Brits issued contactless warning after couple charged £618 for two hotdogs at Christmas market

A married couple were left hundreds out of pocket after their Christmas market bratwurst ending up costing them more than £600.

And Brits have now realised just how easily how this could happen due to an often unknown rule with contactless payments.

For Laura Brumpton and her husband Alan, their festive trip to Nottingham's Christmas markets with their two children ended up costing hundreds more than expected after two hotdogs cost them £618.

Okay, we get that Christmas markets aren't the cheapest of experiences as it is. But that's taking the p*ss, right?

The money was taken out of 37-year-old Alan's bank account after he paid via contactless. Double checking the amount, he noticed that a whopping £618 was taken instead of the £18, with each hotdog costing £9.

"They were the most expensive hotdogs ever," Laura, 34, said.

"I was very shocked. I just couldn't believe it. £18 just for two hotdogs is a lot of money as well."

Laura and Alan Brumpton were left hundreds out of pocket (Kennedy)

The woman on the market stall was immediately apologetic when she issue was brought to light, refunding Alan £600 and giving him a receipt as proof of the transaction. But a week on and the money still hasn't cleared in his bank account.

With contactless payments, there is a limit placed on debit and credit cards of £100.

"He checked his bank and it went straight away. I thought it would bounce straight away. I did think there was a £100 limit," Laura explained.

The same was said by many on social media after their experience went viral, with Laura posting on TikTok about the incident with the caption: "Imagine buying two hot dogs and it costing you £618."

The refund receipt (TikTok / @‌isleclean)

Others thought the same as Laura on the limit, with one saying: "Isn't there a £100 limit for contactless?"

And a second said: "What's confusing is that for anything over £100 you have to put your card in the machine, so I don't understand."

Well, others were quick to point out a major flaw in the £100 limit. And it was one that Alan fell foul of.

Using his debit card stored on his iPhone, Alan used his Apple Pay to tap and pay the bratwurst bill.

With Apple Pay and its rival products such as Google Pay and Samsung Pay over on Android devices, you can store your debit or credit card details virtually and tap to pay with no cash limit on how much it'll approve unlike with a physical card.

Laura shared their story on TikTok (Kennedy)

Laura herself took to social media to explain the mix up. She wrote: "It was with Apple Pay, the machine wasn’t handed to my husband to see the fivers so he just tapped his phone, not thinking for one minute it would go through as we thought it would be a £100 limit.

"But the bank said different, it was the lady who notices she had taped £618 into the machine."

Others said: "Apple and Google Pay do not have a £100 limit for phones. The limit only applies to contactless card."

Laura had said that the vendor claimed their refund would take around ‘an hour’ to process but the couple are still £600 down; not exactly great in the run up to Christmas.