Money Moral Dilemma: Should I have asked for a refund after using Eat Out to Help Out?

MSE_Kelvin
MSE_Kelvin Posts: 337
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MSE Staff
edited 1 September 2020 at 4:21PM in Going out deals
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

I went to a favourite restaurant to take advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme before it ended. Normally a main is £12.50, which is reasonable for the quality, but with 50% off it was £6.25. Yet the food wasn't as good as usual - my meal was cold, dry and stodgy. Because I was paying a reduced amount I didn't feel I could complain, even though I knew the restaurant would be paid the full price. Should I have asked for my money back?

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Comments

  • Grumpy_chap
    Grumpy_chap Posts: 14,740
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    As you were only eating out to help out, the food was only secondary.  You have helped that restaurant stay afloat.  Be proud of yourself.
  • REJP
    REJP Posts: 325
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    Why did you not send the meal back if it was cold and stodgy?  No good complaining if you accepted the food and did not call the waiter to get it rectified.  Amangons comment sums it up perfectly.
  • I booked for 5 of us to go to a restaurant for my birthday having been “shielding” for 5 months and Informed by the County Council and on the Gov.Uk website that they were in the “eat out to help out” scheme. At 10.30pm the night before, I received an email asking for confirmation that we were still going. It included a statement saying they WERE NOT in the scheme. I messaged back that I had been informed by two official sites that they were. The reply was that they had come off it 7 days before we were going. As I had booked 23 days before, they would allow me to cancel without penalty. What would you do? 
    We still went as it was my birthday and where else would you get in at such short notice? The meal cost £200 and we would have saved £50. I wouldn’t mind but the restaurant wasn’t losing money with the scheme. I was using the meal as my “coming out” after shielding for 5 months as it was an isolated restaurant on a river that you needed to get a water taxi to so was particularly safe for social distancing. They clearly did not need my custom. It was a very good meal, but £50 off would have been good.
  • Why didn't you send it back when you found out it wasn't right?!!!!
    If you don't complain at the time how can you ask for a refund?!  No you can't, complain at the time when you find out
  • You should sent back the meal and asked for a refund. You are not doing anyone a favour by accepting a poor meal.
  • We had exactly the same issue this week. 2 mains out of 2 were awful. We didn’t complain but we will never go back...
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