Woman charged $787.33 dollars for Two Mile Taxi Ride

 In December, 20-year-old Becky Siegel was running late to meet friends at the Sweetwater Tavern and Grille, so she went immediately from the Metra train to a cab at the Ogilvie Transportation Center.

The restaurant was less than a two mile taxi ride from the station and Becky’s mother, Susan Siegel, told WFLD Fox 32 News, “He was apparently very friendly and chatty, and was talking about pedestrians crossing where they shouldn’t.” Once she arrived at her destination, the student asked the cab driver if she could use her credit card for the fare. “He gave her a price and she thinks it was, you know, under ten dollars,” explained Susan. “And so she said, ‘Can I use a credit card?’ And he said, ‘Oh, my swiper isn’t working. Here give it to me and I’ll do it on my Square.”

The Square device and app allow merchants to charge customers through a mobile device. Becky handed over her credit card, told the driver to add a $2 tip, and signed the app. Becky told the Chicago Tribune, “I guess I didn’t pay attention or I didn’t look…I just signed my name with my finger and I left.”

The problem was, as Susan Siegel found out while reviewing her transactions, instead of a charge under $12, the card was charged a whopping $787.33. Ms. Siegel contacted Visa customer service to dispute the charge, but because Becky had signed off on the transaction, a refund was refused. The Chicago Police department told Siegel that there was nothing they could do about it either. Angry about what transpired, Siegel contacted the driver, Ali Ghazanfari, for a resolution. Instead the cab driver stood behind the nearly $800 charge.

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