Is it legal for a bar to charge your credit card if you forget to close out your tab?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is it legal for a bar to charge your credit card if you forget to close out your tab?
I left my tab open at a bar, only made 2 drink purchases for $12, and $15, and forgot to close out my tab at the end of the night. I am friendly with the manager so I called him right after I left to tell him I forgot my credit card. He said he would lock it up in the office. I checked my credit card statement days later and there was a charge for $79. I do not know if this was a mistake or if somebody deliberately charged my credit card because I forgot to close out my tab and I want to know if it is legal for them to do that?
Asked on June 25, 2011 under General Practice, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You gave the card to secure and pay off the tab. When you left the bar, you implicitly closed out the tab, even if you didn't tell them to do so. At that point, they can charge *the actual amount you drank* and possibly a gratiuity (IF the menus, etc. say that gratuities are automatically charged under certain circumstances, and those circumstances applied).
What they *can't* do is charge even $0.01 more than the amount you actually put on your tab (plus the mandatory gratutity, if applicable). Charging more than that would be theft--they are taking your money--and you could report them to the police; to the agency authorizing and regulating liquor licenses; and/or sue for the money due you (though it's hard to see how that is worthwhile).
The only way in which they might not be liable--but somone else would be--would be if there was someone else on your tab (such as friend or date drinking with you) and that person kept drinking on your tab. If there was someone else whom you'd authorized to drink on your tab and that person kept doing so, the bar probably did nothing wrong--though the drinker may have.
Other than the above, it's difficult to see out $27 of drinks became a $79 charge. If you're friendly with the manager, you might give him a chance to explain and correct any mistakes before you take action.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.