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When Sally Tsai and her family visited one of Brisbane’s most well-known fine-dining restaurants while on a trip from Taiwan, they mostly got what they expected: small, elegant servings and a big bill.
But it wasn’t until after her trip that Tsai noticed the bill from Restaurant Dan Arnold – the two-hatted French-meets-Aussie cuisine establishment named after its chef – was even bigger than she thought.
The restaurant had charged her a $400 fee three times after she made the booking, with Dan Arnold’s name listed next to each of the charges.
“It’s not like it’s being spammed … it’s [spaced out] around 13 hours afterwards,” Tsai said.
A booking confirmation email from the restaurant to Tsai, seen by this masthead, states the restaurant does not charge booking fees.
Tsai said only one of the payments was deducted from her bill when they dined at the Fortitude Valley restaurant on July 10.
When she noticed the triple charge, Tsai wrote to the restaurant and their booking service, SevenRooms, requesting a refund.
SevenRooms wrote back to say restaurants are responsible for their own charges, but Tsai said the restaurant has not responded to her since.
This masthead has also spoken to another Restaurant Dan Arnold customer who said they had similar issues but eventually got their money back.
Tsai has logged a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading, which is attempting to facilitate conciliation between her and the restaurant.
Arnold said the extra payments appeared to be due to a third-party provider, and the restaurant never received extra money from an “isolated number of affected guests”.
“Upon becoming aware of the issue, we confirmed that the duplicate charges were disputed and the dispute is currently being processed through the relevant payment provider,” he said.
“While we have taken the necessary steps on our end, the final processing time is subject to the payment provider and the guest’s financial institution.
“We are aware of Ms Tsai’s inquiry and have been in communication regarding the matter.”