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Original poster

WWYD - Pay or not for meal we did an (unintentional) runner on

339 replies

SomedayBaby · 23/08/2016 20:17

We got back yesterday from ten days away in the UK. We spent Sunday night in a Premier Inn before driving back yesterday and went for breakfast in the adjoining pub (you know the one that's affiliated with the PI) before leaving.

Anyway, we've just been talking about the trip in general, the P Inn breakfast was mentioned and we've just realised we didn't actually pay for it. We think it was £19 (for two adults, kids eat free)...we strolled in and got shown to a table then upped and left when we were done Blush.

In our defence, this was the third hotel we'd stayed in on that trip and with the others breakfast was included, so it just didn't seem to occur to either of us to pay. The waitress happily waved us out as we left so it obviously didn't occur to her either!

Dh think's it would be silly to call them now...this P Inn is about 350 miles from where we live so popping in to pay isn't an option and dh thinks calling them over less than £20 is stupid and we should leave it. I feel really bad though and guilty and ridiculous Hmm...WWYD?

OP posts:
RestlessTraveller · 24/08/2016 12:33

Janice you say report it anonymously but if you're the owner of a place who had just made staff pay a runners bill and then you get reported it's pretty clear who made the report.

For people who are on minimum wage losing your job is a pretty scary prospect.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 24/08/2016 12:39

I wish I could say I thought Restless was wrong - but I am sure she is not. Sad

NeedsAsockamnesty · 24/08/2016 12:40

The nhs script charge is very different the nhs will send you a bill and a fine if you don't pay when you should.

It's all to easy for people like me to sit in my nice safe office and be horrified that other people 'allow' their employers to treat them this way but not so easy when your needing that job there is not another one on the horizon you have no savings or buffer zone and you can't get assistance with dealing with stuff without funding it yourself.

It's a bit victim blaming

EvansOvalPies · 24/08/2016 12:50

Some employers do get away with a lot of illegal stuff, unfortunately. It isn't legal for the wages of waiting staff to be docked because of a runner, but it does happen.

My DD works for a really crappy company (Freedom Leisure). If the employees work more than a six-hour shift, they get docked an hour's salary. eg, if they work for seven hours they will only get paid for six, if they work eight they will only get paid for seven. They are regularly underpaid their hours and have to chase the payroll people for what is owed to them. They have to wait for their timesheets to be signed off by a Duty Manager, so if there is no Duty Manager present at the time, the employees have to wait until one arrives (sometimes for half an hour or more, for which they don't get paid). DD often leaves her timesheet in the office tray, and she has been given a formal warning for doing so.

I jump up and down in rage and urge her to deal with it more forcefully, but she doesn't, and I can't do anything on her behalf (even though I'm champing at the bit) as she's 23 and of course, she has to do these things herself.

I think this company is acting unlawfully, as many companies do. So PPs who say "It can't happen because it's illegal" - yes, it is illegal, but yes, it happens.

OliviaStabler · 24/08/2016 12:54

It is illegal for waiting staff to be charged. So I would have a clear conscience, because this shouldn't happen.

What about if the member of staff was disciplined or falls out of favour and gets given the more rubbish jobs to do or worse shifts? Deducting payment isn't the only consequence.

AlpacaPicnic · 24/08/2016 13:01

You need to try and pay.

DH, years ago, worked for a shop that had an expensive item - several hundred pounds - shoplifted. The manager wanted all the staff to chip in and cover the cost of the item even though (a) they were all on bare minimum wage and (b) DH wasn't even working on the day the item was stolen.
They all refused. They suspect the manager paid for it himself - more fool him rather than report it as a theft...

Downtheroadfirstonleft · 24/08/2016 13:09

Pay. You ate the food. Absolutely no justification to not pay.

Vlier · 24/08/2016 13:25

Stop being a thief and just pay it.

PersianCatLady · 24/08/2016 13:26

If the employees work more than a six-hour shift, they get docked an hour's salary
The legal reasoning behind this is that your husband should be given a lunch break which they do not have to pay him for.

The question is does he actually get a lunch break?

PersianCatLady · 24/08/2016 13:28

Sorry not husband, DAUGHTER.

JudyCoolibar · 24/08/2016 13:30

It is illegal for waiting staff to be charged. So I would have a clear conscience, because this shouldn't happen.

Why? It's still theft, just as much if you took it out of the manager's pocket.

PersianCatLady · 24/08/2016 13:30

What's F&B?
A previous poster said that took it to be food and beverage but I was understanding it to be Frankie & Benny's.

PersianCatLady · 24/08/2016 13:42

The staff member looked at me like I was insane for going back but at least my conscience was clear!
Slightly different to forgetting to pay but my son injured himself playing football and A & E gave him a towel to clean up with.

My Mum took it home washed it dried it and then went back to the hospital to return it and told the receptionist that she had borrowed the towel and brought it back.

