AN EDINBURGH man has branded a popular bubble tea stall in the city a “disgrace” after he was overcharged by £115.
The unhappy shopper paid a visit to Bubbleology in the bustling St James Quarter on Saturday where he purchased three bubble teas at a cost of £4.89 each.
Using the remainder of a gift card to knock £1.68 off the price, the final cost for the popular Taiwanese drinks came to £12.99.
However, it was only after tapping his card and going about his day that the pharmacy worker discovered he had in fact been charged £127.99.
Bubbleology has been branded a “disgrace” after failing to refund him for a series of unrecognised charges (C) Dhai Alabri
The horrified customer claims that a raft of unrecognised transactions hit his bank account, so quickly raised his concerns with the Bubbleology branch.
A member of staff reportedly acknowledged the mistake and claimed that a Wi-Fi error had caused the additional charges.
However, after contacting the chain’s head office in London, the man claims that he has now been told that only one transaction can be seen on the seller’s end.
Despite persistent correspondence with customer service representatives at the bubble tea firm, he has so far received no refund, which he describes as “inept” on Bubbleology’s part, noting that the expensive time of year makes the incident an even bigger deal.
Speaking today, he explained: “Multiple charges went through – five transactions for £20 and one transaction for £15.
“Obviously that’s really alarming, especially at this time of year, money just moves out of your account, and you can’t cancel it.
“Plus, it was really inept customer service on the part of the manager there, because the lady WhatsApp’d me and said, ‘we’ll try and get this sorted out for you’ but I’ve heard nothing back.”
He says he had some difficulty getting in contact with the company’s head office but eventually got through to someone who again apologised and promised to resolve the issue.
After days of silence, a Bubbleology representative reportedly got back to him telling him that only the one transaction – for the original bubble tea – could be seen on their end.
The complainant, however shared images of the original receipt for £12.99 and the total charges of just under £128 addressed to Bubbleology from his account.
A series of mysterious charges came out of the man’s account one by one after his bubble tea purchase
He says that the poor customer service and “unscrupulous” business practices on display is the real issue here, as he is confident his bank can have the charges reversed: “I can get the charges reversed, but it’s the fact that it’s really bad service.”
He added: “I think it’s a disgrace, especially at this time of year. I think customers need to be warned about this place and to be careful when making payments.”
Bubbleology stock a range of bubble teas and sweet teas and have dozens of branches across the country.
Bubbleology has been approached for comment.
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