Another PL getting burned w/ his credit card @ a SC

28 comments

• etsutwigg222

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  9 years ago

  So dispute the charges as fraud. Have cc company cancel card and reissue.
• jerikson40

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  9 years ago

  "Usury is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. A loan may be considered usurious because of excessive or abusive interest rates or other factors." There are laws against usury in most or all states in the US. Now, tell me how charging unethical or immoral rates to some poor strip club patron who never agreed to pay those fees in the first place is any less unethical or immoral. Clubs like this should be shut down, and the local government should come down hard on their asses without mercy. At least with charging unethical interest rates you know, going in, that you'll be paying 25% per month or whatever on a loan. In this case the guy was never told, and never agreed to pay those fees. Nor would any guy in their right mind pay it. Only guys like Dugan, who might get some strange ego boost or something.
• Papi_Chulo

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  9 years ago

  Treasures in Houston has had a notorious ROB reputation for years. The reviewer did not mention talking to the manager; don’t know if that would have helped but it could have just been a dancer/waitress scam and maybe management could have done something (although management are probably ROBs also). I would have not paid nor signed the receipt and would have called the cops and made a report – I imagine getting ROBed for this kinda amount would be some kind of felony.
• shadowcat

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  9 years ago

  Papi_Chulo - I too would have done what you said but this poor fool was probably doing something that his employer or wife might not like.
• JohnSmith69

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  9 years ago

  This pisses me off as much as everybody but it's not a crime. No way the club would get charged with anything and usury laws are irrelevant. Calling the police might have helped but only because the club would not want the scene it would create not because cops could do anything. This is civil fraud not criminal. The interesting question to me is how clubs can survive with such shitty customer service, of which this is only one example. Most businesses would be done in short order if they treated customers like this. I think clubs get away with it because they have a service that is in low supply with high demand. With limited competition and high demand, a business can continue to operate even though it treats a good customer this way.
• sflguy123

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  9 years ago

  I was gonna call BS to that review but several other reviews mentioned not using a CC there. 04/11/14 - Like others have said DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARD HERE. 05/07/14 - DO NOT give them your credit card. I know too many people who were charged extra drinks and dances.  07/12/14 - DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARD HERE! Cash only. Trust me on this one. I never have or will use a CC in a SC but seen it done and they not only take your CC in advance but also your ID. So it's hard not to sign. I can't believe the waitress would say something like "Oh come on you can afford it". Also the math doesn't work, if he was charged for dances while sitting and talking for an hour that would not come close to several thousand. At 3 minutes a song that would be 20 songs. Assuming $50 a song that would be $1000 and this club appears to be $20 a song so $400. Simply dispute the charge and let them sue you. Also if the charges were for dances over drinks the stripper should have been given most of the money. Bet that didn't happen.
• Papi_Chulo

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  9 years ago

  I would only use my cc in an extreme PL emergency and I would only use it to get a cash advance from an ATM which I know it’s not a good idea b/c of the fees involved – but I def would not trust SC employees w/ my cc.
• jerikson40

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  9 years ago

  sflguy123 sez: "I can't believe the waitress would say something like "Oh come on you can afford it". " You can't believe that? Hell, it's the same attitude guys like Dugan keep promoting here all the time. Hey, it's only money, you can afford it, so give it to the dancers. It's moronic when a waitress says it, and it's moronic when Dugan says it.
• JamesSD

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  9 years ago

  It's sad and pathetic guys use their CCs at SCs. It reeks of impulse buying. Leave the club and go to an atm down the street if you have to.
• Papi_Chulo

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  9 years ago

  Using a cc @ a SC is def a rookie mistake. Having to leave a club and come back and possibly having to pay a 2nd cover charge sucks –in an emergency I’d use the club’s ATM and eat the fees (the PL got ROBed b/c he handed his cc to the club/employee).
• jerikson40

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  9 years ago

  Yeah, it's a rookie mistake, but let's not blame an honest customer for some incredible malicious and dishonest shit that the club employees do. It's not his fault. Hell, you can use a credit card anywhere, why should an establishment like that fucking Treasures piece of shit be any different? Don't blame the customer. Put the blame where it belongs. Boycott the fucking place.
• Papi_Chulo

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  9 years ago

  Most SCs are seedy places w/ seedy people so one needs to take extra precautions – just like it’s not a smart idea to use one’s cc to buy stuff online while using the free Wi-Fi @ Starbucks.
• chukko

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  9 years ago

  The number one rule of a Strip Club budgeting is to "pay for EVERYTHING with cash." You were better off getting a cash advance with your credit card. I'm sorry to hear your luck, but I've had similar bad experiences that I had to learn from.
• Papi_Chulo

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  9 years ago

  ^ it did not happen to me, the OP – I was just copying and pasting what I read in a recent review by another TUSCLer.
• chukko

