New justification for refusing to pay foisted restaurant "service charges" without feeling guilty

NFH

Metro reports today that these so-called service charges could rise to 20%. They ought to be included within menu prices. There's no reason for this malpractice to exist in the UK in contrast to other European countries.

Pollycat

NFH said:

Metro reports today that these so-called service charges could rise to 20%. They ought to be included within menu prices. There's no reason for this malpractice to exist in the UK in contrast to other European countries.

One point taken from your link:

Do you have to pay a service charge?

Don’t worry – if you’re not happy with the idea of paying an extra 15% or 20% on top of your bill, we checked with an expert and, yes, you can ask for it to be removed without sounding like a dreadful person.

Are people really so backwards at coming forwards that they are incapable of saying 'please remove the service charge, I want to tip the amount I want, not the amount you want"?

And why does the article not mention this? (copied from your original post):

Since 6th April 2025, Section 230(2) of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024  requires an "invitation to purchase", such as a restaurant menu, to indicate:

(b) the total price of the product (so far as paragraph (c) does not apply);

(c) if, owing to the nature of the product, the whole or any part of the total price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, how the price (or that part of it) will be calculated.

The intention of this new legislation is to outlaw misleading indications of price whereby unavoidable additional charges are added later on top of an initially quoted price, for example mandatory booking fees and service fees. The price quoted at the beginning of the purchase process must now be the total price of the product.

The Competition and Markets Authority's guidance confirms that an "invitation to purchase" includes a restaurant menu, which must include "the total price of the product (including any mandatory fees, taxes, charges or other payments that the consumer must pay if they purchase the product)". Clearly a "total price" means the total including all elements of the purchased service including any specific charge for the "service".

NBLondon

IANAL  but - surely the intent of the legislation is to ban unannounced service charges.  If the service charge is declared on the bill and the customer goes ahead and orders they have accepted that and started to form a contract - it has not been "foisted" on them.  If the menu declares a service charge for parties of a certain size and it is then applied to a smaller group, that's dodgy and you should challenge it. If you then feel the service has not been up to standard, then address the issue with the manager and have it removed (I have done this in the past).

In the Metro piece it mentions a service charge for pouring a glass of wine at the bar.  I'd refuse that.  No table service, no service charge.  Same for the places (pubs with food) where you order and pay at the bar and the card machine invites you to leave a tip before the service has taken place - no chance!  If the service is good, I will tip the server directly.

flaneurs_lobster

NBLondon said:

IANAL  but - surely the intent of the legislation is to ban unannounced service charges.  If the service charge is declared on the bill and the customer goes ahead and orders they have accepted that and started to form a contract - it has not been "foisted" on them.

Not quite this, although you probably mean when a service charge is declared on the menu rather than on the bill.

I read the legislation to mean no additional charges can be added to the bill, a dish costs what it says on the menu.

Think MacDonalds.

No service charge (mandatory or optional), no mandatory gratuity, no charge for unrequested bread and/or water, no (my favorite) napery and napkin charge.

DullGreyGuy

It is discretionary and therefore doesnt have to be added on in the prices seen.

Also, because it is discretionary it doesnt attract VAT, if you want the prices to have the 12.5% built in then it no longer has to go to staff and the actual cost of things increase by 15% (12.5% + 20% VAT on that)

Personally would rather lower priced with better paid staff than paying more and just lining the shareholders pockets. If you want to simply pay more and then have the choice of adding a tip on top then vote with your feet

NFH

DullGreyGuy said:

Also, because it is discretionary it doesnt attract VAT, if you want the prices to have the 12.5% built in then it no longer has to go to staff and the actual cost of things increase by 15% (12.5% + 20% VAT on that)

Exactly. It's unnecessarily complicated. Why not equally apply this complicated pricing to all services such hotel stays? This nonsense pricing doesn't happen in most other European countries. Why is it justified in the UK more than elsewhere?

flaneurs_lobster

DullGreyGuy said:

It is discretionary and therefore doesnt have to be added on in the prices seen.

Also, because it is discretionary it doesnt attract VAT, if you want the prices to have the 12.5% built in then it no longer has to go to staff and the actual cost of things increase by 15% (12.5% + 20% VAT on that)

Personally would rather lower priced with better paid staff than paying more and just lining the shareholders pockets. If you want to simply pay more and then have the choice of adding a tip on top then vote with your feet

It's discretionary because most customers will pay it regardless (for all sorts of reasons). As soon as a majority of punters stopped paying, the SC would become mandatory or be applied to the unit pricing.

And the rather throwaway statements about optional service charges/gratuities "having to go to staff" so that's OK then.

