Wrong order or overcharged in Spanish: fixing it at the table in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
The plate arrives and it is not yours. The total on the card machine is bigger than the menu said. The change in your hand is five short and the queue behind you is moving. These are small problems with a narrow set of words, and you do best to say them early, quietly and with a number in them. Below: the sentences for the table, the till and the card machine, the receipt vocabulary, and what changes between Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina.
The wrong thing arrived
Say it before you start eating. A plate sent back untouched is routine; a plate sent back half eaten is an argument.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| This isn’t what I ordered | Esto no es lo que pedí. | The core sentence, good in all four countries |
| I ordered the chicken | Yo pedí el pollo. | Say what you did order, straight after |
| I think this is for the other table | Creo que esto es de la otra mesa. | The gentlest version |
| This isn’t mine | Esto no es mío. | |
| I asked for it without onion | Lo pedí sin cebolla. | |
| I asked for it well done | Lo pedí bien cocido. | Spain says muy hecho or bien hecho |
| It came with something I can’t eat | Trae algo que no puedo comer. | |
| I’m allergic | Soy alérgico. / Soy alérgica. | Say it loudly and first |
| Could you change it for me? | ¿Me lo puede cambiar? | |
| Could you take it back? | ¿Se lo puede llevar? | |
| Don’t worry, I’ll keep it | No pasa nada, me lo quedo. | Spain, Colombia, Mexico |
| It’s fine, leave it | Está bien, dejalo. | Argentina, vos |
| We’re still missing one dish | Nos falta un plato. | |
| My friend’s food hasn’t come | A mi amigo no le llegó la comida. | Spain: no le ha llegado |
The wrong item at a shop
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| This is the wrong size | No es la talla que pedí. | Clothes. Argentina: el talle. Shoes: el número |
| You gave me the wrong one | Me dio otro. / Me entregaron otro. | Softer than se equivocó |
| There’s one missing from the bag | Falta uno en la bolsa. | La bolsa is the shopping bag in all four |
| This is not the one on the shelf | No es el del estante. | |
| The label says another price | La etiqueta dice otro precio. | |
| The offer was two for one | La oferta era dos por uno. | |
| It’s the wrong colour | No es el color que pedí. | |
| Can you swap it? | ¿Me lo puede cambiar? | |
| I’d rather have the other one | Prefiero el otro. |
Se equivocó, you made a mistake, is understood everywhere, and people take it harder than English speakers expect. With creo que hubo un error, I think there was a mistake, you move the mistake away from the person and get the same result.
The bill is wrong
Numbers first, then the request. If your complaint about a bill has a figure in it, the staff check it; if not, they defend the bill.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I think I was overcharged | Creo que me cobraron de más. | The standard phrase in all four |
| Can you check it for me? | ¿Me lo puede revisar? | Mexico, Colombia, Argentina. Spain: ¿me lo puede comprobar? also works |
| I think there’s a mistake | Creo que hay un error. | |
| This isn’t ours | Esto no es nuestro. | Pointing at a line |
| We didn’t order this | Esto no lo pedimos. | |
| We only had two coffees | Solo tomamos dos cafés. | |
| The menu said fifteen | En la carta decía quince. | La carta is the menu in all four. El menú in Spain often means the set lunch |
| What’s this charge? | ¿Qué es este cargo? | |
| What’s this line? | ¿Qué es esto de aquí? | Point |
| Is service included? | ¿La propina está incluida? | |
| Is tax included? | ¿El IVA está incluido? | Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina all use IVA |
| Can you add it up again? | ¿Puede sumar otra vez? | |
| Can you print it again? | ¿Me lo puede imprimir de nuevo? | |
| It’s double | Me cobraron doble. | For the same thing charged twice |
| It went through twice | Pasó dos veces. | The card machine |
The change is short
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The change is missing | Falta el cambio. | |
| You gave me too little | Me dio de menos. | The direct version, still polite with disculpe in front |
| I gave you fifty | Le di cincuenta. | Say the note you handed over |
| It should be twelve | Serían doce. | |
| Can you count it again? | ¿Puede contar otra vez? | |
| I’m five short | Me faltan cinco. | |
| You gave me too much | Me dio de más. | Say this one too |
| Do you have change? | ¿Tiene cambio? | For breaking a note |
| Do you have change for a five hundred? | ¿Tiene cambio de quinientos? | |
| Keep the change | Quédese con el cambio. | |
| I don’t have anything smaller | No tengo nada más chico. | Mexico, Argentina. Spain and Colombia: más pequeño |
The word for change itself splits. El cambio is understood in all four. El vuelto is what people actually say in Argentina and across much of Latin America. In Colombia people say las vueltas. In Spain people say la vuelta or las vueltas, as in quédate con la vuelta, keep the change. In Mexico it is el cambio.
Counting notes back in front of the cashier before you leave the counter is normal in all four countries and is not read as distrust. Once you are away from the till, the conversation is much harder.
The receipt words
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The receipt | el ticket, la nota | el ticket, el recibo | la factura, el recibo | el ticket, el recibo |
| The tax invoice | la factura | la factura | la factura electrónica | la factura |
| The bill at a restaurant | la cuenta | la cuenta | la cuenta | la cuenta |
| Proof of payment | el comprobante | el justificante | el comprobante | el comprobante |
| Can I have a receipt? | ¿Me da la nota, por favor? | ¿Me da el ticket? | ¿Me da la factura? | ¿Me das el ticket? |
| Card slip | el voucher | el resguardo | el voucher | el ticket del posnet |
Factura is the trap. In Mexico a factura is a formal tax invoice with your tax ID on it, and if you ask for one when you want a till receipt, you start a five minute process. Ask for la nota or el ticket instead. In Colombia, la factura is the ordinary word for the receipt you get with anything, and it is what a shop will ask you for if you come back. In Argentina, una factura at a bakery counter is a pastry.