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  9 years ago

  The number one rule of a Strip Club budgeting is to "pay for EVERYTHING with cash." You were better off getting a cash advance with your credit card. I'm sorry to hear your luck, but I've had similar bad experiences that I had to learn from.
• sharkhunter

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  9 years ago

  I wonder if the local police could launch an undercover sting and then file charges against the club when they attempt to illegally charge an undercover officer for charges not rendered? Might be easier to get the club on other charges like prostitution, drugs etc. Throw the book at the club. A club that routinely rips off customers needs to be shut down as a nuisance to the community.
• Cheo_D

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  9 years ago

  Frankly, beyond filing a dispute with the Credit Card issuer afterward, not much the PL can do except some preventive due dlligence: If using CC, it is essential that the customer ask to be clear what is being charged in each and every slip, each and every time he signs. The CC issuer may or may not side with EITHER the customer or the merchant in the dispute depending on a bunch of factors of where it happened, is there past history, how much is it, is it worth going to arbitration or court over it or is it easier to settle, etc. but better them than you, most of the time. Even if it comes down to using the CC because there's no choice, just an open-ended CC tab for any and all goods and services whatsoever as may come up, so you don't know what you'll on the final ticket, is unwise; if I'm confronted with adopting that business model or else, I would call the night over rather than take it no matter how epic the tits in front of me. Some clubs I've been to may open a continuing bar tab on the one hand, strictly for drinks, and on the other a separate room tab specifically for every hour or half-hour session; up front the first item in each such ticket is the hr/half-hr rate; at the end you can then add tips in the appropriate line. Couple of times the VIP hosts lowered the price substantially without being asked, as soon as I said it would be all cash. Credit cards are always processed at a premium at the SCs anyway, just as is the ATM, and just as with the "funny money"/Dance Dollars for those places that still use them the money gets double-dipped ( you get socked a commission when buying them, AND then SHE gets socked for one AGAIN when cashing them).
• chessmaster

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  9 years ago

  quite honestly, this is a worse offense than prostitution in a strip club. at least in a strip club the prostitution is contained within the club and not really bothering anybody. the cops should be more concerened about this than strippers turning tricks itc.
• sharkhunter

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  9 years ago

  It definitely sounds illegal and like some kind of fraud. If they are doing this to customers, I bet there is a good chance they are making false claims to the IRS as well. Who knows, they might be paying the police so that the police don't raid them. In that case,they would be respected paying members of the local community paying bribes to the local police to escape punishment. It would just be a cost of doing business and they could get away with anything the local police would allow.
• shadowcat

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  9 years ago

  Recently my CC account got hacked and was used at 4 stores before I noticed it and could notify my bank and get the account closed and a new card issued. The charges were reversed. The charges were at Kroger grocery store, 2 Publix grocery stores and 1 McDonalds. the total for all 3 was only about $65. In looking over my other cc charges the back noticed that I had made several purchases at home Depot with the card and they had recently be hacked and millions of cc numbers were compromised. My advice and my banks advice is for everyone is to go on line and check your cc balances every day.
• jester214

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  9 years ago

  Never use a credit card. Always better off just leaving the CC at home or even in the car. I might prefer having it stolen than having a prolonged fight with a strip club over charges.
• crazyjoe

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  9 years ago

  Poor bastard
• rockstar666

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  9 years ago

  What an idiot. Not only would I not pay a stupid bill, I would threaten a lawsuit. Their legal fees would be far more than the bill and they know it. A smart PL would have actually been able to turn a profit..."Give me $200 and I'll go away quietly. Or you can spend $5-10,000 fighting me in court." It's amazing what you can get when you take the offensive in an otherwise awkward situation.
• JohnSmith69

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  9 years ago

  rockstar, are you a lawyer? Cause otherwise you'd have to pay the same legal fees as the club.
• rockstar666

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  9 years ago

  Just a realistic threat of a lawsuit can go a long way, and it would cost less than $2k. A lawyer writes a letter to the club and I'm sure a settlement would soon follow.
• Clackport

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  9 years ago

  I've only used a credit card once in a strip club, I was sweating bullets until I finally saw the statement and everything matched up. Never again.
• rickdugan

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  9 years ago

  I view most club related issues as falling into the "caveat emptor" category, but one of the few things that pisses me off is the all too common abuse of credit cards. There is an inherent level of responsibility expected by companies to whom we entrust our credit cards. If I pulled the same shit in my business that some clubs do with respect to credit cards, I would likely end up in a jail cell. But clubs get away with it all the time and most of us have had at least one bad credit card experience in a club over the years, which is how the "cash is king" philosophy evolved and still exists today among seasoned club hounds.
• bvino

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  9 years ago

  I only use my card at the one club where I know everyone and I am known. If I go to a new club it is only cash. I also only use the card for food and drink.