Didn't pay the bill

[ffsimstupid]

Stupidly went out with a bunch of 'friends' last night for drinks and food. They decided they weren't going to pay because they 'get away with it all the time' and essentially we're going to leave me with the bill because I was protesting. Long story short ended up follow them out ( I know so stupid). I'm the goody two shoes of the group because of my guilty conscience and as I suspect this morning I feel awful. I really want to ring the restaurant and let them know the situation and pay when they open but I'm scared this is the wrong thing to do and can land me in big trouble.

Please try not to flame me I know full well I was in the wrong and I want to fix this, please advise me what you would do.

Good for you for paying the bill, what horrible friend though, if they think this is alright then what else could they do. I'd find new friends

It's similar to people not paying for fuel at a petrol station (I work in one) but usually it's accidental and we are always shocked/glad when someone calls embarrassed saying they forgot to pay or they thought the other person had paid etc. Honestly once they come in and pay it's like all is forgiven; the restaurant will just be thankful you came back so try not to worry too much. They're gonna know how bad you feel about it

Again, they are not just poor citizens, they are poor friends. They used peer pressure to make you do something you didn't want to do, something that was wrong, something that is an offence.

You really need to stop trying to defend them. It was their idea, their intention, their repeated offence. That's very different from you getting carried along with it. You are better than them, and you seriously need to think about walking away from them.

You made a split second decision under peer pressure and after a few drinks, regretted it and ate humble pie this morning and took steps to put it right. It takes guts to face up to what you did and rectify it, so don’t be too hard on yourself for that initial lapse in judgment.

I would message your friends saying you know everyone was a bit tipsy last night and you all got carried away but not to worry, you’ve sorted it now and they can send you their share by bank transfer.

If their reaction is anything other than ‘oh god, I can’t believe we did that, thanks so much for sorting and I’ve sent you the money now’ then they are NOT your friends and you don’t need to see them ever again.

I have to say well done to you. I hink you should be proud of yourself.

What happened last night happened and you were put on the spot and subjected to peer pressure. Those so called friends ae not and I think you should contact them and give them details as to how to fix up the money with you.

No dobt there are one or two "leaders" in this and you may find that one or wo may secretly agree with you and say so and fix up.

How many were in the group? I may have missed it.

And had someone made the original booking & given contact details?

Well done for going in. Tell your oh so cool friends the restaurant told you it has CCTV footage of the other members of the group and they’re going to circulate close up images to all local pubs and eateries as part of a new police backed initiative. The pics will be displayed behind bars etc.

@SalmonOfKnowledge I was responding to another post and I really, really don’t care how sorry people are the next day. Some poor girl/boy probably left their work in tears last night. I know I did when I was a single parent trying to study and pay a mortgage and suddenly I was £100 out of pocket and struggling to pay for food for the week because some cunt thought it was a good laugh to eat and then fuck off without paying.

Running out without paying is obviously totally wrong, but it’s also appalling that businesses take the money from the waiter’s wages/tips. That’s utterly unfair. Is it even legal? Run-outs should be a whole business loss, not dumped on one waitress.

Totally agree with this. I’ve been a waitress and have never known money be taken out of wages for this in the places I’ve worked.

Well done OP

I had a friend who left without paying once with her two dh. They were both drunk. She told me about it the next day at work and spent ages trying to phone the restaurant that morning. Managed to get through around 11.30am and was very apologic to the staff down the phone promising to pay on way home and checked when someone in. She popped in on way home and said she left a huge tip. She said the staff were sooo kind to her and said they knew she would be back. Phone apologise and return to pay bill. Also rethink friends

Her dh not two dh

RJnomore1 I hope this was a company policy and not one you actually implemented. That's disgraceful to steal waiting staff tips. Utterly disgraceful.

Many years ago I had this French girlfriend absolute stunner she was mates were very jealous like, hows an ugly git like you pulled her etc..

One night we called in to the Cricketers at Clavering near Saffron Walden in Essex thats the pub that Jamie Olivers mum and dad run. Excellent meal, even she was impressed that some English risbeefs can cook then;!

We were there quite sometime and we left halfway home i thought damm we didnt pay the bill! she then said "thats great we got away without paying"! well i said thats like theiving that is, she thought otherwise so its OK to steal food then?, Yes said she, its fine me and my friends do it all the time in Paris:!

OK but why said i?, when you can pay for it? Semes that if the resturant owner lets you get away with it then thats his hard luck! It then, after a bit more discussion, transpired that a bit of shoplifting was an OK thing to do as well!!

The relationship ended there and then that evening, no way couldl i be with a woman who thought that cheating and stealing was an OK thing to do:(

PS: I phoned them the following morning they seemed not that bothered but i did send them a cheque for the ammount and a few quid added for a tip!. Took them ages to bank it tho!.

My friends are usually not the worst but in this case they were dk heads

Problem is they usually ARE the worst. You just hadn't seen this side of them.

They went out last night, filled up on good, drink, cocktails, all the while knowing they had no intention of paying for the food or service provided. They then put you in a position of either being part of their scam or putting you in the position of paying their full share.

Either way, they couldn't give a fuck about you!

I think you'll be wasting your time asking them for money. But it will solve the problem of you having to reconsider the friendship. They'll drop you in a heartbeat if you dare approach them for money and somehow make you out in their own minds to be at fault and the spoil sport.

Your friends are aresholes. And waiting staff most likely got a bollicking over a whole table walking out without paying last night.

My friends are usually not the worst

Yeh, they are.

Running out without paying is obviously totally wrong, but it’s also appalling that businesses take the money from the waiter’s wages/tips. That’s utterly unfair. Is it even legal? Run-outs should be a whole business loss, not dumped on one waitress.

Absolutely. There's plenty of things the owners could do to mitigate against it, and I'm sure they would if the impact was on their pocket.

Similar happened to me. The bill came and the £100+ spent on alcohol wasn't on there by mistake. 'Friends' quickly paid up the rest of the bill and left - everyone paying separately for their share.

I'd only had tap water as was on a budget and driving, my conscience wouldn't let me leave so I got left behind- I paid my share as it genuinely had no drink on it then asked for the manager and told him the situation. He had the name and number of the friend who booked so he reported her to 101z

Perhaps they ought start taking a copy of your credit debit card first or keep it at the counter untill you've finished ;)

I seriously hope you’re reconsidering your friendship with this bunch of thieving toads! I couldn’t be friends with people with zero morals tbh.

Does seem odd that they’ve asked you to come in - why couldn’t they put your card through over the phone? How much was the bill?

Maybe they asked for it to be done in person as they want the police involved?

I hate being one of those people I'm the type to go back in the shop for walking out with something. I think your social group and their morals are way out of line with most people's. It's not normal to steal things, most people don't, even if you later return the item. And not sure why you would hate this about yourself? A much more normal response would be to hate that you're the type to walk out of a shop without paying for items that aren't yours. Causing other people hurt and pain, financial loss, stress etc.

Good for you in calling them and having the courage to go and face them to pay instead of hiding over the phone to do so.

I would ditch these friends pronto. I think you might struggle to obtain any back from them as they never had any intention of paying.

well done, you can just say you thought a friend picked up the bill, but after leaving realised they hadn't. Hence, why you're here now.

Well done op, I'm sure they will be grateful you've returned. I'm not sure you'll get the money back off your friends though.