Jacob Witmer had the most expensive meal of his life - more than $1,000 - at West Virginia University's Mountainlair student union last week.
"I'd gotten lunch at Burger King and I'd bought a Coke and a pack of Mentos at JACS café," said Witmer, a journalism major at WVU's Reed College of Media.
He's among about 500 people who were charged more than $500 apiece for transactions at the Mountainlair.
The transactions were made on May 31. WVU spokeswoman April Kaull said people were overcharged that day because of a programming error with card vendor Freedom Pay. Because of the error, card transactions at the Mountainlair registered the date - 5/31 - as the amount of the transaction - $531.
Freedom Pay was updating its system on the day the problem occurred, Kaull said, which caused the glitch.
She emphasized that the mistaken charges weren't the result of a data breach or any form of fraudulent activity.
Witmer said he became aware of two $531 charges on his card Friday, when he was trying to pay for parking. He was told by the Mountaineer Card Office that day to check for an update Monday.
The Monday update was that refunds were now "flowing through the system," Kaull said, and should return to bank accounts by the end of the week.
WVU also is working with Freedom Pay to reimburse people for any overdraft fees they incurred, she said.
In the meantime, WVU is supplying emergency funds to people who need it. Those looking to access the emergency funds should call the Mountaineer Card Office, at 304-293-2273, or email wvucard@mail.wvu.edu.
Kaull said WVU hasn't had problems with Freedom Pay before. She called last week's glitch a "very rare occurrence."
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.