Aimee Walker
A restaurant in Dorset has been left to foot a whopping £500 bill, not long after reopening due to the lockdown, after a customer ran out without paying.
A seafood restaurant owner has been left struggling to keep his business afloat due to the coronavirus lockdown. However, his situation has been made worse by a group of dine-and-dashers who left without paying a £500 bill.
At Les Enfants Terribles seafood eatery, a group of 12 men and women ordered a mammoth-sized array of courses in Weymouth, Dorset, and then went on to do a runner.
The restaurant, which hasn’t been open long due to the lockdown, has shared CCTV footage of the shameless diners online, as they ate their meals but decided to not cough up the bill.
Restaurant owner and chef Eric Tavernier told The Dorset Echo: “I asked the guy to give me some credit card deposit over the phone, and he suddenly said he’s been with us before. Even so, he did not really know where we were.
“They didn’t really want to come in, they were staying away from the video.”
He continued: “They did place an order for £468. I did require a deposit at this stage and they weren’t really happy to do that.”
According to the owner, the card the group paid their deposit with didn’t work either.
After people caught on to the fact they were doing a runner, one diner attempted to chase after them but they quickly dispersed into a crowd by the harbour.
Eric added: “I think they knew exactly what they were doing.
“I feel kind of angry for myself but I can’t really do any more about it so what I want is for everybody to know who they are because they will move about as they do and they will go to other places and they will keep doing it.”
The owner has said that he’s considered closing the restaurant altogether as he is “exhausted” and his staff have already gone through so much recently. However, he cannot afford to turn customers away after losing so much money already this year.
The incident is now being investigated by Dorset police but no arrests have yet been made.
Featured Image Credit: ITV News
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