Travel October 6, 2025 0 Comments

Couple’s Shocking $30,000 Lunch Scam in Buenos Aires—Will Chase Fight Back or Let the Fraud Win?

Imagine sitting down for a quiet vegetarian lunch in bustling Buenos Aires, only to discover weeks later that your credit card has been hit with a staggering $29,695 charge for that very meal. Sounds like the setup to a bizarre travel tale, right? But for Seattle’s Alan and Terry Axelrod, this was a harrowing reality—one that spiraled into a six-month financial nightmare involving rejected disputes, an uncooperative credit card issuer, and an Argentine attorney who demanded thousands before any answers appeared on the horizon. How does a simple lunch morph into such a Kafkaesque ordeal, and what can seasoned wanderers like us learn from this unfolding drama? Buckle up, because this isn’t just a cautionary story about mischarged meals—it’s a deep dive into the perils of travel, credit card protections, and the hidden vulnerabilities of even the most trusted financial safeguards. Dive in, and let’s unpack this incredulous saga to make sure your next adventure doesn’t end with a bill that’s utterly unpalatable. LEARN MORE

A lunchtime visit to a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kicked off a six-month financial nightmare for a Seattle-based husband and wife. The couple, Alan and Terry Axelrod, say the eatery charged their credit card an astounding $29,695 for their vegetarian meal.

You read that right. The restaurant, Juan Bautista Parrilla Gaucha, charged nearly $30,000 to the couple’s Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) that day.

Even more shocking than the inflated tab was what happened next. Without a receipt to prove the real cost of their lunch, Chase dismissed their credit card dispute and rebilled them $29,695. The couple’s appeals were similarly rejected.

Desperate, the Axelrods even paid an Argentine attorney to investigate, all to no avail. Eventually, they reached out to TPG for help.

Here is the couple’s unbelievable story, what my investigation revealed and how you can avoid a similar travel horror story.

A trip to Argentina ends with a shocking credit card charge

At the end of January, the Axelrods traveled to Argentina. By all accounts, the trip was an amazing experience … until the last day. That’s when the couple made a decision that has haunted them since.

Even though the duo is vegetarian, the Axelrods decided to visit a traditional parrilla, an Argentine grill.

“We thought it would be a nice way to end our vacation,” Terry told me. “We checked to make sure they had vegetarian options on the menu and went inside.”

The Axelrods say the meal was very good and the atmosphere at the restaurant was lovely.

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When it was time to pay, a young man brought a portable credit card processor to the table. Terry handed over her credit card, and the server swiped it. Chase quickly approved the charge, and she signed the receipt.

Then the couple got up and left, neglecting to get a copy of their receipt.

That was an oversight the couple would profoundly regret.

Coming home to a shocking credit card bill

When the Axelrods arrived home in Seattle the next day, Terry checked the balances on all her credit cards.

“I just wanted to get an idea of how much we had spent during our trip,” Terry explained. “Imagine my shock to find a $29,695 charge from Juan Bautista Parrilla Gaucha!”

Close-up of unrecognizable man examining bill at restaurant — Always get a copy of the receipt, just in case. GRACE CARY/GETTY IMAGES

The amount was so ridiculous that Terry initially laughed when she showed it to Alan. He immediately called Chase to report what the couple thought was likely a simple typo.

But the agent quickly corrected that misimpression. The restaurant had run a $29,695 charge through the credit card terminal. Alan explained that the cost of their vegetarian lunch should have been around $29 instead.

Chase opened a credit card dispute investigation that day and temporarily reversed the charge.

“I figured the restaurant would realize it had made a mistake and bill us the $29 instead,” Terry recalled. “We assumed that would be the end of it.”

Unfortunately for the Axelrods, that initial credit card dispute was, in fact, just the beginning.

More lost credit card disputes over the fraudulent charge

Five weeks later, Chase gave the couple the bad news by email: The charge was valid and would be rebilled. Terry says she and Alan were absolutely stunned and immediately appealed the outcome by asking Chase, in writing, to review its decision.

