He paid 600 thousand forints for a single cookie at the bakery
Even a seemingly innocent gesture can cause serious financial problems, especially if you pay with a credit card in a hurry. For example, an elderly woman in Switzerland paid more than 600,000 forints for a single walnut cake at a bakery.
One click and it saved him hundreds of thousands of forints
The strange incident occurred at the Winterthur train station in Switzerland, where an elderly woman entered a bakery to buy a walnut cake. When paying, the card terminal asked her to leave a tip. However, instead of selecting the correct percentage, she reflexively entered her PIN code.
The mistake had quite serious consequences: the bakery ended up deducting 1,612.14 Swiss francs, or approximately 624,000 forints, from his account for a single cake. The most surprising thing is that neither the customer nor the store employees noticed the mistake immediately.
The bakery didn't even notice the huge amount.
The incident only came to light about two weeks later. A consultant from the Swiss elderly care organization Pro Senectute was reviewing bank statements with the elderly woman when she noticed the unusually high transaction.
Fortunately, the story ended well: the woman got her money back. However, the incident also served as a serious lesson for the bakery. The store decided that in the future, it will not automatically offer the option to tip when paying by card at all its locations. The feature will be retained primarily in stores where sit-down service and brunch are also available.
The debate over automatic tipping is growing
The Swiss case highlights a problem that is also increasingly concerning in Austria. Many restaurants already display pre-set tipping options when paying with a credit card. The terminals often offer a choice of 5, 10 or even higher percentages.
This can make many customers feel uncomfortable, as they may feel obligated to tip at the moment of payment, even if they didn't originally plan to. Consumer advocates say it would be especially important to make declining a tip as easy and straightforward as choosing the amounts offered in advance.
Experts are therefore calling for regulations to ensure that the design of terminals does not put pressure on customers. The goal is for everyone to be free to decide whether they want to tip, and if so, how much.
The incident also serves as a reminder that it is worth carefully checking the terminal display before pressing the button for every bank card payment, as a moment of inattention could cost you a small fortune.
