Visa Overcharges 23+ Quadrillion

It is a nightmare come true, albeit I'm sure it will be resolved soon. Visa overcharges are something that should ring a bit of concern every time we pull out that piece of plastic, even if it is a debit card, as some of these cases have shown to be. Imagine, you go shopping, stop at a convenience store for a pack of cigarettes, perhaps a cup of coffee, or maybe a pop. You go home, check your bank account on line, only to discover that Visa overcharges your measly balance to the tune of $23+ quadrillion dollars, and yes, your bank caught it and charged you an immediate $30 overdraft fee! That fee almost seems like a joke in the face of the overcharge.

By the same token, had we all known that visa would allow a 23 quadrillion dollar charge, I might be half way around the world in my own private Yacht! Just kidding about the Yacht... The reality of it is, Josh Muszynski was charged $23,148,855,308,184,500 for a pack of cigarettes at a gas station, and Jon Seale was charged the identical amount for lunch at a restaurant and many others found the same Visa overcharges.

The good news is, they caught the Visa overcharges, and most of the bank and charge errors have been cleared up, but think about the shock it could put many through, and knowing the way the system works, I would be afraid of running into road blocks with the people who work outside the computer. So many businesses and especially banking and high finance industries seem to know no wrong and are too hungry for that extra buck. The computers can't be wrong you know, you must have made the error.

Fortunately, a figure like $23,148,855,308,184,500 is enough to raise eyebrows, if not questions about how such a purchase was made with a credit card, but what if it wasn't such a high number? What if it was just 5 or 10 thousand dollars? That would be a lot for must of us to pay back, (us included), but fighting it could prove to be more of a headache than the fear of paying back the overcharge. While this event turns out to be laughable, the potential flaw of a system could, and should be a scary ponderance.

Perhaps we should all check everything more closely, we have found stores repeatedly over charging us at the register, but most people don't even check their receipts, but when you use an electronic service, we tend to become complacent and, "Trust!" the system. Over the numbers of people who are overcharged a little, but don't check their receipts, it could add up to significant figures and over a year or two, it may total a significant amount even on an individual level.

So, next time you pull the plastic, remember the story about the Visa overcharges and receipts and keep looking over your financial shoulder, your pocket might be getting electronically picked.