The receptionist then said that they had never had a towel returned before and that once things leave A & E they usually were not expected to be seen again.

ShelaghTurner · 24/08/2016 13:55

I had the same with a blanket that A&E gave my daughter to put under and raise her broken leg in the pushchair. They were also gobsmacked that I'd brought it back.

I couldn't not pay for the meal. A forgotten yogurt under your bags at the self service check out is one thing. Eating a whole meal and then walking out (even if 'accidentally') is another thing althogether. Ring them up FGS.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 24/08/2016 14:06

For everyone saying they don't know anyone who'd pay in real life - are you sure?

Until recently I'd have said I didn't know anyone who wouldn't pay, but a friend told me that she and another friend had gone out for dinner, had a starter and a main each and then been waiting 50 minutes to order desert, so they left. They felt they'd given everyone enough chance to serve them, it wasn't hugely busy. They'd asked for service, but nobody came. I was pretty shocked. On the one hand, that's an unacceptable amount of time to wait. On the other, I can't imagine just walking out of a restaurant without paying - I'd be racked with guilt.

I don't think you really know where people in RL stand with this stuff until it actually happens.

amicissimma · 24/08/2016 15:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 24/08/2016 15:21

Spot-on, amicissima.

newtscamander · 24/08/2016 15:28

Twenty quid? Fuck it.

Ragwort · 24/08/2016 15:36

I think this company is acting unlawfully, as many companies do. So PPs who say "It can't happen because it's illegal" - yes, it is illegal, but yes, it happens.

I think a lot of mumsnetters just don't realise how badly some employees are treated .......... especially those on NMW - I also work for many more hours than I am paid (at least two per day) - I can't 'stop' during my unpaid lunch 'hour'Hmm - to get the work finished properly I regularly do an extra hour each morning and afternoon.

Yes, perhaps I am being a mug but there are no other reasonable jobs where I live, everyone else who does the same job does the same excess hours, management are horrible and spiteful ............ the alternative is being unemployed. (We are in 'remote' locations, no management on site).

Please don't bleat on about 'illegal practices' until you have experienced them and realised how very little power many people actually have. It is quite a shaming situation, and I even used to work in HR Blush years ago.

But yes, the OP should pay the bill in this case - just phone up and offer to pay over the phone.

Katedotness1963 · 24/08/2016 15:46

You ate the breakfast, you need to pay the bill. Out of curiosity, did you tip?

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 24/08/2016 15:52

So you would be happy stealing £20 of food, newtscamander - out of interest, at what amount would you decide to be honest?

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 24/08/2016 16:18

You ate the breakfast, you need to pay the bill. Out of curiosity, did you tip?

How would the OP tip when she didn't pay?Confused

kittyjewel · 24/08/2016 16:56

This isn't about illegal/legal etc. Let's be honest here. What this is truly about is honesty or dishonesty. But to put it quite frank do you honestly think that everyone will care about who foots an unpaid bill? You are very naive if you think so. As long as the hotel didn't get back to you then in my opinion you are ok. Morally right? No. Not saying it is. But if you can get away with it Scott free then people will. This is the reality here. Clearly none of you have ever done anything wrong ever in your lives. I can assure you that people wouldn't have turned up for breakfast that day but paid. Happens all the time. I go into hotels, book breakfast, but after having a night out etc it's the last thing you feel like doing sometimes. This is comical and is being taken way out of context.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 24/08/2016 17:03

Honesty is comical? I can live with that. And you can snipe about naivety, and reality and that clearly none of us have ever done anything wrong - but I don't care, because I would rather be honest and have standards than think it is OK to steal.

And make no mistake, if you eat a meal in a restaurant and do not pay for it, you are stealing. I won't do that. If you will, I judge you for that.

Wooftweetwooftweet · 24/08/2016 17:07

This happened me in Italy. we went to a run-of-the-mill pizza place. Had a bottle of wine and couple of pizzas and coffee. Bill around 40 I think. It was part of a campsite we were staying at.
The owner who server us was mightily pissed off when I produced my credit card and pulled a dart board off the wall to show me the No Credit Card sign behind it. Hmm
As we were staying in the camp site, I said I'd pay on check out the next morning, which he seemed ok with. So next morning, I went across the road to the petrol station to get cash from the ATM, which was out of order. This was in the middle of the countryside. There were no buses anywhere, other than ours to the airport later that morning. We were backpacking.
So we checked out, with our credit card, and legged it to the bus stop. Shitting ourselves while we waited for the bus for the big scary Italian man to drive past us. Luckily he didn't and I couldn't relax until we we safely on the plane.
I haven't been back to Italy since and am expecting armed escort on my arrival when I do.
I definitely still hold a guilty conscience about it, years later. But I literally had no other option and didn't know what to do at the time other than leave.
So yes, I would go back and pay, its not worth it on your conscience.

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