What they will say back
| You will hear | It means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Ahorita se lo reviso. | I’ll check it for you now. | Mexico. Wait |
| Déjeme verificar. | Let me check. | |
| Tiene razón, disculpe. | You’re right, sorry. | Done |
| Ay, perdón, me equivoqué. | Sorry, I made a mistake. | Done |
| Se lo cambio enseguida. | I’ll change it right away. | Spain |
| Ya mismo se lo traigo. | I’ll bring it right now. | Colombia |
| Ya te lo traigo. | I’ll bring it. | Argentina, vos |
| Es que ya está cobrado. | It’s already been charged. | Ask for the reversal: ¿lo puede anular? |
| No puedo anularlo. | I can’t cancel it. | Ask for the manager |
| Tiene que hablar con la caja. | You need to talk to the till. | Go there with the receipt |
| Así viene en el sistema. | That’s what the system says. | Ask to see the itemised bill |
| Es el cubierto. | It’s the cover charge. | Argentina, standard at restaurants |
| Es la propina sugerida. | It’s the suggested tip. | Colombia, and you may decline it |
| ¿Con propina o sin propina? | With or without the tip? | Colombia, at the card machine |
| No, eso sí lo pidieron. | No, you did order that. | Ask them to read the line out |
| ¿Me muestra el ticket? | Can you show me the receipt? | Keep it until you are outside |
How a correction is handled, country by country
Mexico. The waiter takes it back and the cooks redo it, usually with an apology and sometimes with something free. Corrections are handled without fuss, and the padding is expected from you as well: disculpe, creo que, si no es molestia. At the till, a charge already put through has to be cancelled by whoever has the key, so expect a wait rather than a refusal.
Spain. Quick and unceremonious. You say oye, esto no es lo mío and the plate goes back, usually without much apology, which is not coldness. Staff in Spanish bars work at speed, and a correction is part of the speed. The bill in Spain is often written by hand or read off a screen, so ask for the itemised version: ¿Me lo puede detallar?
Colombia. The most apologetic of the four and the most formal. Usted throughout, and people soften it with the diminutive: ¿Me hace un favorcito y me revisa la cuenta? Restaurant bills in Colombia include a suggested voluntary tip, usually ten percent, and the staff must ask whether to include it. Saying sin propina, por favor is your right and is not an insult, though the tip is how waiters are paid and most locals leave it.
Argentina. Direct and talkative. The waiter will discuss it with you, may disagree, and none of it is personal. Restaurant bills include el cubierto, a per-person cover charge for bread and table service, which is legitimate and not a tip. Card payments and cash prices can differ, and menus sometimes show two prices, so check which one you were charged.
When to let it go
A small difference is often not a mistake. Bread you did not order is charged in Spain and in Argentina as a matter of course, and el cubierto appears on almost every Argentine restaurant bill. In Colombia the ten percent tip line is standard. In Mexico, a small charge for salsas or tortillas at a taquería is normal. Card machines in all four countries sometimes show a slightly higher total than a cash price.
What is worth raising every time: a dish or item you did not order at all, a line charged twice, a total that does not match the sum of the lines, and change that is short. Those get corrected quickly and nobody minds being asked. A small difference you cannot explain is usually not worth twenty minutes.
Ten sentences you can say tomorrow
- Disculpe, esto no es lo que pedí. Yo pedí el pollo. Excuse me, this isn’t what I ordered. I ordered the chicken.
- Creo que esto es de la otra mesa. I think this is for the other table.
- Creo que me cobraron de más. ¿Me lo puede revisar? I think I was overcharged. Can you check it for me?
- Esto no lo pedimos. Solo tomamos dos cafés. We didn’t order this. We only had two coffees.
- En la carta decía quince y aquí dice dieciocho. The menu said fifteen and this says eighteen.
- Perdón, falta el cambio. Le di cincuenta. Sorry, the change is short. I gave you fifty.
- ¿Me hace un favorcito y me revisa la cuenta? Would you do me a favour and check the bill? (Colombia)
- Sin propina, por favor. Without the tip, please. (Colombia)
- ¿Me lo puede detallar? Can you itemise it for me? (Spain)
- ¿Me das el ticket? Can I have the receipt? (Argentina)
Questions people ask
How do I say “you overcharged me” politely? Creo que me cobraron de más. With the plural cobraron there is no named subject, so you blame the place rather than the person, and with creo que you leave room to be wrong yourself.
What do I call the menu? La carta in all four countries. In Spain, el menú usually means the fixed price lunch, el menú del día, so if you ask for el menú, you may get the set meal.
Is it rude to send food back? No, if you do it straight away and say what you ordered instead. Waiting until the plate is half empty is what causes the problem.
What is “el cubierto” on an Argentine bill? A per-person cover charge for the table service and bread. It is standard, it is printed on the menu, and it is not a tip.
Is the tip on the bill in Colombia? Usually. The ten percent propina voluntaria is added and the staff must ask you first. ¿Le incluyo el servicio? is the question, and you can answer sin propina.
What do I say if I paid twice? Pasó dos veces, ¿lo puede anular? It went through twice, can you cancel it? Anular is the word for reversing a card charge in all four countries.
How do I ask for the receipt in Mexico without getting a tax invoice? Ask for la nota or el ticket. La factura in Mexico means the formal invoice, and you need your tax details for it.
Should I count my change at the counter? Yes, before you walk away. It is normal in all four countries and nobody reads it as an insult.
Practise these words
pedir, cobrar, cuenta, cambio, vuelto, faltar, revisar, error, propina, carta, factura, anular, precio. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.