But within weeks, Chase reconfirmed that the issuer’s fraud department had rejected the dispute. The charge would again be rebilled.

When the couple asked for an explanation of how Chase determined they could have spent nearly $30,000 on lunch, they learned something new.

Ironically, Juan Bautista Parrilla Gaucha had billed the vegetarian couple for all the meat delivered to the restaurant that week. A Chase representative told Terry that the notation on the transaction showed it was for “freezer and locker meat provisions.”

Things were getting stranger by the day for these two elderly travelers, but this terrible experience was about to take an even more bizarre turn.

Paying $2,500 for an Argentine attorney

In April, after Chase rejected additional requests to investigate and remove the outsize charge, the Axelrods tried something else.

“We thought hiring an attorney in Buenos Aires would probably be our best bet,” Terry explained. “A friend of ours recommended a lawyer down there who agreed to take our case.”

This lawyer asked the Axelrods to pay him $2,500 up front for his services. He told the couple he would investigate and “file criminal charges” against the restaurant.

Alan wired the attorney the money and gave him the green light to begin his investigation. At the same time, Terry continued to call and email Chase’s fraud department, pressing their team to reopen her complaint. She also visited her local branch office, begging the executives there for help.

Terry also filed complaints with the attorney general in Washington state and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

By July, the couple was running out of steam and appeared no closer to proving they were victims of a predatory merchant. Then the attorney in Buenos Aires asked for another $500 to continue his work. Alan was about to send it to him when Terry mentioned asking TPG for help first.

Alan liked the idea, and Terry dashed off her email to [email protected].

“I figured we had nothing to lose,” Terry said. “Things couldn’t get any worse.”

Asking TPG for help

When Terry’s request for help landed in my inbox, she had been consumed by this terrible situation for nearly half a year. She was tired, frustrated and angry. No person or organization she had requested help from was able to do anything for her.

Additionally, she had submitted reviews of the restaurant and shared her experience on social media, where she was ridiculed and accused of making up the story. Her tale was too hard to believe, fellow Reddit users told her. Unfortunately, it was all true, and she had the giant paper trail to prove it.

I read through the many documents Terry had carefully compiled and felt her frustration. This was a nonsensical charge. Why would two vegetarians suddenly buy $30,000 worth of meat during vacation? What did the restaurant have to say about it?

Getting answers from the restaurant

In fact, I found no evidence that the restaurant had ever directly responded to a request for information.

The attorney in Argentina’s request for additional wire transfers was also concerning. He had supposedly been investigating the Axelrods’ complaint for three months with no results. The paper trail showed that he wanted $500 to gain “power of attorney” from the couple.

I told the Axelrods that the Fair Credit Billing Act requires banks to permanently remove billing errors and fraudulent charges from their customers’ accounts. An attorney should never be necessary to do that. I cautioned them not to send any additional money to the lawyer in Argentina. Of course, we still had to get Chase to agree that this was an erroneous charge.

First, I sent an inquiry to Juan Bautista Parrilla Gaucha through the restaurant’s email system to ensure the owners knew of this billing error. I asked that their accounting department review the Axelrods’ sky-high credit card charge.

I did not hear back from anyone at the restaurant. However, I was fairly certain that whatever had gone wrong here could easily be fixed when the right people at Chase had a look at the details.

Putting the case to Chase

As a consumer advocate and journalist, I can reach people that consumers can’t. Sometimes, those are the only people who can correct the problem when things go really wrong.

I contacted the executive team at Chase and shared the Axelrods’ prolonged struggle to get their money back. I also expressed concern that they had already wasted $2,500 on unnecessary legal “assistance” and were at risk of losing more as the attorney was requesting additional payments.

Our contacts at Chase launched an investigation into what happened to that $29,695 payment to the parrilla in Buenos Aires.

The investigation was concluded within a week, and the Axelrods’ awful experience was finally over: Chase permanently reversed the charge and all interest charges that had been accumulated since January.

