Via iStockphoto / @even_steven1993 TikTok
A man checked his receipt at Taco Bell and realized the worker rounded up his total to $9 without asking.
A Virginia Taco Bell customer claimed that a drive-thru employee rounded up his total by nearly $1 without his consent. And him insisting on a receipt is the only reason he realized.
“I just went to Taco Bell, and I went through the drive-thru. I ordered lunch. My total was $8.04,” Steven (@even_steven1993) begins in a TikTok with over 46,800 views.
The Taco Bell customer says he got up to the window only to discover a new total.
“She says, ‘$9.’ I handed her my card, and I’m like, ‘That’s weird. I thought she said like, ‘$8 and some change.’” he says.
The Taco Bell employee, he claims, immediately took the receipt and crumbled it up to throw away in the trash. This didn’t fly with Steven, who says he requested the receipt be reprinted. When he got his receipt, he says he discovered the worker rounded up his total without his consent.
“She rounded up 96 cents. I get it. It’s only 96 cents. It’s not the end of the world,” he says.
The Virginia man says he confronted the employee about the charge.
“Did you guys round it up?” he asks.
“’Yeah, we did because we’re running low on change. Anytime that happens, the system automatically rounds up,’” he claims she replied.
However, the man says he paid with a debit card.
“I wasn’t paying cash,” he says.
“’It does it anyway,’” he recalls her saying.
He has a message for viewers.
“Watch yourself when you go through these drive-thrus and anywhere and everywhere, honestly, because … scam on every corner,” he concludes.
‘Robbery’
Viewers in the comments section agreed that rounding up shouldn’t be allowed or done without permission.
“That’s absolutely robbery. They’re stealing the customer’s blind,” one commenter wrote.
“That’s theft. Point blank. Period,” another said.
“Rounding up $0.96 instead of down $0.04 is new math thievery,” a third chimed in.
Other viewers said they would’ve called the cops right away and reported the Taco Bell to the state attorney general.
“I would’ve sat in the drive thru and called the police. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again. No such thing as running low on change,” one shared.
“Contact the state attorney general that is illegal,” one suggested.
Others pointed out what Round Up charge is intended for.
“Bruh, the round up is for the charity Taco Bell is linked to, there’s no other round up button,” one revealed.
“They usually ask me if I want to donate and I come back with how about you donate my order to me,” one commented.
“The round up button is to help the college funds, not to replenish their drawer,” one wrote.
Steven did provide an update in the comments section.
“*UPDATE* I went back and got my money back. They gave me a whole dollar,” he wrote.
What Is The Taco Bell Round Up Foundation?
The Taco Bell Foundation Round Up supports youth with community support, educational experiences, and scholarships. The foundation strives to give out scholarships to young workers after collecting a year’s worth of customer donations with the Round Up button.
According to Taco Bell, the Round Up foundation has generated more than $150 million for students since 2019.
Customers can opt in to round up their order total to the nearest dollar up to support this initiative. The donations are used for community grants and a Live Más scholarship.
What If Taco Bell Donates To Round Up Without Your Consent?
One Reddit user ran into a similar situation where they said an employee rounded up the change without consent. However, multiple workers said they will get in trouble if they don’t ask the customer.
“As a worker I get in trouble if I don’t ask! I never do it automatically. If I ask and I can’t understand what you said I still don’t round up,” one shared.
“We never automatically round anyone up….. we ask if you’d like to, you then can say yes or no we really don’t care. Also those donations are for taco bell student education fund. At the end of the year the employees all get to apply for a taco bell scholarship, not every employee gets it but it really helps out some of the employees who wouldn’t be able to go to college otherwise,” another revealed.
My Bank Transfer suggests that customers try to take up being charged without consent with the restaurant directly. This can be done by either visiting the store or calling.
If the location is being challenging, a dispute charge can be submitted with one’s credit card company. The credit card company will refund the customer the overcharge and will investigate the situation on your behalf.
BroBible has contacted Steven by TikTok direct message and commented on the post as well as Taco Bell through website contact form.