‘Free Our RaBatman’: GoFundMe Campaign for Billa Cashier Raises €30,000
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Austria has a new folk hero, and he has a criminal conviction: Strangers on GoFundMe raised the full €25,700 in damages owed by a 23-year-old former cashier at the supermarket chain Billa, who gave customers unauthorized discounts, in about a day. More than 2,000 people have now donated, and the campaign “Free our RaBatman” stands at almost exactly €30,000, well above its goal.
Discounts of Up to 50 Percent
On Wednesday, the young man was given a five-month suspended sentence for breach of trust at the regional court in Linz, and the verdict is final. According to the indictment, he repeatedly granted price reductions of up to 50 percent at a Billa store in the Urfahr district of Linz from early 2025 until the end of November. Such discounts are meant for damaged goods or products nearing their expiration date, but he also handed them out without any reason. An internal audit flagged the unusually high total of price reductions. The loss to Billa: €25,696.
He did not profit personally. In court, he said he suffers from social anxiety and felt pressured by demanding customers, some of whom loudly insisted on discounts. It all started after a power outage, he said, and then became a habit. He was fired without notice, is now doing an apprenticeship in another field and has to repay the damages in installments.
Donations in Record Time
That is where the internet now wants to help. The campaign was started by Patrick Frewein from Linz, who says he does not know the former cashier personally and calls him “Austria’s Robin Hood.” The point is not to excuse the wrongdoing, he stresses, but the young man should be able to take responsibility without one mistake determining his entire future. More than €15,000 came in within the first 23 hours, and the goal was reached on Thursday evening.
The money will not be paid out right away. Mr. Frewein has contacted the convicted man’s lawyer and wants to arrange the handover directly with him, and the money will only be transferred with his consent. What happens to the surplus is still open.
Billa Doubles Down and Donates
The supermarket chain has also responded. The many reactions show that many people see the case from a human perspective as well, and “that naturally doesn’t leave us at Billa cold either,” the company told the Austrian newspaper Der Standard. Billa plans to double the damages awarded and donate a total of €51,400 to nonprofit organizations working on mental health and inclusion. Billa declined to comment further on the criminal case itself.
