Moment couple ‘deliberately put glass into their food’ before refusing to pay £65 bill
A couple who claimed to have found glass in their food were busted by the restaurant’s CCTV footage, which appears to show them placing a shard of glass in their dish.
The pair were eating with a young girl at San Marino restaurant in Widnes, Cheshire, on Saturday when the lady complained about a sharp object in her pasta dish.
She went as far as saying it ‘almost broke’ her veneers, and the couple refused to pay their £64.85 bill – before attempting to get compensation and leaving.
But after checking CCTV footage, it was found the man had pulled out a clump of glass from his pocket and passed it to the woman.
The lady then appeared to scoop food on the napkin, before calling staff over and pointing out the ‘glass’ which she said she found in her dish.
San Marino shared the video to Facebook with the caption ‘these kinds of scams are damaging to small, hard-working businesses like ours’.
Managing director Miraz Yolcu said the pair have been reported to Cheshire Police, who are investigating the matter.
But in just a few days, the video has gained 115,000 views. Mr Yolcu said he hopes the video will warn other businesses about ‘false claims’ from customers.
‘It was shocking to see the CCTV footage. They were with their daughter but they’re not ashamed,’ he said.
‘They weren’t booked and they just came and said they needed something to eat so we happily showed them a table. They ordered their food and started eating and everything was fine.’
When the food was nearly finished, that’s when the woman claimed she found glass in her meal – and said she wanted to see a GP.
‘Everybody was in shock. The staff were worried and they called the manager who came and asked what had happened. They said they won’t pay for this meal,’ Mr Yolcu added.
‘The manager was saying “Sorry it just doesn’t happen, it’s impossible to find glass in the food. This is not glass that we use in the kitchen.” They sent me a picture of it and I looked at it straight away and said it wasn’t that type of glass. Before I said that they already didn’t pay.’
The restaurant has said it’s a serious accusation which could involve police and environmental health issues, causing problems to the business and it’s reputation.
He said: ‘They are experienced. She was looking at the cameras around. They didn’t pay for the food but there was no compensation. We got that on the CCTV so we won’t be paying them a penny.
‘The first time we came across something like that we were shocked but after that, I researched and started to get tips about what to do in these kinds of situations,’ he added.
‘You really need to be calm. Before any further action, you should say ‘I’ve got to have a look at the camera and call the police’.
A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: ‘At 1 am on Sunday 6 April police received reports of a theft/deception at a restaurant in Widnes.
‘The caller reported that three customers had left the premises without paying for a meal after claiming to find a piece of broken glass in their meal. After reviewing CCTV footage the caller believes that the glass was placed in the meal by the customers. Enquiries in relation to the matter are in the early stages.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.