Teen billed $382,000 for his pizza order
When Nathaniel Bolwell got hungry last month, he decided to order pizza.
The bill? A staggering £179,932.32 (S$382,474).
Just exactly what kind of pizza did the 19-year-old order? Let us tell you.
Was it a high-class artisan pizza by a celebrity chef who had studied for years under a grand master on a remote isle before being invited to the UK from said remote isle on some far-flung continent to work his magic at a six-star restaurant?
Was it made from a unique recipe passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth and currently known only by one man who has yet to find a worthy successor after a fruitless search that has gone on for years?
Did it takes hours to make and plate, and did it have gold flakes, caviar, and all sorts of unimaginable delights?
No, no and another big, fat, no.
It was a single takeaway pizza from a Domino's in Wales. Wait, what?
Even worse, it was under the section of the menu called "value plus".
This is how the very expensive pizza looks like on Domino's website.
Why did such an ordinary pizza cost so much? Simply put, Mr Bolwell was overcharged - by a lot.
The large margherita pizza cost only £17.99, but a staff member had added the bank authorisation code of 3232 into the price by mistake, turning the bill into a monstrous £179,932.32.
Mr Bolwell only realised something was wrong when he tried to use his debit card to buy groceries at a supermarket.
He said: "I thought I was about £400 in credit but it told me I was massively overdrawn. I took a print-out of the statement and rang the bank straight away."
"I knew it was wrong - but was terrified that I might have to pay it off or be put on a credit blacklist," he said.
Shock, horror, disbelief
The teen, who works as a packer for a health food company, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes. How did it (the bank) allow Domino's to take all that money?"
"Not even the poshest meal in the poshest restaurant would cost anything like that even if I took all my friends and family out."
A spokesperson for Domino’s said: "This was immediately flagged by our merchant provider due to the amount and reversal of funds was put in place. Unfortunately the payment was authorised by the customer’s bank."
For giving Mr Bolwell the shock of his life, the bank has given the teen £100.
A Lloyds Bank spokesperson said it "sincerely regretted a significant level of distress and inconvenience".
We have only one question for the teen: Did the pizza taste good?
According to Metro, Mr Bolwell thought there was something exceptionally nice about the pizza, but it definitely wasn't worth the headache.
Sources: Metro, Mirror, Mail Online, BBC News
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