A problem with the credit/debit card machine at Wendy’s caused charges to be incurred weeks after diners ate there, leading Columbia police to investigate and the owners to apologize to effected customers.
The Carlisle Corporation, the franchise that owns and operates the restaurant, said in a statement, “We recently experienced some connectivity issues at the Wendy’s restaurant in Columbia, Mississippi, which resulted in a system processing delay of payment card transactions over the past two months. While these are valid transactions in a secure payment system, we apologize to impacted customers for the delay in processing and any confusion this may have caused. Customers may call (866) 733-8320 with any questions or for additional information.”
Police received calls, texts and walk-in complaints about the charges, and Chief Michael Kelly said according to sources at corporate office the server for the card machine was down between Nov. 3 and Nov. 19.
“When customers swiped their card, the machine would save the information but not access the accounts to receive the money,” he said. “Therefore, a charge for the merchandise was not processed until accountants at Wendy’s found the error with the server and had to manually enter each transaction at a later date. We understand that this is very frustrating for our citizens as well as citizens visiting our town and we are working hard to assist everyone.”
Kelly said complaints should be forwarded to Wendy’s corporate offices. He added if anyone feels they had been fraudulently charged outside of the dates in question to contact police.