Which staff? Wait staff? Kitchen staff? Restaurant Manager? The cleaners working when the place is closed? In what proportions?

Has anyone ever seen a breakdown of this on a menu or website? 

The whole thing is opaque, confused and an anathema to transparent up-front pricing. I'm not a regular customer of Wetherspoons but at least it's clear how much the Tuesday Night Curry is going to cost from the get-go.

NFH

flaneurs_lobster said:

As soon as a majority of punters stopped paying, the SC would become mandatory or be applied to the unit pricing.

Mandatory additional percentages are now effectively outlawed because they have to be included within the "total price" in the "invitation to purchase" (menu). For example, if the price of a dish is £16 plus a mandatory 12.5% service charge, then the restaurant must state the total price of £18 in the menu, but could subsequently itemise £16 and £2 separately on the bill. It's unlikely that a restaurant would want to do this, because it defeats the primary purpose of additional percentages, which is a misleading indication of price in the menu.

DullGreyGuy

NFH said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Also, because it is discretionary it doesnt attract VAT, if you want the prices to have the 12.5% built in then it no longer has to go to staff and the actual cost of things increase by 15% (12.5% + 20% VAT on that)

Exactly. It's unnecessarily complicated. Why not equally apply this complicated pricing to all services such hotel stays? This nonsense pricing doesn't happen in most other European countries. Why is it justified in the UK more than elsewhere?

Because a large proportion of hotel bookings are made and paid for via a third party and not directly with the business itself. It would therefore get complex if the 12% service charge that Hotels.com charged you for your Hilton booking should be for the Hotels.com staff or the Hilton staff.

Even worse if you are booking a traditional package holiday where you have three companies or more in the supply chain. That said, a few hotels have attempted it, the IHG did for a while for those booking made from outside the UK, similarly the NoMad in London did before they were taken over by Hilton. 


Whilst with a restaurant you may book via a third party it's exceptionally rare to pay via a third party. 

As to European countries? France has an automatic 15% service charge but its not discretionary and so its taxable but it equally has to go to the employees; most dont list it out separately. In Italy you will often see coperto on your bill which is a service charge, normally though its fixed per head rather than a percentage of the bill and often mandatory rather than discretionary... many places is €2-3 per head. Spain used to do the old bread trick which was effectively a service charge but seems to be dying out now. 

Ireland - has the same discretionary service charge appearing. Culturally we are closer to Ireland than the rest of Europe so no real surprises we have greater alignment on this than the continent. 

flaneurs_lobster said:

DullGreyGuy said:

It is discretionary and therefore doesnt have to be added on in the prices seen.

Also, because it is discretionary it doesnt attract VAT, if you want the prices to have the 12.5% built in then it no longer has to go to staff and the actual cost of things increase by 15% (12.5% + 20% VAT on that)

Personally would rather lower priced with better paid staff than paying more and just lining the shareholders pockets. If you want to simply pay more and then have the choice of adding a tip on top then vote with your feet

It's discretionary because most customers will pay it regardless (for all sorts of reasons). As soon as a majority of punters stopped paying, the SC would become mandatory or be applied to the unit pricing.

And the rather throwaway statements about optional service charges/gratuities "having to go to staff" so that's OK then.

Which staff? Wait staff? Kitchen staff? Restaurant Manager? The cleaners working when the place is closed? In what proportions?

Has anyone ever seen a breakdown of this on a menu or website? 

Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 in conjunction with Code of Practice

It's not a throw away statement, is legislation which also codifies the code of practice. All employees have access to the policy

NFH

DullGreyGuy said:

As to European countries? France has an automatic 15% service charge but its not discretionary and so its taxable but it equally has to go to the employees; most dont list it out separately. In Italy you will often see coperto on your bill which is a service charge, normally though its fixed per head rather than a percentage of the bill and often mandatory rather than discretionary... many places is €2-3 per head. Spain used to do the old bread trick which was effectively a service charge but seems to be dying out now. 

Ireland - has the same discretionary service charge appearing. Culturally we are closer to Ireland than the rest of Europe so no real surprises we have greater alignment on this than the continent. 

In France and Spain, the price you see is always the price you are asked to pay. There is never a percentage added on top of menu prices. You're right about Italy, which not only has the coperto, but sometimes a nonsense percentage in tourist areas. Unlike a percentage, a coperto could not be included within menu prices because it's a fixed amount rather than being based on the items ordered, so its purpose isn't a misleading indication of price. As for Ireland, I've never experienced an additional percentage, although I'm aware that it's unfortunately starting to happen.