Over billed

The guy behind the counter at the corner shop [the only other place I shop besides Amazon.com] is usually cleanshaven and amiable looking. When I walked in last night, he was sporting a goatee and looking as if he’d been on drugs.

I spent quite a while doing some shopping, reluctant as always to head back into the biting cold which for some reason, threatens to take off my ears. I deposited all my stuff on the counter, and for some reason decided to pay him with my Paypal debit card.

He handed me my receipt without giving me the shop’s copy to sign. Some alarms went on in my head and I reminded him politely that I hadn’t signed.

I looked the receipt over just before I signed and an ‘aha!’ escaped my lips. My bill looked like this:

SALE			$18.67
TAX			$18.67

TOTAL			$37.34

Naturally, I began to wonder when I started paying 100% tax.

‘Hey, look at this,’ I said calmly, as I thought of how it’d be settled in Nigeria:

‘You want to do me “open eye“,’ I’d have said and given him an uppercut [not really, but that’s what almost anyone would do.

He pretended(?) to be puzzled, as though I was correctly billed. I stuck to my grounds and he finally admitted,’My machine’s [[****]]ed up. This is the third time this has happened today.’

‘I’ll check my balance and get back to you,’ I told him. I’m still surprised I didn’t blow up.

Sure enough, when I looked up my Paypal balance, $37.34 had been billed to me by the Corner Shop. I’m leaving for the shop at the moment to get my balance. Let’s hope he doesn’t get fired by my Indian friend who owns the shop.

Comments

  1. Buki says:

    WHAT?!?!?! 100% TAX??? What did he think he was doing? Keep us posted…

  2. I swear this just happened to me last week oh… she charged me 30 dollars instead of 3 dollars.. instead of giving me back my money.. bcos i used a debit card she tried to tell my sister to give me the money instead of paying them.. but wat the hell.. my sister was only buying stuff worth 24 dollars… these people can’t be serious… all she could say was sorry… so na so dem wan carry swavv me 30 dollarz.. if person cum their store thief 30 dollarz.. them go gree am leave if the person tell dem sorry? FOOLSSSSS

  3. TP says:

    Thanks for dropping by my blog!

    What was the guy in the shop playing at? Sounds fishy to me.

  4. It’s all been cleared — apparently, the guy who made the mistake immediately owned up to his boss and he was expecting me. I got my refund, but I still hate the way it went. Money in my hand’s not safe and I still feel the $18 in my wallet would have been safer lying peacefully in my account.

  5. Afropinay says:

    WOW! Must have been something.It was indeed a mistake
    Reading your post just reminded me that I am in China.

    ** Any expatriate who doesn’t get ripped off in China must be extra super smart and LUCKY.

  6. Afro-Pinay, you just reminded me of the Jackie Chan film Miracles (aka Mr. Canton and Lady Rose). Jackie got ripped of $25 the very day he set foot in Hong Kong.

  7. Chxta says:

    Doh. Guy, I can’t seem to get your site on the RSS reader at http://www.bloglines.com. Could you send me the RSS feed URL? I’d love to be coming here more often. I believe you have my email address…

  8. you have been TAGGED!!!!… check my blog for the meme… DO IT OH!!!! or else na me and you wahala!!!

  9. Calabar Gal says:

    Thank God its all been clearified. Quite frustrating those kind of things. Him wan do you the more u look the less u see. If there had been a girl u admired standing beside u that day, would you have noticed the discrepancy? (smile) Or maybe you would have just ‘posed’ and left the shop? LOL

  10. It seems you don’t know me that well — from all appearances, I’m the classic misogynist.

  11. Jem says:

    Thanks for checking out my blog….you got some good stuff going on here! Will be following closely!

  12. Desola Ayaba says:

    Ha! Daylight robbery. I better start asking for receipts now. I remember going in to Shell filling station to fill my tank and after i’d paid, the cashier asked if I wanted my receipt (shouldn’t he just hand me my receipt by default). I said no as I hated papers anyway. However, before I exited, I wondered why he had to ask and not just produced it anyway. I shrugged and left the station. Now, I know to insist on my receipt.

    Thanks for visiting my mansion.

  13. Desola Ayaba says:

    You should join blogspot jo. I hate the idea of having to fill out this reply thingie!

  14. He he, Desola. I know the filling out sucks, but I decided lon ago to have my own blog on my site — the data remains mine, and it’s easier for me to work with.

    Pele…

  15. 1982 says:

    Did you get your money back? I’m really absent minded and I never check receipts which is terrible I know becuase mistakes like this happen all the time! Oh well, what I don’t know won’t pain me!

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