Service charge - not mentioned on menu.

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BOXtheFOX

Registered User
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Where a restaurant automatically charges a service charge on it's bill should this be mentioned on it's menu?
 
I would hope so! It usually is mentioned for larger parties but automatically sticking on a service charge on every bill without mentioning it on the menu is a bit "Irish". Think the ODCA may also have something to say about it. You should name and shame the offending establishment!
 
Are restaurants allowed do that? I thought I heard recently that they can't add on a service charge to the end of the bill and if they do, you are perfectly entitled to delete it and offer your own tip if you like.
 
According to the NCA/ConsumerConnect:
Restaurants and other eating establishments have to display prices outside and on their menus. If they don't give out individual menus, they will need a clear display in the room such as a blackboard. The price list must indicate if there is
  • A minimum charge
  • A service charge - and whether this is included in the price of the food
  • A cover charge or any similar charge
Click to expand...
 
I don't think that my post necessarily invalidates what you said above - which, for what it's worth, is what I also believed to be the case.
 
I suppose. But if a restaurant states that, say, 10% is added to the bill for parties of 6 or more can they argue it's ok because they've stated it on the menu?
 
I was in a restaurant in the Blackrock area of Dublin today. When we got our bill I noticed that in amongst the V.A.T. calculations at the end of the bill there was a 5% service charge. I had a look at the menu and it was not mentioned on it. When I asked the cashier was it displayed on the menu I got "I thought it was" but she couldn't find it when I asked her to show me where.
 
Thanks for the link to Consumer Connect, Clubman. I didn't pay it. The service was pretty awful. Items that should have been provided with the meal were left off. The food was pretty bland and overpriced. We had a voucher for a free desert with main meal and when we presented it with our bill the cashier said in a loud voice, "I will have to clear this with the manager". This annoyed me. The restaurant in question were happy to invite me to a free starter or desert. When I took up their invitation a song and dance was made at the cashier's desk over their voucher.
I decided at that point to raise the service charge issue. Immediately it was deducted from the bill, without question.
With the Christmas party season about to commence it could be possible for someone to pay a service charge and also a tip unintentionally.
 
BOXtheFOX said:
We had a voucher for a free desert with main meal and when we presented it with our bill the cashier said in a loud voice, "I will have to clear this with the manager". This annoyed me. The restaurant in question were happy to invite me to a free starter or desert. When I took up their invitation a song and dance was made at the cashier's desk over their voucher.
Click to expand...
Clearing it with the manager is hardly a song and dance? :confused:
 
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