Couple's shock after being charged nearly £4,000 by Starbucks for two cups of coffee

A couple were charged nearly £4,000 for their Starbucks order and now they are unsure if they'll ever buy anything from the coffee chain ever again.

Don't worry, the price of coffees and iced drinks haven't increased into the thousands.

Jesse and Deedee O'Dell from Oklahoma were dedicated Starbucks customers, having gone to their local coffeehouse every morning for the past 16 years and ordered the same two drinks: an iced americano and a cappuccino, which usually sets them back only $10 (£8.22).

This month, however, they were shocked to discover they had been charged an eye-watering amount of $4,456.27 for an order they'd placed on 7 January.

What they didn't realise is that they were charged a gratuity fee of $4,444.44 (£3,655.82) on top of the cost of their regular coffees.

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Jesse, however, claimed he remembered selecting the 'No Tip' option on the card machine.

Unfortunately, the couple didn't realise the error had happened until days later when Deedee was out at the mall for a shopping trip with their four children and her card was declined.

The couple's misfortune continued when they were told they had been sent two cheques that would add up to the full gratuity amount, but when the cheques arrived, they bounced, they told CBS7.

Jesse explained that they tried to contact customer service 'probably 30 or 40 times that day' until a representative told them them that new cheques would be on the way to them in due course - however, they had not arrived when the couple spoke to the news outlet.

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In another unlucky twist, a trip that the couple had planned to Deedee's home country of Thailand to visit her sister had to be cancelled and it's non-refundable.

Jesse and Deedee are urging Starbucks customers to check their receipts and said they are now working with the Tulsa Police Department to try and get the issue resolved.

Jesse said: "This is something that has caused huge duress in our own family, and hopefully other people don't have to go through something like this."

A spokesperson for Starbucks told UNILAD: "This was an unfortunate situation that has since been resolved.

"The tip was entered by the customer in error. While the original refund checks had a typo and therefore did not go through, we issued new ones on January 31, which were received and cashed by the customer on Monday, February 6."

Topics: Food and Drink, Life, Real Life, Starbucks, News

Gregory Robinson

Gregory is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, he has worked for both print and online publications and is particularly interested in TV, (pop) music and lifestyle. He loves Madonna, teen dramas from the '90s and prefers tea over coffee.