A Starbucks drive-thru charged a dad $4,444 for two coffees, and what happened when he tried to get his money back made everything worse

Jesse and Deedee O’Dell resolved a months-long financial ordeal after a Starbucks drive-thru mistakenly charged them over $4,000 for two coffees, an error that ultimately forced them to cancel a planned international trip. The incident began in January 2023 when Jesse made a quick stop at a Starbucks drive-thru in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ordering a venti Iced Americano for himself and a venti Caramel Frappuccino for his wife. The total came to a standard $11.83, and Jesse selected the “no tip” option before leaving.

A few days later, Deedee’s credit card declined while she was out shopping. After investigating, the couple discovered that a $4,444.44 gratuity fee had been added to their bill despite Jesse’s tip selection. As reported by LADbible, Jesse told NBC News he was adamant: “I entered no tip. But somehow there’s a massive tip on it.”

After confirming the charge with their credit card company, the O’Dells contacted Starbucks and were told the money would be returned via two checks. When those checks arrived, the couple alleged they bounced, leaving them still thousands of dollars out of pocket.

The error cost the family far more than money

The financial strain forced the O’Dell family, parents to four young daughters, to cancel a trip to Chonburi, Thailand, Deedee’s home country. Jesse explained he didn’t want to be traveling internationally while thousands of dollars remained unaccounted for. Their flight tickets were non-refundable, adding further financial loss on top of the initial overcharge.

Jesse eventually contacted the Tulsa police, who investigated and concluded the gratuity fee was “added either by accident or by machine error.” Detectives found no intent of fraud from the employees working at the time, and the case was closed once it was confirmed that Starbucks was making a good faith effort to refund the customers. Starbucks has faced other consumer-facing controversies in recent years, a pattern that has drawn scrutiny to how large chains handle customer complaints and corporate policy failures.

New checks were eventually sent to Jesse and Deedee and were successfully cashed on Monday, February 6, 2023. The incident is one of several recent cases in which large corporations have faced backlash over unexpected charges hitting customers’ accounts, amid growing frustration over rising costs from major brands.

A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed the matter had been resolved, telling LADbible Group that it was “an unfortunate situation that took place and has long been resolved,” and that the company worked to address it as quickly as possible.