Welcome to Nashville
"How was your trip to Nashville, Tennessee?"
WHAT?! That was my first thought, as I read the email from hotel booking firm Hotwire. I’m not due to go there for another month.
Then it hit me. I’d booked my hotel room for the right date, but the wrong month. I won’t be getting my money back.
It’s just one of those things, a really dumb mistake.
To be fair, it was one night out of 27 I’ve booked for an American road trip. It’s an easy mistake to make, and the other 26 are fine.
But it hammers home the message to always double-check before committing your hard-earned cash to something.
This isn’t the first thing that’s caught me out this week – maybe the money gods are trying to teach me a lesson.
I went into Superdrug and noticed a 3 for 2 promotion. So picked up my mascara and eyeliner, then thought about what I could choose as my free item. Lipstick it was.
As I left the shop, I realised the whole bill seemed expensive. Inspecting the receipt, I saw I’d been charged for the third item.
I went straight back and was told the lipstick wasn’t included in the promotion. I asked if I could return the lipstick. I couldn’t – it doesn’t do refunds on cosmetics.
I don’t think I’m the only person to have made this sort of mistake but, again, it shows the importance of checking.
There’s a third incident, but this time it went my way. On my journey into work, I stopped into Boots for some shampoo and paracetamol.
I handed over my card, and as I was about to put in my Pin, I froze as the machine said £12.
I asked the assistant to double-check what she’d scanned, and it turned out the real cost was closer to £2. Luckily, I noticed in time, and I was charged the correct amount.
Not so silly after all.
Has something similar ever happened to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or in the forum discussion.
