FORGOT YOUR CREDIT CARD AT A BAR? THERE’S A CHARGE FOR THAT NOW
So barhopping and having fun is, well, fun. People of all ages go out. Some go every once in a while. But others go maybe a little more than that. Like, every night. But anyway, regardless of how much you may or may not go out, it’s fun. But fun is often also chaotic. The bar is packed. There’s the game. Maybe music. Lots of conversation. You know how it goes. You might have to go outside to vape or something. Maybe you need to take a break and put someone in a taxi. Time goes by. You’re still having fun. But at the end, when you leave you forget that you left your credit card at the bar to cover your tab. It happens all the time. But now, some bars can hold your card hostage until you pay a “walkout fee.”
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BARS AND RESTAURANTS CAN NOW LEGALLY HOLD YOUR CARD HOSTAGE FOR A “WALKOUT FEE”
And it’s totally legal. It’s bullshit. But it’s legal. But not to worry, restaurants can do the same damn thing to you as well. And the fees to get your card back can be steep, to say the least. And there’s nothing you can do. As long as they have a sign “prominently” placed about the fee, you are screwed. Your only hope is if you come back to get your card and they have already run a charge on it without your permission. You can certainly make a stink about that. It’s not legal for anyone to “approve” a transaction on your card for you. But you’d have to have your credit card company handle challenging the charge. That’s normal.
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But what wasn’t normal until now is that bars can legally charge you a crazy fee to get your credit card back. Sure, I understand that it sucks to not be able to close out accounts at bars and restaurants. It makes it harder to balance books and, let’s be real, get tipped the way you should a day or two later. But we are taking about alcohol and fun here. These places are making money. Usually cash. There’s a reason people work in bars and popular restaurants. They get paid! But now they want to charge you before they can charge you. They can hold your credit card hostage. It fucking sucks.
