A “PUBLIX 1148” charge on your statement is a transaction from Publix Super Markets store number 1148, located at 400 E McBee Station in Greenville, South Carolina.1Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Publix McBee Station The four-digit number after the merchant name identifies the specific store that ran the card. If you don’t recognize the charge, it most likely traces to an in-store grocery purchase, a pharmacy transaction, or a delivery order fulfilled through that location.
Why the Store Number Shows Up
Multi-location retailers send a billing descriptor to the card network that pairs the company name with a store identifier, so the same brand shows up differently depending on which branch handled the sale.2Chargebacks911. Statement Descriptors Descriptors are capped at roughly 20 to 25 characters, so what lands on your statement may be trimmed to “PUBLIX #1148 GREENVILLE” or just “PUBLIX 1148.” Some banks reformat the text further, which is why a familiar purchase can look strange.
Common Explanations Before You Assume Fraud
Most unfamiliar charges at a specific grocery store come down to something ordinary:
- A routine trip you’ve forgotten, especially since the charge can post a day or two after you shopped.
- A purchase by a spouse, partner, or child with access to the card.
- A pharmacy copay or over-the-counter item bought at the in-store Publix pharmacy, which posts under the Publix name on your statement.3Publix. Online Payment Terms
- An Instacart delivery order from Publix. Depending on how it processes, the charge can appear under Publix rather than Instacart, and Instacart places a temporary authorization hold slightly higher than the estimated total to cover weight-based pricing and substitutions.4Instacart Help Center. Payment Information
- A pending authorization that hasn’t settled yet, which can show a different amount than what you actually paid. It usually resolves within a few business days.
How to Verify What You Were Charged For
The quickest check is your own purchase history. In the Publix app, tap the menu icon, choose “E-Receipts,” and open the receipt to see the full item list.5Publix. Shopping List FAQs If the order came through Instacart, the receipt is emailed after delivery and is also stored in the Instacart app under Account, then Orders.6Instacart Help Center. Order Receipts
If nothing in your records matches, call the store. Publix #1148 at McBee Station is reachable at 864-240-2015.1Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Publix McBee Station For billing questions the store can’t answer, Publix corporate customer service is 1-800-242-1227, and you can also submit an inquiry at publix.com/contact.7Publix. Customer Service FAQs
Disputing the Charge With Your Card Issuer
If you’ve ruled out the innocent explanations and the store can’t tie the charge to your card, you can dispute it. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your liability for unauthorized credit card charges is capped at $50, and most major issuers waive that amount.8Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
Send a written dispute to the address your card company designates for billing inquiries, not the payment address, within 60 days of the statement date on which the charge first appeared. Include your name, account number, a description of the charge, and copies of any supporting documents. The issuer must acknowledge your dispute in writing within 30 days and resolve it within 90 days.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute a Charge on My Credit Card Bill While the investigation is open, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount without being reported as delinquent.8Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
Most banks also let you start a dispute inside their app or website, though a written follow-up is worth keeping for your records. If you suspect your card information itself was stolen rather than misused once, contact your issuer’s fraud department right away and file a report at IdentityTheft.gov.
A Note on Gift Card Tampering
Gift card tampering at Publix stores is a separate problem from an unrecognized charge, but worth flagging because people sometimes conflate the two. Port St. Lucie police arrested two people in May 2025 accused of swapping legitimate Publix gift cards on shelves with fraudulent ones that rerouted activated funds to the scammers.10CBS12. Two Busted in Gift Card Scam at Publix Stores A North Fort Myers incident involved more than 25 tampered cards at another Publix.11WINK News. North Fort Myers Publix Gift Card Scammer Caught on Camera That kind of scam won’t create a mystery charge on your statement, but if you bought a Publix gift card that turned out to be empty, the Publix charge for buying it would be legitimate even though the value was stolen. Before buying a gift card, check that the PIN security strip on the back hasn’t been scratched or peeled.