I dine out pretty frequently and go to a fair number of bars.

One thing that drives me absolutely insane is when I leave a small tip or no tip for abominable service... and the bartender/waiter has the balls to write in their own tip. I have had this done to me at five-star French restaurants... and at $5 happy hour type establishments. They seem to do it with impunity, likely because they don't get caught 99% of the time.

Just this month I have had this problem at McCormick & Schmick's in Downtown LA and at Moonshadows out in Malibu... one adding a sizable tip even though the food took an hour and arrived cold... and the other adding a tip on the card when I had left a tip at the bar in cash.

This has to be the only act of theft in the United States that is so widespread and is done with impunity. These bartenders have absolutely no problem with putting their hands into your wallet and stealing your money by fraudulently forging receipts... with zero repercussions.

I have called both places and sorted them out... but should I just dispute the whole check the next time and allege fraudulent activity?

Should I shave my hair into a Mowhawk and walk in there like Travis Bickle?

If the service is that bad, pay cash, preferably with change like this guy.

[EDIT] An option might be to write out your tip as if it were a check to prevent any alteration. Usually the tip and check are segregated on your statement by the credit card company, so I don't see a way to challenge the entire bill. However, that doesn't prevent you from getting the book thrown at the idiot by calling the restaurant and informing them.

I never had anyone done something like that to me. Do you write in the total amount after tips on the receipt? Or are they so blatant that they write in a new number to that as well?

OP looks like its time to draft up a form letter you can shoot out on firm letterhead . Anytime this happens, shoot one out. Should be good for at least a meal for 2.

And yes I most certainly would fill out the receipt in a way thats hard to alter (such as putting a line or X or the words "CASH TIP" on the tip line rather than a 0, which could have numbers added to it), and keep a copy of my receipt and chargeback the entire bill. When Staples used to charge amounts other than what I authorized, I got full refunds, not just a "correction" to the amount I did authorize.

I usually just put a big line through the tip portion, then write out the total again which as the same amount as the subtotal. Someone would have a heck of a time frauding that and have never had it happen to me yet.

I am not saying I don't tip, I always tip at sit down restaurants or delizered pizza's of course....just at stupid places that I find silly have a tip line like Cold Stone, Carry Out Pizza, etc.

Anyways, are you sure you are always writing in the total line on your receipts, right? Sometimes there isn't a line there so it isn't always obvious, but there is almost always a spot for it under the tip line.
Also always be sure write your amounts with a dollar sign like "$X.XX" on both the tip line and the total line so it would be harder to tamper with.

I save every receipt and reconcile them every month. People would be surprised at how often this happens.

If I leave a cash tip, I write on the tip line "Cash on Table". If I leave no tip, I used to write "-0-" through
the entire tip line, but had one unscrupulous restaurant turn that into a very strange looking "7.00" and then
line out the total and write in a new one. Now I write the word ZERO.

The problem I have is usually the credit card just eats it and gives you a credit due to the amount. But now
I'm stuck using a separate credit card for restaurants only as most credit cards have fine print in the agreement
that limits you to 2 disputes. I don't want to have this crap interferring with a more significant dispute
(which thankfully I've never had to yet).

I had this happen to me ONE time many, many, MANY years ago.... and devised an easy way of finding these on my credit card statement. It costs me a little money, but saves me lots of time reconciling.

Say the bill is $22.57. Add 15% tip ($3.38). Total is $25.95. Add (or subtract) cents until last number equals the sum of the individual numbers to the left of decimal (the 2 and the 5). In this case, I add 2 cents to make the grand total $25.97. When reconciling, I immediately see the 2+5=7, and know that nothing funny happened. Any small dollar tip addition stands out, the only way around "my system" is if the establishment adds an outrageous tip (multiples of 9 dollars).

It isn't foolproof, but it works for me. Oh, the reason I said subtract above is so I don't take the cents above 99, and cause the dollars to increment by 1... it would throw off the system.

Technologist said:I had this happen to me ONE time many, many, MANY years ago.... and devised an easy way of finding these on my credit card statement. It costs me a little money, but saves me lots of time reconciling.

Say the bill is $22.57. Add 15% tip ($3.38). Total is $25.95. Add (or subtract) cents until last number equals the sum of the individual numbers to the left of decimal (the 2 and the 5). In this case, I add 2 cents to make the grand total $25.97. When reconciling, I immediately see the 2+5=7, and know that nothing funny happened. Any small dollar tip addition stands out, the only way around "my system" is if the establishment adds an outrageous tip (multiples of 9 dollars).

It isn't foolproof, but it works for me. Oh, the reason I said subtract above is so I don't take the cents above 99, and cause the dollars to increment by 1... it would throw off the system.
Checksums for tips... I love it! I may start doing this as well.

Kind of like the check sum, I always round my tip to a whole dollar amount (e.g. A $20.53 cent bill + ~15% = $24.00). If I don't see zeros on my bill, then I know I have a problem.

I have had this happen to me in the past.

Now, I just bring cash with me when I dine, which I use to pay the bill and the tip.

Waiters like cash tips, and I don't have to worry about getting scammed on the CC receipt.