of time over the course of a year. Is this that much different to leaving a card behind the bar?

You're still trusting someone not to misuse what you give them - that's all there is to it. Is someone pulling pints down the pub automatically less trustworthy than Joe Bloggs working the telephones at John Lewis? I don't see why.

I thought most bars swiped your card for a penny or whatever these days anyway..

[binary_star]

StraferJack Wrote:

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> you still have to sign off the bill before leaving

> tho right? Are you saying the chip and pin machine

> said ?30 but you were charged ?60?

I normally check the amount on a card reader but if I had I would have presumably seen ?60 (well ?59.50 to be exact), which I definitely didn't. So either:

- I didn't check the amount on the reader and assumed the amount on the paper bill had been entered correctly (daft)

- the amount wasn't on the screen (does this ever happen, for example could the bar staff skip through to the pin entry bit??)

- I didn't verify by chip and pin

They did swipe my card when I handed it over for the tab (presumably the penny thing) but my credit card provider said the ?59.50 transaction wasn't validated by chip and pin so maybe they just took the money?? I honestly can't remember, I only found out I'd been overcharged when I got my card statement.

[Sue]

The only time I ever left my card behind the bar at The Actress, I forgot to pay at the end of the evening and had to go back the next day to pay and pick the card up .... :(

That's the only reason I don't do it any more. Of course there is theoretically a problem with security, but as *Bob* says, we give out our card details all the time these days.

[binary_star]

*Bob* Wrote:

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> Most people give their card details.. number,

> expiry, 3 digit code - the whole shebang - out

> dozens of time over the course of a year. Is this

> that much different to leaving a card behind the

> bar?

As Foxy said above:

"It is against the Terms of Usage to give your card to someone else or place behind the bar.

Card companies have NO obligation to reimburse you for any loss. "

So yes, if theft/fraud occurs it's very different in terms of implications for recovery of the funds.

[*Bob*]

Fair point, Point taken.. Assuming you tell them you left it behind a bar (and you were only doing 30mph when you didn't leave it behind the bar, m'lud)

Never left my card behind a bar or out if my sight for a good few years. Cloned 3 times - since I stopped leaving it behind bars. Maybe I should start doing it again. Like a lucky charm.

[binary_star]

Are you saying you would tell your card provider you *hadn't* left your card behind the bar when you had?

I'm not in the habit of lying, even if I thought it would help recover the funds. Just a cheap lesson to learn (but relatively expensive lesson to be charged ?60 by The Actress for a ?30 brunch!)

To be honest, the response from The Actress means they have likely lost my custom entirely now so how they handle credit card transactions is irrelevant to me.

[DovertheRoad]

My missus keeps all her old credit cards and just puts one of them behind the bar. They never check the dates. She then swaps them when paying at the end. Works a treat.

[binary_star]

DovertheRoad Wrote:

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> My missus keeps all her old credit cards and just

> puts one of them behind the bar. They never check

> the dates. She then swaps them when paying at the

> end. Works a treat.

Did you read above? The Actress swipes your card (to validate a transaction with a penny) so that they know it's legit. Your wife's trick would not 'work a treat' in that instance. They would ask you for another (working) credit card.

[*Bob*]

binary_star Wrote:

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> Are you saying you would tell your card provider

> you *hadn't* left your card behind the bar when

> you had?

If you were burgled - with access through your front door - but had inviolated your policy by not putting all your window locks on - would you tell them as much as they went through the checklist during the claim process?

[binary_star]

*Bob* Wrote:

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> binary_star Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> Are you saying you would tell your card

> provider you *hadn't* left your card behind the bar when you had?

> > If you were burgled - with access through your

> front door - but had inviolated your policy by not

> putting all your window locks on - would you tell

> them as much as they went through the checklist

> during the claim process?

Hmmmm don't know, never been put in that position thankfully, however difference is the burlgars wouldn't tell the police (read pub wouldn't tell your credit card provider) that you had left your window unlocked (read left your card in their charge) should the issue be taken to court.

Nice analogy but doesn't really work because the pub in this case are operating within the law.

[binary_star]

Anyway none of the above makes any odds in my case because I failed to keep the original receipt. I only found out about The Actress overcharging me about a week later when I got my credit card statement. By which time The Actress weren't interested (trust me, I tried) and my credit card provider was helpless (without my original bill).

[*Bob*]

But - really - would you, or wouldn't you?

(Don't worry.. I promise it will be our little secret..)

[binary_star]

*Bob* Wrote:

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> But - really - would you, or wouldn't you?

>

>

> (Don't worry.. I promise it will be our little

> secret..)

Erm I honestly don't know. Like most people I guess (or assume) I'd have to weigh up the relative balance between what I'd have to gain, how likely it would be that I'd get 'found out' and that weird barometer that nobody cseems to be able to quantify called conscience.

[Sue]

binary_star Wrote:

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> Anyway none of the above makes any odds in my case

> because I failed to keep the original receipt. I

> only found out about The Actress overcharging me

> about a week later when I got my credit card

> statement. By which time The Actress weren't

> interested (trust me, I tried) and my credit card

> provider was helpless (without my original bill).

xxxxxxx

I have the greatest sympathy, and I'd be seething too, but to be fair, if you don't have the original receipt and you didn't check what you were being charged at the time, I'm not sure quite what The Actress are supposed to do?

Clearly whoever put the transaction through was not making money out of it for themselves, as nobody is disputing what was taken from the card, I presume. If a member of staff there made a mistake, and it wasn't picked up at the time, there's no way anybody is going to remember now what you had to eat, surely? Apart from you!

A friend of mine once kicked up an almighty stink when he got several hundred pounds taken from a card when he "knew" he hadn't spent it. A day or so later, he remembered that he had bought a fridge ..... his embarrassment was massive ..... he had to ring the card company up and grovel ..... :))

[binary_star]

Absolutely Sue, I was probably more annoyed at myself than The Actress to be honest. What annoyed me later was their email reply: "we didn't have a surplus in takings".

I wasn't sure what this meant!? And that was literally all the explanation I got.

If their response had been more along the lines of : "look love you don't have the receipt I'm really sorry but there's not much we can do" then I would have found that more acceptable. But what they seemed to be implying was that no-one on their side had made a mistake and/or I was lying. Which I can understand would be their default position but I also know that transaction was only meant to cost ?25-30. I know that because it was the only time we had visited the Actress in months and it was specifically for my partner's birthday.

Anyway, all businesses keep a record of transactions (for their accountants) and it would be relatively easy to trace the transaction given that I provided a tab number, transaction ID, bank reference and authorisation code.

The fact is either the bar staff entered the wrong amount or I paid someone else tab and the Actress aren't interested in refunding me because it would mean losing around ?30.

Like I said, lesson learned.