A San Bruno, California, teacher accidentally left a $5,000 tip instead of $5 and spent months battling her bank before finally getting a refund.
At a Glance
- Linda Mathiesen, a special‑education teacher and single mother, visited a vape shop in San Bruno for CBD gel and intended a $5 tip.
- She mis-entered an extra zero on a tall payment terminal and unintentionally submitted a $5,000 tip.
- The clerk claimed it couldn’t be voided and that the shop never received the money.
- Mathiesen contacted Wells Fargo 22 times over several months before the bank agreed to refund the amount plus interest.
- Local media, including ABC-affiliated KGO, helped bring public attention to the dispute and resolve the ordeal.
Screen Height Meets Human Error
Linda Mathiesen visited Exotic Vapes in San Bruno to buy CBD gel for chronic shoulder pain. At checkout, she attempted to leave a $5 tip but mistakenly typed in an extra zero on a tall, decimal-free terminal. “I push what I thought was only two zeros. Ended up being three zeros,” she said. The resulting $5,000 charge went through despite her objections.
The store clerk claimed ignorance, saying he didn’t know how to void the transaction. Mathiesen, already stretched thin supporting two grown children on a teacher’s salary, was stunned: “Who would ever? Like, $5,000? I don’t have that kind of money,” she told local reporters.
Watch a report: Bay Area teacher’s $5 tip mistakenly turned into $5,000.
The Long Haul to Refund
Within five minutes, Mathiesen called Wells Fargo to dispute the charge. Over the following months, she logged 22 calls and over 20 hours with customer service. Despite Wells Fargo’s zero-liability promise and 60-day dispute policy, the bank initially refused to reverse the error.
The breakthrough came after KGO-TV aired her story. With public scrutiny mounting, Wells Fargo reviewed the case and ultimately refunded the full $5,000 plus interest. The bank stated it “worked directly with the customer to resolve this situation,” but only after intense media pressure.
A Cautionary Tale in Tip Culture
Mathiesen’s case illustrates the risks of ubiquitous tipping screens and poorly designed payment terminals. The Exotic Vapes clerk claimed the business changed ownership in January and offered no further comment, according to The New York Post.
The story also exposes flaws in consumer protections. A process that should have been straightforward was instead drawn out for months—until it became a headline. It’s a reminder that banks’ dispute systems can be deeply flawed, especially when human error is involved.
Risk and Reform
This ordeal could renew calls for better payment interface design—like clear decimal displays or confirmation prompts on high tips. It may also lead to pressure on financial institutions to adjust rigid timelines in favor of common-sense resolutions. For teachers like Mathiesen, small mistakes can have life-changing financial consequences, making reform not just overdue but necessary.
