'A significant portion of my income': Diner charged extra $2,000 for $20.90 meal at Collin's restaurant

[UPDATE April 26]

A Collin's spokesperson told AsiaOne that this incident was the result of an "unintentional mistake" by the service staff.

"Instead of keying in $20.90 for the transaction, the service staff has accidentally keyed in '20' two times into the Nets device resulting in the bona fide mistake of $2,020.90 charged to the customer," the spokesperson said.

They added that Collin's has since contacted the customer to apologise for the inconvenience caused and has immediately handled the refund process.

A good cut of steak is always a little pricier than other dishes — but this diner certainly wasn't expecting his meal to cost an extra $2,000.

In a post to the Complaint Singapore Facebook group on Wednesday, user Lin Zhi Hao (transliteration) stated that he had visited Common Grill by Collin's on Tuesday (April 23) and ordered a ribeye steak, priced at $20.90.

When he finished his meal and foot the bill, however, he realised that he had paid a total of $2,020.90 — an extra $2,000.

In photos of the receipt from Collin's, Lin showed that he had visited the outlet located in Geylang and appeared to have made payment at 6.35pm via Nets. This would mean that the amount was directly debited from his bank account.

"Upon noticing this discrepancy, I immediately brought it to the attention of your staff," Lin wrote, addressing Collin's. "I was informed that I would need to wait two weeks to receive a refund."

Unable to accept the delay for such a large sum of money to be returned to him, he insisted that he wanted a refund there and then.

After a waiting an hour and a half, he was allegedly told by staff that "nothing could be done without the manager's approval".

Staff then took down his contact information, promising to contact him a day later, Lin said.

"However, after office hours, I still haven't received any call from the management.

"I implore you to understand that while $2,000 may seem insignificant to your business, it represents a significant portion of my income," he added.

'Maybe the staff keyed in too fast'

Although many netizens sympathised with Lin's plight, several commenters also expressed that this is a situation that could have been avoided.

"This is why I always check the price indicated on the machine right before I tap my card, it's less than one minute to ensure that I avoid all inconveniences afterwards," a user said.

"Still, having to wait so long for the answer for the refund is totally unprofessional."

Another commented: "I understand your frustrations, their fault for causing inconvenience to you and you have to wait for ages for the refund… next time, follow what I always do and pay only by cash."

However, some also pointed out that this might have been an honest mistake.

Said another: "Human error. It takes time, not like they own the bank, right? Who on Earth wants to make this kind of mistake?"

"Maybe the staff keyed in too fast, human error does happen," said a user. "Hopefully they get you the refund soon… all the best to you."

AsiaOne has reached out to Collin's and Lin for more information.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com