A McDonald's customer was left thinking she'd been a victim of fraud after she became one of a number of customers who were wildly overcharged for their fast food.
McDonald's is known for being fast, cheap and cheerful - with its menu offering something for everyone at prices that won't break the bank.
Or at least, that's the intention.
Advert
The affordable nuggets and irresistible fries typically make McDonald's a favorite for all the family, so customers Alexis Johnson and Nicole Jackson probably won't have thought twice about paying for their orders when they both visited a McDonalds in London, UK earlier this year.
Jackson visited the McDonalds in Dagenham, East London, to enjoy some of the fast food the restaurant has to offer.
It wasn't until later, however, that she noticed a charge on her bank account for £155 ($191).
With items on McDonald's menu starting around a couple of dollars, it's no secret that you'd have to buy a lot of burgers to rack up a bill like that.
The customer took to the internet to share her horror over the situation, writing: "I've had £155 taken. It's absolutely disgusting."
And Jackson wasn't the only one to notice unusually high charges from the McDonald's in Dagenham, with mom-of-three Johnson also spotting strange charges in her own bank after she visited the restaurant on 2 June to pick up Big Macs and Happy Meals for her family.
With those particular menu items usually costing just a few dollars, Johnson collected the order and went on her way.
It wasn't until earlier this month that she spotted the £34.54 ($42.57) had been taken by McDonald's, while her husband, Ricky, 42, had also been charged £50 ($61.65) for multiple transactions made in May and June.
Speaking to The Sun, the mom said: "At first we thought we might've been the victims of fraud.
"My bank account was in negative balance and I was shocked."
As it turned out, Johnson hadn't been charged for her order at the time, and ended up having money taken out of her account weeks later.
"I thought I'd been charged at the time, as other people would have, so it's really poor from McDonald's. Being charged months later can have a bad impact on people who are hard-up," she said.
McDonald's has since apologized for the mishap in a statement, explaining that there had been a fault with one of its card readers between 26 April and 19 June, which meant customers were not charged.
"We have been processing these payments over the last two weeks, and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this payments failure," McDonald's continued.
"We’d encourage anyone with any concerns or questions to please contact our customer services team.”
UNILAD has contacted McDonald's for further comment.
Emily Brown