A married couple ended up spending over £600 after buying two hotdogs at a Christmas market. Laura Brumpton and her husband Alan went to the Nottingham Christmas markets with their two children, expecting a fun day. But things quickly went wrong when the cost of two bratwurst ended up being £618 instead of the £18 they expected.
Alan, 37, had paid using contactless payment, thinking it would only take £18 from his account. However, when he checked, he noticed £618 had been charged instead. “They were the most expensive hotdogs ever,” Laura, 34, said in disbelief. She was shocked, not just by the large charge, but by the fact that the food already seemed expensive at £18.
When the issue was pointed out to the vendor, she quickly apologized, refunded Alan £600, and gave him a receipt. But, a week later, the money still hadn’t shown up in his account. The couple soon realized that contactless payments have a £100 limit on cards.
Laura explained that Alan’s payment had gone through without issue, and she thought the payment would have been stopped. “I thought it would bounce back because of the £100 limit,” she said. But there was a twist—Alan had used Apple Pay to make the payment, and Apple Pay doesn’t have the same limit as a physical card.
Others were quick to point out that contactless payment limits only apply to physical cards. With services like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, there is no limit on the amount you can spend, as long as the card details are stored digitally.
Laura posted about the issue on TikTok, explaining that the mistake happened because Alan tapped his phone, not expecting such a high charge. While the vendor promised a refund within an hour, the couple was still out £600 just before Christmas.
