To be so upset people think we left without paying?

No one would be able to misuse OP’s payment details, receipts only show the last 4 digits of the payment card used.

You could put a trip advisor post on saying you had a lovely time but the CCTV footage of you has been used online by the Manager and they won’t take it down. Give them 1 star. It might make them rethink their position.

theyre loving the publicity now send a leter before action

also tell them your cancelling your next booking due to thier behaviour over this

She needs to resolve the issue quickly as a first priority.

She needs to keep written or photo evidence.

Not using those words, as far as we know.

If it is near home I'd go in and speak to them.

I really don’t understand the pub owners/the ones who run the pub.

they've lost money over 2 people who didn’t pay. That’s shit.

But by refusing to blur the photo or add an edit to their post highlighting it’s not you but the couple, they’ve just lost a recurring customer who is bringing them much more money every week.
Which tells me they dint even know their regular customers! And they lack common sense.

She did that yesterday.

Agree if there is a head office / brewery involved then go to them. Keep evidence of your requests that they take down the image of your child.

I’d do down the data route: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection/make-a-complaint

This is the most sensible suggestion to start with, I just looked and ico fines for breaching are substantial. The fines for not registering are also considerable.

If you send any further correspondence also make sure you mention cancellation of your table of 20 for next week.

Oh Lord, I'd definitely consider legal action. Mud sticks.

I would post on the thread saying that while you are sorry to hear that a couple didn't pay, it is us sitting at the table, we did pay, post a copy of the receipt, and that you have told the owner to take the post down or blur your party. And also that he has lost his booking for twenty next week. You will also be considering legal action against the pub for defamation.

Why would they do this? Is he quite well?

@MissScarletInTheBallroom has produced a good letter but at the end of the first paragraph add "I refer you to Vince v Associated Newspapers Limited where a small disclaimer in text was no accepted as defence to a claim of defamation" Include a print of the judgement from here https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/2024/1806.html

if they have CCTV they should be registered with the ICO and they have almost certainly broken a number of privacy laws.

Write them an email giving them 48 hours to remedy before you 1) file a complaint with the ICO and 2) go to a solicitor to begin a legal claim against them. You can stipulate your demands- I’d ask for blurring of your faces in an updated photo and a clear post of apology made regarding your group.

If they have any sense they’ll do that. If not, proceed with 1 and 2 above.

You are right sorry. It is libel though and a sharp letter pointing this out should get action. I think the pub needs to take this seriously as they are now reckless. A no win no fee lawyer would take this. It's barn door and refusal to amend makes it even worse.

I agree with the poster talking about sending them a letter before action. Hopefully you can frighten them into seeing sense.

@ShownOnCCTV I put your posts into ChatGTP and asked for a letter before action. I am a lawyer (although this is not my area of law) and I think this is pretty good.

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Email Address]
[Your Phone Number]

[Date]

FAO: The Owner / Manager
[Pub Name]
[Pub Address]

LETTER BEFORE ACTION
Re: Unlawful Use of Image / Defamation / Data Protection Breach / Request for Refund

Dear [Owner’s Name / Sir or Madam],

I am writing regarding a Facebook post published on or around [insert date] on your [Page Name] that includes CCTV footage in which my family and I are clearly identifiable. Although a brief disclaimer buried in the text states that we were not involved in the alleged non-payment incident, the imagery, context, and public reaction have caused significant and ongoing distress and reputational harm.

Your post has:

• Featured multiple images where my family and I are clearly visible;
• Led to a torrent of public comments falsely implying that we left your establishment without paying;
• Resulted in personal distress and damage to my professional reputation, including being directly linked to my workplace;
• Prompted phone calls to my family, including my son, questioning whether we committed theft.

Despite multiple requests to remove the post or at minimum blur our images, you have refused and are now ignoring communication. You have acknowledged that we paid, and I have provided proof of payment. Nonetheless, the defamatory implication remains live and damaging.

This situation involves:

1. Defamation, under the Defamation Act 2013;
2. Unlawful processing of personal data, under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR;
3. Improper use of CCTV, contrary to ICO guidance for surveillance systems in public-facing settings.

This letter serves as a formal Letter Before Action. I now require the following, to be received by me within 7 days of the date of this letter:

1. Immediate removal of the Facebook post and any other distribution of the images showing me and my family;
2. A public clarification and apology posted in the same space, clearly stating that we were not involved in the alleged incident;
3. A private written apology addressed to me;
4. A written confirmation that all images and footage featuring us have been deleted;
5. A full refund of the total cost of our meal (including tip), in recognition of the damage caused and your refusal to take reasonable remedial action when alerted to the harm;
6. Confirmation that no further similar posts or uses of our images will be made.

Failure to comply will result in immediate steps to initiate legal proceedings without further notice. This may include claims for defamation, misuse of personal data, breach of CCTV usage regulations, and recovery of financial and reputational damages, as well as legal costs.

This letter is sent in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Media and Communications Claims.

Yours faithfully,
[Your Name]

Because they are benefitting from the extra publicity and discussion created by the intentional implication that it was OP's party of 10 who were having a child's birthday party that haven't paid; and they believe that the non prominent disclaimer within the text of the post is enough to protect them from legal recourse.

Forgot to say if you have Word you can Draw a circle in pen round the faces of the guilty to highlight that and also your own faces and then black infill the centre to hide them. Screenshot it after or save as pdf.

That’s what I was thinking too. Maybe they don’t know how?

In the meantime OP, just to get the damn photo down, perhaps you could blur the faces on a screenshot your own laptop and email the blurred photo to her and ask her if she wants to use it instead of the other one.

Saying “If you don’t remove the photos showing photos of my family including children, this I will take action under GDPR as you have breached this in posting our photo. You may wish to Google GDPR about using personal information inappropriately. You can be heavily fined and it costs nothing for me. I will also contact the brewery.”

The thing is that the pub knows full well that most people have interpreted the picture to mean that the party sitting at the table didn't pay, because that is what the majority of people in the comments are saying.

They know the picture has been misinterpreted and they have refused to take the picture down and issue a clarification. This means they are knowingly perpetuating a misunderstanding which is extremely prejudicial to the OP and her family, despite there being a very simple solution - take the picture down and issue a clarification and an apology.

So no, they wouldn't be able to rely on that as a defence.

IAAL.

I have asked them to blur our images they refuse.

This is the bit that makes no sense. Why?

While I don’t disagree it’s wrong, are you sure it doesn’t meet the exception of truth for libel?

Surely there’s nothing libellous about me posting a picture of you and saying “sometimes people don’t pay for meals at pubs, but this person always does”. Because that’s true.

Where is the line between that and what the pub has posted?

I’m not a lawyer but work adjacent to law and spend a lot of time in court. I feel like a good solicitor for the pub could run a good argument that the pub has not said anything untrue and therefore it cannot constitute libel.

I’m not certain they’d win, but it doesn’t feel as clear cut as you’re making out?

Yes but if they republished the photo without blurring out the OP and her family, they would be in serious trouble.

Not sure exactly how much compensation the OP could get from the paper but probably enough to make it worthwhile.

The tabloids aren't dimwits who manage a shitty pub. They're professionals who know the law around publishing pictures of members of the public without their consent, and whose employers have deep pockets with which to pay compensation if they get it wrong.