What happens when you get a refund from the restaurant to your EatClub card?

Many people have embraced a new form of dining out with a discount with Marco Pierre White's app called EatClub. It's an innovative concept which has been helped along by the emergence of UberEats and the subsequent rebound back for restaurants that have remonstrated the hefty margins that such delivery apps take from their business. EatClub only charges a small amount for restaurants to be listed on their app and only take a small processing fee when you pay for your meail. For customers, discounts of up to 50% off makes it worthwhile to scroll through EatClub before eating out. 

However there are some situations you need to be prepared for, such as when a restaurant issues a partial refund to you. This refund goes to your Eatclub card but unbeknownst to me, that refund was not forwarded back to my credit card unless I raised a support ticket with Eatclub. This happened six weeks ago and upon remembering, I emailed EatClub about what happened to my refund. They were quick and helpful to pass the refund to me. 

However, I did ask whether I would have received the refund if I didn't ask. This was their (standard?) reply - 

For refunds of this nature, we do rely on customers to notify us when a venue has processed a refund directly through the payment terminal. 

The reason for this is that the refund is typically visible first through your bank, Apple Wallet, or Google Wallet transaction history. While the venue can initiate the refund on their end, we don't receive an automatic notification that a refund has been processed.

That's why we usually ask customers to provide a screenshot showing the refunded transaction — often identifiable by a "+" sign in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, or by the corresponding refund entry in their banking app. This gives us the confirmation we need to verify the refund and ensure it's correctly matched to the original EatClub transaction before we process any adjustments on our side.

I appreciate that this isn't the most seamless process and can feel like an extra step when you've already worked with the venue to arrange the refund. However, the verification helps us ensure refunds are processed accurately and prevents any discrepancies between venue records, payment records, and customer accounts. 

The good news is that once we receive the screenshot and verify the refund, we're usually able to move things along fairly quickly.

 Thank you again for your patience throughout the process and for taking the time to ask. Feedback like this is valuable because it helps highlight areas where the experience could be improved in the future.

 We appreciate having you as part of the EatClub community and hope your future dining experiences are all about great food, smooth transactions, and great savings.

So if you got a refund to your EatClub card, remember to email hello@eatclub.com(.au for Australian users) with a screenshot of your refund and your booking details to get the refund forwarded back to you - because it won't happen automatically. 

How can Bankwest customers withdraw or deposit cash now?

 Many Bankwest customers are still confused about the branch closures mean for them. The elderly are particularly panicky about this and the question on many peoples lips are what can they do if they want to deposit or withdraw cash? 

Bankwest just recently sent out an email which shows the limits and the fees involved for various deposits and withdrawals. 

Depositing cash via Commonwealth Bank ATMS

First of all, many don't realise that Bankwest is actually owned by Commonwealth Bank, so their ATMs are basically Bankwest ATMS. You can use a Commonwealth Bank ATM to deposit up to $8,000 cash into your account straight away. The machine will open up and allow you to insert a stack of notes and it will then close and count the cash. Then it will tell you how much it counted compared to how much you said there was and then you can press proceed to have it banked. The amount will show in your account straight away. 

Depositing cash via Australia Post Bank@Post outlets

You can also deposit up to $8,000 via Australia Post Bank@Post outlets. Not sure if this is in addition to your $8,000 limit on the ATMs. 

Withdrawing cash via Bank@Post or any "major bank" 

You can also withdraw up to $2,000 from Australia Poast Bank@Post or any "major bank" ATM. This only includes ANZ, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and NAB. Some EFTPOS outlets like Coles and Woolworths will also allow you to withdraw cash but the limits will vary from $50-$600 and this may change depending on the availability of cash to the operator at the time. 

I know this seems like a strange post but I am sure I am not the only person who ends up googling this instead of trawling through past emails to find out these things. 

Google maps timeline - don't accept the terms yet!

 Google maps has been disabling the feature that allows you to view your timeline on the desktop version of Google maps. For people in Australia we are now seeing the prompter asking us to accept the terms. However once you do, you will lose the timeline on your desktop and there is no going back.

The advice is if you want to keep this feature until you really must move, don't accept the terms until December 2024. 

How to go everywhere in Perth for $10 (for up to seven people) on Weekends and School Holidays

If there is one tip visitors should take, it is this - get on public transport after 9am (on weekdays) and buy a DayRider. If there are two of you, it will also only cost $10 for both of you - buy a FamilyRider which only costs $10 for two standard fare passengers (and includes up to 5 more children if they have an Australian concession card). However, the DayRider is not always available. It can be purchased on weekends and from 9am on a weekday if it is school holidays or Friday after 3pm during school days. It's one of those passes, that have so many conditions you need to read it carefully many times to see if you qualify. Does the FamilyRider or DayRider include the Airport? Yes it does! Here are the usual fares for Perth as of March 2023. 

Also, if you are using the Smartrider, note that you will never be charged more than $10 per day if you use public transport multiple times. 

So the Family Rider is available for these times - 

• Weekends and public holidays – any time.
• Monday to Thursday outside school holidays – after 6.00 pm.
• Fridays outside school holidays – after 3.00 pm.
• Monday to Friday during school holidays in Zones 1 to 4 – after 9.00 am.
• Monday to Friday during school holidays in Zones 5 to 9 – after 8.30 am.

Perth in Times Square for NYE 2022

 It seems like tonight the spotlight in Times Square New York City will be on Western Australia. Who would have thought that our little abode would get such a high level campaign. For those whose interest in Western Australia has been piqued by the campaign, do leave a comment. Perth, the capital city of Western Australia has changed dramatically over the last ten years. Those that have been back have remarked at the transformation, from the moment that their cab took them from the airport, it seemed like everything had changed. The Tonkin Highway drive into the city is now lined with overpasses and a streetscape that reflects a city growing up. The South Perth foreshore has been revamped, with the Perth Zoo creatures welcoming the ferry from the Perth City and children playing on the small beaches along the river. Then you have the Elizabeth Quay development which is still developing with the Ritz Carlton presence a world class endorsement. There is the Como The Treasury hotel which has been voted as the world's best hotel by Conde Nast a few years ago which sits next to the Perth City library which is an architectural wonder. For those considering the 15 hour flight to Perth, you won't regret making the journey.

Elizbeth Quay

City scape from the City of Perth library

Optus Hack - How much do they have on you?

Some helpful forum posts have indicated that there is a way that you can see the data that was stolen from Optus about you. You can check the Optus customer API yourself by first logging into your Optus account at https://www.optus.com.au. You can only access data for the logged in user, and can't view the data of other customers.

Then follow this link to see what data would have looked like. Take note of the 'contactID' from here - https://www.optus.com.au/mcssapi/rp-webapp-9-common/user/inf...

Then replace {contactId} with your customer ID you found in the first link into this web address, replacing of course the {contactId} with your ID.

https://www.optus.com.au/mcssapi/rp-webapp-9-common/customer-management/contact-person/{contactId}?lo=en_US&sc=SS

If you see "Driving Licence","indentValue":"XXXXXXXX" then XXXXXXX is your driver licence number.