An Australian diner has criticised a Sydney restaurant for adding four “sneaky” charges to his dinner bill.
On Reddit, the young man was enraged by the extra costs added to his midweek meal, which included a blind $3 fee for each drink, without any explanation.
He said the restaurant staff also added a two percent card surcharge, a two percent service fee and a ten percent “system charge,” adding nearly 15 percent to the total cost of the meal.
The restaurant was unable to provide her with a paper receipt, so she only realized the extra charges when she got home and checked the receipt that was emailed to her.
“I don’t normally care if I have a bad experience or if I get hit with small undeclared surcharges, but this just wasn’t right,” the man said.
“They are lying and stealing blatantly and… the menu prices were already exorbitant for the quality.”
He said the whole experience was horrible.
“They do this every day to unsuspecting people and they get away with it,” he said.
“The whole experience was horrible. They do this every day to unsuspecting people and they get away with it,” the young man said (file image)
Then he wondered if he should report the business.
Hundreds of people commented on the man’s post, revealing that they had been victims of similar accusations.
“Transparency is the point…we want to be told up front,” one man said.
“If you’re a small business, it’s much better to add the extras to the main price; once you add them as an extra item, that’s when the yelling starts,” said another.
“I think the vast majority of people would rather pay $23 for a menu than $20 plus two percent, plus three percent, plus ten percent,” another person agreed.
“At least you know what you’re paying when you order. Right now, prices are basically mysterious,” a third person said.
Others suggested that surprise charges have become so common that diners should ask in advance what to expect.
Some people agreed that the angry diner should take his complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The ACCC prohibits businesses from failing to adequately notify customers of any surcharges they will incur.
Others did not believe the man needed to do anything to hold the restaurant accountable.
“In this climate, they won’t last long in this world,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the restaurant for comment and has declined to name it.
