An Ohio woman has triggered a wave of anger online after claiming that a jeweler quietly added a 35 percent “mandatory tip” to her bill.
Nelly Venegas shared her experience on TikTok earlier this month, saying she discovered an unexpected $350 charge after purchasing permanent jewelry for herself and six friends.
Venegas explained that she had recently hosted a party and arranged for a jewelry vendor to visit her home and fit permanent bracelets for the guests.
She said she was quoted $100 per bracelet and paid with her card without hesitation. However, when she reviewed the receipt several days later, she was stunned to find that an additional 35 percent tip had been included without her knowledge or approval.
“I recently had someone provide a service for me and give themselves a $350 tip without discussing it with me or telling me beforehand that it was going to happen,” Venegas said at the start of the now-viral video.
Venegas said she discovered the permanent jewelry business online and communicated with the company through Facebook before the celebration.
“There was never a contract or anything similar, and no travel fee or setup charge was ever disclosed or mentioned,” she added.
According to Venegas, the jeweler arrived at her house during the party and placed bracelets on seven women.
A woman has sparked fierce outrage after she revealed that a jeweler added a 35 percent ‘mandatory tip’ to her bill without telling her
Nelly Venegas, from Ohio, explained on TikTok that she threw a party recently and had enlisted someone to come to her house and put permanent bracelets on each of the guests
‘At the end of the night when she was leaving I gave her the credit card to run. She had a price list up on the table she set up in my house so I knew in my head what the total was going to be,’ Venegas continued.
‘I did not ask her at the end of the night, “What is the total?” because in my head, I knew what it should have been.’
She expected to be charged $700 for the seven bracelets, $200 for extra charms plus tax, but when she got the bill, she was left stunned.
The bill showed she was actually charged for eight bracelets by mistake, and an extra $350 for gratuity – a whopping 35 percent tip.
‘I was definitely confused when I got the receipt. Me and my husband were feeling a little bit scammed. There was no discussion of a travel fee, no mention of a mandatory service fee or a tip,’ she said.
‘I do think she deserves a tip and I absolutely would have left one had I been asked. ‘When she took my card, she did not say, “Would you like to leave a tip?”
‘Had she said that, I would have been like, “Absolutely.” I would have left what would have been a reasonable tip for the whole party.
‘But because that was never mentioned, I just thought, “Okay, maybe that’s not how this goes, maybe it’s worked into the price of the product that she’s providing for us.”‘
She said she was told that each one cost $100, and happily handed over her card, but when she looked over the bill days later, she was shocked to see a 35 percent tip had been added without her permission
CHECK THIS OUT: BMW Driver Arrested After Allegedly Reaching 170 mph Near Busy Airport, Police Say
Venegas said she called the woman to address the charge and while she was refunded the $100 charge for the extra bracelet, she was told about the $350 tip: ‘I have a mandatory tip.’
Venegas ended the video by asking for advice, adding that she was ‘not trying to bash’ the woman because she was ‘so nice’ and ‘did a wonderful job.’
‘I will take some blame in this situation, I should have asked at the end of the night, what the total was,’ she said.
‘But I do still feel like it’s not okay to give yourself such a large tip on someone’s card without that being in a contract or without mentioning it before.
‘In a situation like this, what would you do? I’m still trying to decide what to do in this situation. I just don’t know [what to do]. Do I fight it? Do I let it go?’
Venegas’ story went viral and sparked immense backlash for the company, which she did not name.
‘That is stealing. Period,’ one user commented.
‘If you don’t hold her accountable, she’ll do this to other people. Report her for theft, leave a review, and dispute it with your bank,’ someone else suggested.
Venegas’ story went viral and sparked immense backlash for the company, which she did not name
‘Tipping yourself over 20 percent without consent is wild behavior and fraud if you ask me,’ raged a different viewer.
‘Shady AF! I am a huge believer in tipping and I’m an over tipper but this is wrong!’ a fourth comment read.
In a follow-up, Venegas revealed that she was ultimately refunded for the $350 tip.
She also read an email she received from the owners of the company, in which they apologized.
It said: ‘Nelly, thanks for bringing this to our attention and giving us an opportunity to correct this matter.
‘First and foremost, please accept our sincerest apologies for your experience. We take your concerns very seriously and completely understand your frustration and disappointment.
‘We acknowledge that the $350 tip was processed without your prior approval or signature and we sincerely apologize for that mistake. A full refund of the $350 tip has already been issued to the original payment method.
‘We also want to make it clear, as owners we were unaware of this charge and have never had a policy requiring a travel fee or mandatory gratuity for off-site events.
‘We are grateful you brought this to our attention as it has allowed us to address a situation that does not reflect our business practices or standards.’
