Costa charge man £599 for a cup of coffee
We get that artisan coffee shops are going to cost us more, but coffee chain Costa? The company that pioneered the doubled handled mug for larger cups of cheap coffee?
Unfortunately, the high street chain served up an eye-wateringly large bill for one unsuspecting customer after a trip to the Costa at the Royal Surry County Hospital.
51-year old Paul Harris, popped into the Costa Coffee store at the Guildford hospital for a quick caffeine boost whilst visiting his son and ended up being charged a whopping £599!
We’ve paid our fair share of high prices for a cup of quality Joe, but £599?! Genuine daylight robbery.
But it turns out that this wasn’t the most expensive cappuccino and carrot cake ever, it was a mistake on the part of the coffee chain, which should have charge Paul £5.99. They just forgot about the decimal point!
After using his credit card to pay for the refreshments whilst visiting his son – who had a broken hand – Paul didn’t think to check the receipt, instead, he received a shock after noticing the extortionate charge once his credit card bill came in the post some two weeks later.
Of course, Costa were quick to act confirming they had been in touch with Mr Harris shortly after he discovered the charges, confirming they would reimburse him with the money as well as any resulting costs.
They added: “We are in contact with the customer who is being fully refunded and have apologised for the inconvenience.”
Not exactly the publicity that the coffee chain would have wanted, but after all, any publicity is good publicity!
We think this is a cautionary tale for any out there that might pay without thinking, only to end up with a huge bill at a later date!
Plus it’s self-advertisement for independent coffee chains that won’t charge you and ‘arm and leg’ for a cup of coffee…