waiting for restaurant to take payment - how long reasonable

Valli

tir21 wrote: »

"and with intent to avoid payment of the amount due"

this part of the act would also make it unlikely that someone who waited 17 minutes to pay their bill could be successfully prosecuted

someone intent on avoiding payment would not have waited that long before leaving

which would be your defence;) especially as you had indicated 'time was of the essence' - in other words they were delaying taking payment and you had an appointment elsewhere.

I brought the information about S3 of the 1978 Theft Act into the discussion because other posters had suggested it was fraud not to pay and compared legal and moral obligation. I was pointing out that not to pay a bill is a prosecutable offence.

Idiophreak

tir21 wrote: »

i was thinking more in terms of what the law says

Why? Don't you think it's important to try and live a good life?

tir21 wrote: »

is that a scientific fact ?

Yes.

tir21 wrote: »

but its not my responsibility to work out what i owe them. I cant see any problem in paying them what they ask me to pay

the prices they charge for coke and chips i should imagine they still would have made a profit

Whether they make a profit or not is not really your concern...you agreed to pay the prices for the food when you ordered, you should honour that agreement.

tir21 wrote: »

it would be impossible to demonstrate in a court of law that someone knew they had been undercharged

...unless someone in the restaurant overheard them talking about it...or they posted about it on the internet....or put it on facebook...I don't think "impossible" is the word.

tir21

i was thinking more in terms of what the law says

Why? Don't you think it's important to try and live a good life?

yes that's why i always attempt to pay my bills and why i don't go into restaurants planning not to pay

!is that a scientific fact ?Yes.

lol

but its not my responsibility to work out what i owe them. I cant see any problem in paying them what they ask me to paythe prices they charge for coke and chips i should imagine they still would have made a profit

Whether they make a profit or not is not really your concern...you agreed to pay the prices for the food when you ordered, you should honour that agreement.

if the discussion is morality then it is fair to question whether it is moral to sell 10 chips that cost pennies for £3

!it would be impossible to demonstrate in a court of law that someone knew they had been undercharged...unless someone in the restaurant overheard them talking about it...or they posted about it on the internet....or put it on facebook...I don't think "impossible" is the word.

yes or alternatively unless they wrote a confession saying they knew they had been undercharged

tir21

I brought the information about S3 of the 1978 Theft Act into the discussion because other posters had suggested it was fraud not to pay and compared legal and moral obligation. I was pointing out that not to pay a bill is a prosecutable offence.

but you used section 3 to say it was an offence to knowingly underpay a restaurant bill. this was incorrect as nothing in section 3 indicates this

rustyboy21

Isn't it horrible, when people own up to being morally corrupt and think it is ok?

What an example to the rest of the country. OP don't you have any morals at all? You had the chance to reject the food when it was put on your table. If you felt that you were being overcharged, then you had the opportunity to reject the meal and not pay. Instead, you ate it then tried to get away without paying the full amount. You are now complaining that you were found out and they used another form of payment, you had given them , to pay the remainder. You handed it over, so in effect you gave them the opportunity to use it.

OlliesDad

tir21 wrote: »

if the discussion is morality then it is fair to question whether it is moral to sell 10 chips that cost pennies for £3

As long as they make clear the price before hand, then yes I would say it is fine morally.

tir21

OlliesDad wrote: »

As long as they make clear the price before hand, then yes I would say it is fine morally.

id disagree but then that is why morality is relative, unless there is a god, which there isnt

tir21

rustyboy21 wrote: »

Isn't it horrible, when people own up to being morally corrupt and think it is ok?

what is morally corrupt about paying the bill your presented with? shouldnt the term morally corrupt be reserved for people who intend to leave without paying?

i personally think its horrible that paragons of virtue such as you feel the need to advertise your perfection

What an example to the rest of the country.

this is a country that allows my employer to go 7 years without giving me a payrise. maybe you are more honest because you have more money than those you consider morally inferior

OP don't you have any morals at all?

yes thats why i always attempt to pay my restaurant bill

You had the chance to reject the food when it was put on your table. If you felt that you were being overcharged, then you had the opportunity to reject the meal and not pay.

restaurants like this realise that people would be too embarrassed to cause a scene

Instead, you ate it then tried to get away without paying the full amount.

i was prepered to pay the full amount they were asking me to pay

You handed it over, so in effect you gave them the opportunity to use it.

but not the authorisation to use it. i made it clear i wished to pay on card and gave them plenty of time to bring the card reader over

Idiophreak

tir21 wrote: »

if the discussion is morality then it is fair to question whether it is moral to sell 10 chips that cost pennies for £3

...only if you subscribe to "two wrongs make a right"...but, really, if you think you're being so overcharged, why do you go there?

FWIW, I think you're underestimating the costs involved here... Yes, potatoes are cheap...and oil's quite cheap...but you have to pay to heat that oil - and keep it hot. You have to pay (probably, if you only got 10) to cook them a couple of times previously. You have to pay for a chef to cook them. You have to pay for the place you sit to eat them, including the furnishings, building, rates, bills, taxes...then you have to compensate for people who deliberately underpay on their food...and all of that's before you think about making a penny profit...

Idiophreak

tir21 wrote: »

yes thats why i always attempt to pay some of my restaurant bill

Fixed that for you.