I've heard a rumour that one is under no legal obligation to pay the bill in a restaurant? Is this true?

Answer 1

Yes you are perfectly within your legal rights to refuse a meal if you are not 100% satisfied with it. This applies to the UK anyway.

Answer 2

If you enter a restaurant, sit down and order a meal without intending to pay for it, then you are guilty of the criminal offence of obtaining property by deception (section 15 of the Theft Act 1968). You'd better abate the rumour as far as that goes.

If there is something wrong with the meal, then you may come to an arrangement with the management over payment or non-payment. That is not a matter falling within the criminal law, but more of a contractual one. You expected the food to be up to standard and if it is not, then you might feel inclined to withhold payment. But there'd better be something really wrong with it!

Answer 3

When you order food from a waiter or a clerk, you are entering into an oral, but legal contract. The resturant has offered you one bellybuster at $2.00, and you have agreed to pay for it. The fact that it is oral rather than written, or for a small amount of money, does not make the contract any less valid. There may be exceptions to when the contract is not legally valid such as if one of the parties is not considered legally competent to enter into contracts. But generally, you had better pay the bill.

Answer 4

This is quite an interesting legal point that would need an essay to explain fully. The crux of it is whether at the time you order and eat the food, you intend to pay. If you always have the intention not to pay, it would be a crime, ie.theft. However if you still intend to pay while eating the food, but then realize you have no money or something and do not pay, it would not technically be a crime.

The definition of theft is 'to dishonestly appropriate goods with the intention to permanently deprive'. Of course, if you intended to pay when you appropriated the goods (ie. ate them), then you would not have been being dishonest at that time and so would have not fulfilled the definition of theft. The difficulty would come in proving that when you ate the meal, you still intended to pay.......quite an interesting question really!

Answer 5

When you order food at a restaurant it's as if you're entering a contract with someone. They're offering goods that are on a menu for a price. By ordering, you are in essence accepting the offer nad the contract is sealed. Unless the restaurant has breached their duty to hold their part of the "contract" by not providing the goods and services expected, you do have a legal duty to hold your end of the bargain.

Answer 6

you need to differentiate between criminal offences and civil claims. It would be a criminal offence to enter a restaurant with the intent to have a meal and not pay for it. It would an offence of theft.

However, you are perfectly entitled to refuse to pay for a bad meal or service, and it then becomes a civil matter between you and the restaurant. You must give your name and address and either offer an amount you calculate the food was worth or challenge the full amount and wait for the restaurant to sue you.

You cannot simply walk out after eating your fill and not expect the police to be called or the restaurant not to issue proceedings.

Answer 7

uh- no that is not true! Look at it this way ...if you go and buy gas at the pump and leave with out paying for it...the gas station will prosecute for the *drive off* (if they have your license plate #) right? If you go into a store and decide to walk out with a leather coat or any merchandise, if a security guard is watching and chases you down, you get prosecuted too, right?

So *why* would it be legal to go and eat and drink at a restaurant and then leave with out paying your tab? It's not... in every situation you are responsible to pay for any merchandise or service that you purchase or consume. It's the law. ;)

Answer 8

I think it goes something like this............e.g. If you present Northern Ireland notes in an English restaurant where the staff may not be familiar with the notes, and they refuse to take your Northern Ireland sterling note, then you are within your rights to leave without paying, having offered to pay. You are obliged to make the offer to pay with legal tender - if they refuse the Northern Ireland notes, then thats their tough cookie and they loose.

Answer 9

Ive walked out of a restaurant because i thought the service and food etc was Cr*p more than once.on one occasion there was 6 of us that just walked out.you have to have good grounds for complaint otherwise they'll call the police.but as long as you tell the manager direct and are not a wan**r about it theres not alot they can do.

Answer 10

Of course it isn't. There is no legal obligation to pay the service charge so you you may be confusing it with that.