Watch out for this glitch next time you grab a Big Mac (Picture: Getty)

Customers hoping for a quick and inexpensive meal have been left disappointed after a problem with a McDonald’s card machine.

Diners have blasted the fast food chain after being charged for their meals months later – in some cases leaving them in the red.

One customer saw £155 taken out of her account for transactions made months ago.

Alexis Johnson, 42, told The Sun she was among those affected.

She was stunned when she saw her bank account show a negative balance having been charged £34.54 by McDonald’s last week.

She initially thought she was the victim of fraud – only to discover it was for a McDonald’s order she made in June.

Her painter husband Ricky, 42, had also been charged £50 for multiple transactions made in May and June.

Alexis, from Rainham in Essex, said: ‘At first we thought we might’ve been the victims of fraud.

‘My bank account was in negative balance and I was shocked.

‘I thought I’d been charged at the time, as other people would have, so it’s really poor from McDonald’s.

‘Being charged months later can have a bad impact on people who are hard-up.’

Alexis bought the meals at a McDonald’s branch in Dagenham, east London.

Another victim, Nicole Jackson, says she was charged £155 and described the situation as ‘absolutely disgusting’.

A spokesman for McDonald’s said: ‘Unfortunately there was a fault with one of the card readers in our Dagenham restaurant between April 26 and June 19 that meant customers using that card reader were not charged at the time.

‘We have been processing these payments over the last two weeks, and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this payments failure.

‘We’d encourage anyone with any concerns or questions to please contact our customer services team.’

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Diners have blasted the fast food chain after being charged for their meals months later – in some cases leaving them in the red.