While the idea of dining and dashing might seem amusing in movies or as a joke among friends, it’s important to recognise the serious consequences of actually doing it. In reality, dining and dashing is illegal and considered theft. If caught, individuals could face legal action, including criminal charges and fines.
Recently, a family of eight made headlines for leaving a restaurant without paying their £329 bill (approx. Rs 34,000), resulting in a police complaint being filed against them. The incident came to light when a UK-based restaurant named Bella Ciao Swansea shared a post on their official Facebook handle. Sharing a screengrab of the CCTV footage, they wrote, “To the family who left the restaurant this evening without paying their £329 bill shame on you!!"
What transpired was that a woman within the group attempted to settle the bill using a savings card, which unfortunately was declined twice. She then instructed her son to remain inside the restaurant while she retrieved another card from her car. However, the woman failed to return, leaving her son behind. Eventually, the son received a call and abruptly left the restaurant, ultimately resulting in what’s colloquially known as a “dine and dash" scenario.
The restaurant further explained in the detailed post, that the family made the reservation using a fake mobile number, thus they didn’t have any contact details of the family. Left with no other option, they filed a police complaint. “To do this to anyone is disgusting but to do this to a newly open restaurant is even worse!" the restaurant wrote on Facebook.
Soon after the post was shared on social media, it garnered the audience’s attention. Several users swamped the comment section and expressed disappointment. A user wrote, “The children deserve better parents." Another one said, “All the restaurants should change, pay when you order, I don’t mind paying when ordering."
“This is why so many businesses refuse travellers, obviously it’s not all the travellers, but the ones who do these things give the rest a bad name," a comment read.
The restaurant also shared CCTV footage of the woman trying to pay the bill at the counter along with her son seen standing next to her.
However, they also shared an update regarding the complaint and wrote, “The police are aware of who they are we just hope they are finally caught and do not do this to any more businesses."
Have you ever left the place without paying your food bill?
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