Drive-thru burger bill totals $4,000

PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) _ A quick meal at George Beane's neighborhood Burger King ended up costing a lot more than he expected when he got the $4,334.33 bill. <br/><br/>Beane ordered two Whopper Jr.s

Tuesday, March 28th 2006, 10:20 am

By: News On 6

PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) _ A quick meal at George Beane's neighborhood Burger King ended up costing a lot more than he expected when he got the $4,334.33 bill.

Beane ordered two Whopper Jr.s and two Rodeo cheeseburgers when he pulled up to the drive-through window last week. The cashier, however, forgot that she'd entered the $4.33 charge on his debit card and punched in the numbers again without erasing the original ones _ thus creating a four-figure bill.

The electronic charge went through to George and Pat Beane's checking account Tuesday and left the couple penniless. Their mortgage payment was due and they worried checks they had written would bounce, Pat Beane said.

``We were thinking, `No, not now!''' she said of the overcharge.

Terri Woody, the restaurant manager, said Burger King officials tried to get the charge refunded. But the bank said the funds were on a three-day hold and could not be released, Pat Beane said.

Burger King did not charge the Beanes for their meal, and the couple got their $4,334.33 back on Friday.

``For those three days, those were the most expensive value burgers in history,'' Pat Beane said.