Chase did not explain why the couple’s credit card dispute had been repeatedly rejected. The executive I was in touch with only confirmed that the case was now reversed in the Axelrods’ favor.

For their part, Terry and Alan are overjoyed.

“Suffice it to say, there is absolutely NO WAY this would have gotten resolved without you,” they emailed me. “Yes, Chase had turned us down six times, including twice by their various executive offices. Yes, we had submitted formal complaints to our state attorney general and to the Consumer Financial Protection Board, but none of that yielded any results until I sent my request for help to TPG.

“[This advocacy service is a] real godsend for people like us, good honest people who pay their bills on time, love to travel, and use the benefits – including the supposed protections – these credit cards advertise.”

How to protect yourself against fraudulent credit card charges on vacation

Unfortunately, predatory merchants often target tourists around the world. However, you can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a victim by taking just a few simple precautionary steps.

One of those is to use a credit card that provides purchase and fraud protection rather than a product, such as a debit card, which might not offer the same security. The Axelrods’ case was long and circuitous, but at least it had a positive ending in part because their Chase card had zero liability protection, so they would not be held accountable for unauthorized charges.

Here’s what else you can do before, during and after your next vacation to protect yourself from fraudulent credit card charges.

Download your credit card company’s mobile app

In today’s digital world, all major credit card companies and banks have mobile apps. These make tracking your spending easy and also allow you to see the pending charges in your home currency almost in real time.

Activate purchase alerts and spending limits

Switching on your credit card’s purchase alerts and spending limits before your international travels can serve three important purposes.

Not only will you be able to get instant notifications when a merchant charges your credit card, but you will also know exactly how much is being approved in your own currency. By setting a transaction spending limit, you can be certain that a rogue merchant will not be able to fraudulently bill you thousands of dollars.

Familiarize yourself with local currency or download a converter

Before your travels, give yourself a quick tutorial on local currency at your destination. Download a currency converter like the Xe app or similar to your phone so you can always check the amount you’re agreeing to pay before you sign any receipts.

Remember, merchants who intend to scam you depend on your currency confusion. Head them off at the pass with a currency converter in your pocket.

Avoid dynamic currency conversions

Another money-draining pitfall to avoid while traveling: dynamic currency conversions.

When you make a purchase with your credit card or withdraw money from an ATM abroad, you will be given two options:

Allow the ATM or merchant to convert your currency to your home currency.
Decline that conversion (this allows your own bank to take care of the conversion).

Dynamic currency conversion is the term used for allowing the merchant or ATM to let you withdraw a set amount of foreign currency that is pegged to an amount in your home currency. But these exchange rates often are not favorable to the traveler and tend to involve additional “convenience” fees. Thus, they should always be avoided.

Your bank will always give you the best exchange rate available to you. So, when presented with the option to convert to your home currency, it’s important to decline it.

Keep all your receipts

Retaining all your credit card and ATM receipts from your travels is essential. It’s best to keep these until you can do a thorough inventory to ensure that the receipts match what appears in your accounts. Review your accounts for any unusual pending charges.

Bottom line

It’s baffling that the Axelrods’ agonizing battle dragged on for six painful months.

Credit card companies should swiftly and thoroughly investigate disputes, especially those of high value. Had this outrageous charge been blocked or permanently reversed promptly, the Axelrods would have been spared many sleepless nights. They also would not have wasted an additional $2,500 on unnecessary legal services.

Cardholders should never have to pay legal fees to remove fraudulent charges from their accounts; the Fair Credit Billing Act makes that clear. But something went terribly wrong and continued to go wrong for these Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders.

Luckily, in the end, Terry had the idea to reach out to TPG before she poured any more money into trying to solve her problem — and that’s a very good thing.

If you find yourself with a giant bill for something you didn’t buy on vacation, send your request to [email protected], and I’ll be happy to investigate. If the facts are on your side, I’ll be glad to help you, too.