Ever been overcharged by £17,000 by a hotel?

Going through some old papers I came across a printout of one of the most unusual emails I’ve ever received in 14½ years of work.

Back at the beginning of May 2005, I’d stayed for a couple of nights in a training centre for a work team meeting. The bill had been charged directly to my business unit directly rather than being settled by credit card, so I hadn’t been given an invoice showing the final amount to sign when I checked out.

Alan,

I have noticed that you have been grossly overcharged for your stay in [training centre] on the 2nd and 3rd of May 2005. This was due to the start date of your stay being entered as 2nd May 2004. The charge is £17250.17 whereas the charge should have been £131.18. I will arrange for a credit of the difference of £17118.99 to be raised and you will see these in Jun 05 ...

Please accept my apologies for this error.

James