Couple charged nearly $4,500 by Starbucks for two cups of coffee
An Oklahoman couple were charged nearly $4,500 by Starbucks for two cups of coffee earlier this year.
In perhaps the biggest mix up of all time, a couple were charged nearly $4,500 by Starbucks for two cups of coffee.
With the popular coffee chain announcing this week that it would be slashing their drinks by 50 percent every Thursday in the buildup to Christmas, this story is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum.
Jesse and Deedee O'Dell from Oklahoma had started their day with a Starbucks for the past 16 years.
And the couple always order the same two drinks: an iced americano and a cappuccino.
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But earlier this year, something went very wrong with that order.
Take a look at what happened here:
The order usually sets them back by about $10, but in February, it cost them an eye watering $4,456.27.
Without realizing, the couple had been charged a gratuity fee of $4,444.44 on top of their regular coffee order.
The weird part about that is Jesse said he remembered selecting the 'No Tip' option on the card machine.
It wasn't until days later that Deedee noticed the mix-up when she was at the mall with her four kids and her card declined.
After getting to the bottom of the missing funds, Jesse got in touch with the Starbucks district manager, and was told there must have been an error with the network that the card machine uses.
The couple was told they had been sent two checks that would add up to the full gratuity amount, but when they arrived, the checks bounced, they told CBS reports.
That day, Jesse said they'd contacted the customer service helpline 'probably 30 or 40 times that day' until a representative assured them that they'd be sent new checks - though, at the time of the interview, they'd had yet to arrive.
Jesse, Deedee, and their children had been planning a trip to Deedee's home country of Thailand to visit her sister, who she hadn't seen for years.
But the couple have since had to cancel the non-refundable trip.
They said that they had been subsequently working with the Tulsa Police Department to try and get the issue resolved.
They also urged other Starbucks customers to check the receipt every time they order a coffee.
"This is something that has caused huge duress in our own family, and hopefully other people don't have to go through something like this," said Jesse.
When contacted by UNILAD at the time, a spokesperson from Starbucks confirmed that Deedee and Jesse's problem had been sorted.
"This was an unfortunate situation that has since been resolved," they stated.
"The tip was entered by the customer in error.
"While the original refund checks had a typo and therefore did not go through, we issued new ones on January 31, which were received and cashed by the customer on Monday, February 6."
Callum Jones