A Perth woman has revealed how a currency mistake turned a Bali New Year’s Eve celebration into a $10,650 bill – after she mistakenly believed a VIP daybed at Atlas Super Club had cost $1,650.
Hayley Davis was holidaying with her best friend and her family when several male friends joined them for the celebrations. With many events already sold out, she arranged a luxury daybed beside the stage, complete with a private pool, where American rapper Swae Lee was due to perform.
The group settled into the VIP area and ordered vodka, other drinks, shishas, burgers, chips and oysters as they partied into the new year.
“We are literally living like the rich,” Ms Davis said in a video recounting the mistake, which has been viewed almost 300,000 times online.
There had been early signs that something was wrong. An attempt to pay through the club’s website failed, while a subsequent transfer to a friend returned an “insufficient funds” message.
Believing the problem lay with her bank, Ms Davis eventually paid Atlas over the phone and shared a screenshot of the receipt with the group. None of them noticed the amount had been converted incorrectly.
The Bali New Year’s Eve bill mistake
When the friends decided to leave, a waitress tried to explain that a large sum remained on their tab. Ms Davis said a language barrier meant she misunderstood and told the waitress to keep the money as a tip.
The amount was about $7,000.
Staff began handing the group bottles of alcohol to take away, but the significance of the gesture still did not register. The friends even gave some of the bottles to people on the street because they could not consume them all.
Ms Davis said one woman told her a bottle of tequila was worth about $600.
“I was like, ‘What? What do you mean?’” she recalled. “No, it’s not. It can’t be. There’s no f***ing way.”
It was not until three days later that she discovered the full cost of the night. While trying to buy about $20 worth of McDonald’s, her card was declined, prompting her to check her bank account.
She found a $10,650 charge from Atlas Super Club. The daybed alone had cost far more than she had believed, while she had also attempted to surrender around $7,000 of unused credit.
“Before I air this, I know it was stupid,” Ms Davis said. “I know it could have been easily avoided. I don’t need to hear it.”
She said she was usually the organiser among her friends and had been determined to find a venue after other New Year’s Eve events sold out. Although the group knew little about Swae Lee, the location and VIP treatment proved too tempting.
Ms Davis said her friends eventually paid their shares of the bill, although a further $700 in interest had accumulated before the money was received several weeks later.
“Thank God I have some of the best friends,” she said.
Viewers questioned why nobody had checked the currency conversion, with Ms Davis later admitting: “I converted it wrong.”
Despite repeatedly laughing at the incident online, she said the financial shock was still difficult to absorb.
“I’m literally traumatised,” she said.
